Latest / Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps / Writing for 'SNL' with Sam Jay

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Writing for 'SNL' with Sam Jay · Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps

• 0:00
  Get a humans, it's the world's biggest comedy festival, the Melbourne International
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  Comedy Festival.
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  As you may know by now, I popped down to Melbourne to undertake a 10-hour live streamed
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  sub-stack video marathon with five incredible comedians.
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  In today's fifth and final thrilling installment of the Uncomfortable Conversations comedy
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  Extradaganza, Sam Jay is an Emmy-nominated comedian for a writer on Saturday Night Live.
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  She walked away from becoming an SNL cast member in order to host her own HBO talk show
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  about uncomfortable conversations of all things.
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  So it was called Paws with Sam Jay.
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  She has a Netflix stand-up special, she has an HBO stand-up special, and her latest stand-up
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  show is called We The People, nominated for the best comedy show at the Edinburgh Comedy
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  Awards last year.
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  We wrestle with her gayness, her blackness, her americanness, her creativeness, her differentness,
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  and her saneness.
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  This is the final installment of the Uncomfortable Conversations Melbourne Comedy Festival
• 1:08
  Extradaganza, and it is pay-walled halfway through.
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  It's work listening to up until that point, if you are a freebie.
• 1:17
  Even more worth bothering to subscribe, especially if you subscribe on sub-sack where you become
• 1:23
  part of that community.
• 1:24
  If you get emails and you can leave feedback and you get live streams, rather than subscribing
• 1:29
  on Apple Podcasts where Apple just takes a significant chunk of the money and gives
• 1:34
  you nothing except for the episode itself.
• 1:36
  Either way, every cent that we get goes directly into funding experiments like this uncomfortable
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  conversations, Melbourne Comedy Festival series.
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  If you haven't heard the previous four episodes, you should go back and listen to them.
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  Although they are free to everyone, they would not exist if it weren't for our paid subscribers
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  who fund these sorts of experiments.
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  So I totally understand if you've been meaning to subscribe, you just haven't gotten
• 2:01
  around to it.
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  I get it.
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  I do the same thing, but just know that if a few dozen people had also done that or what
• 2:09
  you did, then this whole series wouldn't have happened.
• 2:13
  And if you and just a few other people decide to subscribe today, then we have the ability
• 2:18
  to put the next version of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in comfortable conversations
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  marathon each raveganza into the calendar right now.
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  And you also avoid me having to resort to doing ads telling you to buy a crypto or gold.
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  But for now, Sanjay is an amazing mind, a rock starter over human being, an incredible
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  comment.
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  You want me early, Sanjay.
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  You were just admiring my afternoon tea.
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  I was.
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  I was.
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  We've had, if people listen to the podcast, we've spoken to Hussie this morning, we've spoken
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  to Zaynab Johnson, we've spoken to Zaynab, Zaynab was here, we've spoken to Steve Vizad,
• 3:02
  who you wouldn't know, but he's like a Johnny Carson.
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  Back in the day, 1990s, late night talk show host, and Tom Ballard's coming up, who was
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  this sort of a, what would be Equivalent P, he hosted like a, he's young, he's one of
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  these annoyingly young people, like who excelled, like had a tonight show that was a bit
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  sort of John O'Lovery.
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  Okay.
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  Mm.
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  Mm.
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  But more importantly, the chunky kid cap, this is the news of the day.
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  This is going to be like ASMR, isn't it?
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  Yeah, yeah.
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  I'm excited.
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  The damn thing.
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  You're going to, you're going to just bite right into it.
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  I'm going to, I'm going to, and I'm going to offer me a piece first, which is very
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  beautiful.
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  I haven't even started it.
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  I wait, wait, wait.
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  Wait.
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  Ega Biva.
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  It comes in three parts.
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  Oh, wow.
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  Look at this.
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  That's one for you.
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  You can break it.
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  You can break it because you know a regular kid cat is a, is length ways, right?
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  Yeah.
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  You've seen a kid cat.
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  Yeah.
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  I know what a kid cat is.
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  Yeah.
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  I know what a kid cat is.
