‘LL: What is Room 28? And what’s that name all about?
Jerry: We’re a sketch comedy group that happens to be Latino. Michael, Jaime and I met and decided we had our own idea of what [is] funny and decided to start the group. As for the name in the Dominican Republic there’s an old folk tale of an insane asylum called “Casa 28”. Since we’re based out of New York, and we felt “Apartment 28” was too long, we went with Room 28. And once people began asking what that was, we knew we had a hook.
Jaime: We have a mainstream comedic sensibility. We wanted to create and perform in roles that we normally would not be given, or considered for, in the current comedy landscape.
‘LL: How long have you been together? And what drew you to one another?
Jerry: Jaime, Michael and I have been working on this for about eight years. But we weren’t complete until Rachel and Anthony joined us two years ago.
Jaime: Mike and Jerry were originally in another sketch group together and became instant friends because we shared the same sense of humor and facial hair styles. That led to us forming our own sketch group: Room 28. Everyone that has come into the group since then are talented performers who make us laugh (similar facial hair not mandatory).
Anthony: I met Mike through a mutual friend in 2009 and met everyone else through him. I saw that we shared a love for comedy. We all worked on projects together and then they asked me to join the group not only as a cast member but also as a business partner.
‘LL: Are you guys like Menudo with rotating members?
Jaime: Like Menudo, we love to wear tight shirts with leather pants. As for rotating members, we have a core group of performers who have been here since the beginning with some minor changes in between. We also have a lot of cameos in our shows which allows us to mix it up and showcase some of our talented friends.
Jerry: We also want it to be a breeding ground for people who want to be involved with sketch comedy, performing, whether it be through acting or writing.