In an industry obsessed with perfection, prestige, and polished résumés, Fish & Scripts is where Black excellence is celebrated, but Black humanity comes first.

The informal weekly gathering is exactly what it sounds like: scripts get read aloud, food feeds the soul, and creatives get to simply exist. No hierarchy. No gatekeeping. No pressure to put “Black Excellence” on display. Instead, co-founders Jazmin Jenay Johnson and Johnathon L. Jackson have built a space where being Black in Progress is celebrated just as much as any award-winning achievement.

Held in their shared home, the series has quickly become a sanctuary for Black creatives in Los Angeles to find community, eat well, and create for art’s sake. Over blankets and donated floor cushions, attendees can share their work, their frustrations, and their laughter, all without worrying about status. Fish & Scripts is the safe, soulful space where Black artistry thrives without industry pressure.

Shadow and Act’s Starr Ridley sat down with Jazmin and John to talk about how their creative paths intertwined, why they started Fish & Scripts, and what it means to build your own table when the industry won’t save you a seat.

Building Fish & Scripts

First, I’d love to get a little background on how this duo was formed. Can you tell me a bit about your creative paths separately and how they intertwined?

Jazmin Jenay: I came out here in 2021 after graduating during the pandemic, no ceremony, nothing. So I decided to celebrate myself and move to California. Within a week, I got hired on Euphoria. Over time, I built myself up as a photographer, filmmaker, and director, and even started a brand called Blkflmmkr.

Eventually, I interviewed to be Mara Brock Akil’s assistant. She looked at my work and basically said, “You’re too talented to be my assistant. I’m going to create a role for you.” That became “In-House Storyteller,” and that’s where I met John.

Johnathon: I’ve been an artist my whole life. My mom named me after Jonathan from New Kids on the Block, so music was always around me. I started in theater, but realized my real gift was writing. When I came to L.A., I started working with Mara Brock Akil’s Writers’ Colony. And once they put Jazmin and me in the same office, the connection was instant.

How did Fish & Scripts come to life? What was that moment that made you say, “We need this space for Black creatives”?

Johnathon: We went to an event that was supposed to be for Black creatives, but it was pretentious, self-serving, more about celebrity than community. It made us ask, Where can we go and be our full selves? Where can we listen to Project Pat and still be recognized as brilliant?

The industry focuses so much on “Black Excellence” that it forgets the people still on their way there. Every single one of us has value, not just the folks with Oscars. We were tired of stale, stuffy events, so we decided to build something different.

Jazmin Jenay: As a photographer, I loved looking back at archived photos of icons coming up and hustling together. Those images made me realize we can have those experiences. After the strikes and everything else in L.A., I got tired of sitting around and waiting for the next opportunity or someone to say yes to me. And that led us here.

What role does food, especially a fish fry, play in the atmosphere and purpose of the event?

Jazmin Jenay: I’m from Florida. I don’t barbecue, but I love a fish fry. And honestly, at first, we didn’t have a budget. We couldn’t rent a venue or cater. So people came to our house, took their shoes off, and sat on blankets or donated pillows. It leveled the playing field. No matter who you were, you sat on the floor like everyone else.

Johnathon: I’m from Cleveland, a northern city with deep southern roots, so fish is in my DNA too. There’s also a spiritual meaning for us. In the Bible, Jesus fed 5,000 people with two fish and five loaves. He made enough with what he had, and we wanted to do the same.

Sometimes our friends tell us that Fish & Scripts was their first meal of the day. That matters to us. We feed people physically and creatively.

Creating a Safe Space for Black Artistry

Can you tell me a little bit more about how Fish & Scripts pushes back against the pressure of traditional industry settings?

Johnathon: It’s community over celebrity, art for art’s sake, presence over pockets. You might see a producer from Empire sitting on the floor next to a brand-new screenwriter. Everyone’s equal.

Jazmin Jenay: It feels like home, wherever “home” was for you. We laugh, we share, we listen. It’s not about networking in the transactional sense, it’s about connecting.

What do you hope people carry with them after a night at Fish & Scripts?

Johnathon: That they belong. That their art matters even if it’s not “perfect.” That they have a place where they don’t have to perform to be valued.

Jazmin Jenay: That they’re seen, fed, and inspired to keep creating, on their own terms.

How do you envision Fish & Scripts growing over the next few years, or do you want it to stay intentionally small and intimate?

Jazmin Jenay: There is power in both. I think right now, intimacy brings the humbling factor, it brings the family factor. I do think, when you start to monopolize something too quick or for the wrong reasons, it loses its essence or its sauce.

Johnathon: We do have a lot of plans and visions for Fish & Scripts. We definitely want to do more cities. We want to do pop-ups. But I think it’s important that whatever city it’s in, it has to be birthed out of a specific need in that city. Every city doesn’t have the same needs. The sauce will be the same, the ingredients may be a little different. The sauce of Fish & Scripts is intimate. It’s invite-only, and we’re going to keep it at a certain capacity. Because if it’s too big, community can’t really exist. And now we’re losing intimacy for the sake of space, and we don’t want to do that. If we lose the intimacy, we lose the moment.

If you could invite any filmmaker, writer, or actor, dead or alive, to attend a Fish & Scripts night, who would it be and why?

Jazmin Jenay: Eddie Murphy. Eddie Murphy. Eddie Murphy. My favorite film is Harlem Nights. All my comfort films are Eddie Murphy films. And Khadijah James—I love Queen Latifah. Having those two make an appearance would be incredible.

Johnathon: I second Eddie Murphy, just because I think people don’t understand how much Eddie changed the world of acting. Beverly Hills Cop changed everything. Eddie Murphy is a comedy genius. He is the type of dude where in every room he walks in, even just chilling, he might be the funniest guy. He’s a great storyteller. Secondly, I would love to have Glenn Turman. I just think Glenn Turman has been doing so much for so long, he’s such a wealth of knowledge. And Barry Jenkins—no need to explain.

Fish & Scripts is more than a gathering. It’s a living reminder that art doesn’t have to be polished to be powerful, and community doesn’t need a budget to be beautiful.

If you’re wondering how you can support or be a part of the community, make sure to follow Fish & Scripts on Instagram and donate.