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  Like it says, okay, it might be a little bit too much kit for my cat.
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  No.
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  It might be a little, just great.
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  There's less cat.
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  I think there's more chocolate.
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  I think the chocolate is, what part is the kit, the kit is the, I thought the kit would
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  be the wafer.
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  Why?
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  Okay.
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  Okay.
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  That's me.
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  Send me the kit cat child.
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  What am I?
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  Nestle, exactly.
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  I don't like the amount of chocolate.
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  All right.
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  It's good for the three o'clock afternoon slump.
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  I really should have asked you my first question.
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  Then you'd be talking while you're eating instead of me talking while I'm eating.
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  You don't care for it.
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  No.
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  I like it.
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  Put it down.
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  Thanks.
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  I feel like a little kid.
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  I didn't know who to put it.
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  Yeah.
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  Well, thank you.
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  You just need to like shove it.
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  Hide it on the sun.
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  So it looks like you actually ate it.
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  Can I eat that?
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  Or are you going to do you have some horrible disease?
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  I'm going to get it.
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  I don't.
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  I don't.
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  But if I do have one that I don't know about, we will find out after you eat it.
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  Even if you have one that you do know about, I'll find out.
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  Yeah.
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  After I eat it.
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  After the incubation stage.
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  How you doing?
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  How you enjoying the, I enjoy this fun country event.
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  I'm having a good time.
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  I wander a lot.
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  I pick a direction.
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  I walk in it for hours.
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  I discover stuff.
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  Good.
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  I ate a good sandwich today from Hector's, a chicken sandwich.
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  Okay.
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  I enjoyed that.
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  You know what's up?
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  It's been pretty chill.
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  You know what Zaina was saying.
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  She was saying she went to a wildlife sanctuary and learned all about kangaroo pupae.
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  Like whatever you call a baby, what is a little baby kangaroo?
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  I don't know.
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  You know what they look like when they born?
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  No.
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  A tiny pink worm.
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  Bold.
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  Oh, really?
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  That's the belly.
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  And then they just stay in there today, kind of laying the pouch.
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  She was schooling me.
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  Oh, wow.
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  So if you're not going to bring that kind of zoological information, I don't have it.
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  I don't have it.
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  Then you get out of the studio right now as far as I'm concerned.
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  Well, what are we doing here?
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  Somebody told me that the kangaroos come out in the dawn?
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  Yes, and dusk.
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  They're like, dear.
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  That's what someone said.
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  Because like, but like in the city, they don't come out in the city, do they?
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  Not really.
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  No.
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  Okay.
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  No, not really.
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  That's what I didn't think.
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  I was like, I don't think they're like hanging out in the trash, like rats and stuff.
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  No, no, no, no.
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  That person is either fucking with you or they were just you misunderstanding that they
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  were talking about the countryside.
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  Look at the face of a kangaroo.
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  You will see the face of a deer, right?
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  A little bit.
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  A little bit.
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  A little bit.
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  A little bit.
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  A little bit.
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  A little bit.
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  A little bit.
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  A little bit.
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  A little bit.
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  A little bit.
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  A little bit.
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  A little bit.
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  A little bit.
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  A little bit.
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  So who are they talking about?
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  Let's try it on.
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  They just.
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  Look at you talking to you right now.
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  They just cause they're all strolling back!
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  They're Australian, that's why they pop.
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  Talking about, we wrestle crocodile.
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  Sam!
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  Jesus Christ.
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  You started standing up pretty light, right?
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  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
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  That's almost thirty.
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  I was 29, yeah.
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  That's almost thirty.
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  It is almost thirty.
