While a key guideline to stand-up comedy may be to “trim the fat” of a joke and get to the punchline quicker, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes is a storyteller, and sometimes, every detail is integral to the joke.
Now, with her new book Who Do I Think I Am?, which hit shelves this month, she doesn’t have to follow those guidelines, and instead has found a place for all those stories that may not have worked on stage over the years.
While the project only took two years to fully evolve into its final form, Johnson-Reyes started compiling stories from her years in comedy, dancing, music and acting over 10 years ago in a word document on her computer. Through the years, she added story after story to that file with the intention of turning it all into a book someday so she could tell the tales, in all of their detailed glory, that make up her incredibly versatile life and journey through the entertainment industry. Still, even now that the book is out in the world, the former NFL Cheerleader and MADtv cast member can’t believe it’s happened.
“I feel like I’m still just that little Mexican-American girl from San Jose,” Johnson-Reyes tells Vanyaland. “I’m still very close with my family, and still very muchso the same person I’ve always been, so I think it’s very hard for me to look at the things that I’ve done and be in awe of it. I just feel like me, who just got off the phone with my sister or my mom. But then I hear people talk about it, and it makes me realize that I have done some really cool things. It’s almost like an out-of-body experience.”
“It’s like, ‘keep dreaming while still living the dream,’ and figuring out that balance,” says Johnson-Reyes. “I have to balance every day, and resist the temptation of getting comfortable where I’m at, and instead just keep dreaming for more.”
While she’s thought about how things would’ve turned out had she not pursued a career in entertainment, which would’ve most likely brought her to a career as a massage therapist (as she sees it, it’s the only other thing she’s good at outside of the arts), Johnson-Reyes isn’t sure how things would’ve turned out had she not become a comedian. All she knows is that, while every endeavor beforehand was valuable, she’s loving the road she’s currently on — which brings her to Boston’s Wilbur Theatre in September — even if it wasn’t exactly part of her initial blueprint.
“Who really knows what I’d be doing? I’m just so grateful for this journey and my path,” says Johnson-Reyes. “I moved out to LA with the hope of being an actress, and I became a stand-up comedian when I had no intention of being a comedian, but that ended up being the thing that took off for me. So, even though it wasn’t part of the plan, I’m so glad that it’s part of my story.”
The process of putting this book together over the course of these last two years proved to be a therapeutic endeavor for Johnson-Reyes. Not only because she would come to learn more about herself and her family, but reflecting on stories and memories that she remembered from her own perspective pushed her to gain her mother’s perspective of those same memories and moments, which in turn, as she admits, led to plenty of necessary and healing conversations.
The words found within the pages of this once dusty old word document detail the peaks and valleys of the roads that Johnson-Reyes has traveled, and tell the story of the life she has lived. However, she’s hoping that her stories and experiences can offer more than entertainment, and help others dig deep for their own potential and work towards living out their own dreams and goals.
“My hope is that people walk away from this book not only connecting and relating to me through my stories, but that my story might help unlock something in their life,” says Johnson-Reyes. “Whether that be something that allows them to pursue their dreams, or healing in a relationship, my hope is that after reading my book, it’s almost like a key for every reader that helps them unlock something within themselves.”