Keisha Zollar


Keisha Zollar is an American writer, comedian, and actress. She is a founding member of Upright Citizen Brigade Theatre's first all-black team Astronomy Club and is co-head writer for. Zollar was on the writing staff of Busy Tonight, and The Opposition with Jordan Klepper.

Career

Zollar began performing improv comedy in college. After receiving her MFA in acting from The New School, she started taking classes at UCB in New York. She names Lucille Ball, Moms Mabley, and Whoopi Goldberg as her comedic inspirations.
In 2013, Zollar and several other Black performers at UCB in Los Angeles formed the Astronomy Club. The group is known as the theater's first all-Black house team. In 2019, Netflix ordered a centered around the Astronomy Club, produced by Kenya Barris. The show premiered on December 6, 2019. Zollar and team member Jonathan Braylock are the show's co-head writers.
She acted in a supporting role as Grace on the HBO series Divorce and has also acted in Orange is the New Black and Human Kind Of. She was a staff writer for The Opposition with Jordan Klepper and Busy Tonight.

Diversity work

Zollar's weaves the topic of race into her work. She used Kickstarter to fund and host a panel discussion called "An Uncomfortable Conversation About Race." She and her husband, Andrew Kimler, hosted an improv show about their interracial marriage. They also co-host a podcast, Applying it Liberally, where they discuss their political beliefs.
Zollar was hired as diversity coordinator at UCB in New York in 2010 and held the position for four years. The position was unpaid and included the cost of two classes every six months. She has spoken about systemic reasons for the lack of non-white performers in improv comedy. She briefly left the theater before returning, citing isolation as one of the few women of color performers. Zollar has spoken about issues related to the recruitment and retention of non-white performers at UCB and in mainstream comedy.

Personal life

Zollar is married to Andrew Kimler.