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah, mm-hmm what you're doing with your life hanging out in Boston and hanging out in Boston and keeping it
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  My partner's from real my partner says he's from Boston. He's my say partner. He's my husband
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  But he says he's from Boston. He's from New Hampshire. He's not from Boston
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  Everyone from New Hampshire claims to be from the Boston area
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  What else are you gonna do? Say you're from New Hampshire? Exactly. That don't want to admit it
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  They don't want to get from the woods. No exactly. I have a joke right now about the woods of New Hampshire
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  Yeah, really? Yeah, they don't want to admit they're from out there
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  I get it also there's nothing to really have allegiance to out there like they're they've got to be with our basketball team
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  Yeah, yeah, well, it's all about the Patriots actually. Yeah, and Patriots, which is still like our team
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  He says in New England. It's still like our team. Yeah, so I think I just you know by I would say I was from Boston
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  If I was from New Hampshire. I mean basically anything up you could be you could keep going west until you hit Chicago
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  And you would still be in Boston
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  As far as in terms of like it's claiming to have allegiance to a city
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  Right, it's like the geographical footprint of what Boston covers according to people who don't live in Boston
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  But claim to yeah, yeah, it is a thousand miles
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  Yeah, I mean, I think especially for white people because white people have a lot of like roots in Boston
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  Yeah, I always like they're always like three degrees of separation from Boston
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  Yeah, like every white person I meet there like somebody you know somebody or they are directly but like there's always not that much
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  Before they're like yeah, I'm connected to law. Yeah, my father and I was always talking about Dorchester
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  Dorchester you're from Dorchester. I am from Dorchester
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  So what's that like when you're when you're growing up?
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  What do you want to do with your life?
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  What are you interested in like how do you end up?
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  I don't know man. I think I didn't really I don't know
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  I wasn't really like a kid who had like much direction. That's why I started at 29. I was just kind of like I
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  Know I didn't want to do regular shit. That's all I knew. Yeah, it's like I
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  Didn't want to have like a regular nine to five and that stuff really felt like it fit me
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  But I didn't feel particularly creative either
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  I couldn't draw, you know the things I thought we'd get you out of a nine to five. I wasn't good at like I was like
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  I couldn't I wasn't an artist. I couldn't draw. I couldn't paint. I couldn't sing. I couldn't rap
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  I'm very awkward. I can't dance very well like I could keep a beat
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  But like if we if it gets too technical like leave me out of it
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  I was super clumsy as a kid. So just like growing out of that awkwardness
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  So I didn't have much coordination, you know, I'm not athletic. I'm waiting on all what. Yeah, not athletic
• 9:49
  Sounds like you could have been a podcaster
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  So I that's where my head was like maybe I'll end up in the radio
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  Something like that
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  But I really didn't know I just knew like the things I was doing didn't feel like they fit. Yeah, right
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  Yeah, and so and why comedy then how does that come into your head? I always have been a fan of comedy and always been like super
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  Into comedy in like sitcoms and television writing all the kind of stuff just by default like I just kind of took to it and liked it
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  You know, so I would just know comics and I always watched comedy central and I would just know stuff about comedy
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  Just kind of as second nature. Yes, it wasn't even like I went off and studied it or when they I did a deep dive
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  It just was always kind of around and I was always kind of knowledgeable about it
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  But as a viewer, you know and as a as a fan of it and I always wanted to do it
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  But I just kind of didn't really understand how to do it like how to start how to get into it like
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  What to do and I also didn't know if I was funny in the way that you needed to be funny to do
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  Comedy I know I was
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  Observe it and I was like witty and my family would say like I was a smart ass, you know in an asshole
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  but I didn't know like
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  How that translated into like joke writing yet. I didn't really have a sense of that
• 11:18
  But I know I like to write but I was writing like poetry and like stuff that would have me be poor forever like
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  poems and I just you know
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  poor people things and
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  I was like, well, maybe that said like maybe I'll just write books and like become some type of author but also very very
• 11:36
  Bad at grammar, so like let's keep that in mind as I'm having all these like aspirations
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  And this is before like you didn't need to know how to write to write, you know? Right. Yeah. Yeah
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  I mean poetry can cover up a lot of bad grammar as well. Yeah, you put it in a new line there. Yeah, yeah, yeah, this is the pentameter
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  Yeah, yeah, but I'm pretty sure
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  I was then and I am dyslexic and so I was kind of struggled with like
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  Center's sentence structure and like things like that. We're always like a struggle for me
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  So I really just didn't know where I was gonna land, you know, and then I kind of just
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  Was like you've always wanted to do this thing
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  um
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  Variant diversion because I've told the story before but you know, I tried it at like 21 through some a family
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  Member who was a stand-up comedian. He was married into my family and then it was not good
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  And I was like, oh, okay, I didn't think that's what that was supposed to feel like and then I got sick and I was like
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  Hospitalized and I got diagnosed with lupus and then I kind of just got do railed and I was dealing with a lot of family issues
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  Because my mom had passed away and so I moved out of Boston. I moved to Atlanta and I was just off doing whatever
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  Honestly, just partying a lot and drinking a lot and burying feelings a lot and floating around and just
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  Really ungrounded for a while and then I was like hitting 28 and I was like you got to start to figure some stuff out
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  You know, and then I got sick again
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  And I needed to go home to get the care that I needed and I had to go stay with like a family member my grandma
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  For a little while and just get back on my feet
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  And I was home and I think you know, I kind of was already like I need to do something
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  But also being home. I just kind of seeing everybody doing the same thing that they were doing when I left and kind of just
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  Stuck in the rut that is Boston. I kind of was like, oh this cannot be my life, you know like
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  I've got to do something and so I was like, okay, I'm just gonna try it and you know
• 13:25
  Let's just see what happens type of thing. How do you get from there to auditioning for long Michaels?
• 13:31
  Um, honestly just happens there. It's a lot of my life is just like
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  Random what it really is. It's it's who's isn't
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  It's very annoying to people who try really hard, but I
• 13:44
  I
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  I try really hard at standup and me working really really hard at being a good standup
• 13:50
  I should say open up all these other doors that were kind of very unexpected
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  So I was at JFL. I'm not sure all I had done new faces and I did really well at new faces that year and
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  And there was some SNL
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  People out there and they were like hey, yeah, like the producers and stuff
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  Yeah, and they were like, oh, we'd like to see her audition in LA and I was like
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  Immediately I'm always kind of shooting myself in the foot or trying to like
• 14:18
  Because I'm trying to manage disappointment. I'm always like you know trying to like
• 14:23
  Put stuff out there that they're not even asking, but I was like I don't do characters and like I'm not an improv person
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  So like I honestly don't know what they want to see me do and I was like I'm not gonna go up there and pretend like I do characters
• 14:33
  You can't tell me I'm no good. I already know that I'm worse than you think I am
• 14:37
  Pretty much pretty much and I was like so I don't even know why they want me because I'm not gonna start
• 14:41
  Trying to do characters for these people because then that's gonna just fall all apart
• 14:46
  And they were like no, we want you to just do standup and I was like oh, okay
• 14:51
  And so I didn't know that was even an option
• 14:54
  So I was like all right
• 14:56
  So I went up to this audition that had I don't know like 25 people on it and it was like back to back to back
• 15:01
  And you had like three minutes and I did this is in LA in LA you go out to LA and they
• 15:06
  And I think it was at iOS theater and is there an audience?
• 15:09
  I don't recall but I think there was a small audience. I think it was a small audience
• 15:14
  Um, that's also weird if they're auditioning stand-up
• 15:17
  There was an audience, but it wasn't like a real audience. It was like an audition audience
• 15:21
  Um, and I did like three minutes, but I probably did like four because I've never I've never kept it my time in the history of me doing
• 15:28
  Club owners love that so I probably did four or four and a half
• 15:32
  um
• 15:33
  And then I was like all right, and I was just really didn't think anything of it. I was just like all right
• 15:38
  Whatever I wasn't like I'm gonna get this whatever I you know, it was still very like
• 15:44
  Who cares? We'll see you know, and then I got a call and they're like hey, we want you to come to New York in audition
• 15:51
  In studio and this was for cast and I was like oh, okay like cool um, and then
• 15:59
  What do you mean okay cool? This is the thing that every young comedy performer in the United States wants
• 16:06
  That audition for Saturday night live
• 16:09
  Well, it's like what else it makes well because I wasn't it because I wasn't an improv kid
• 16:14
  And I just wasn't thinking about it. You know, it just wasn't on my right at that time
• 16:20
  I was in LA and things were going really well for me in LA
• 16:22
  And I was taking all these meetings with people like if you have a show
• 16:24
  We want to see it, and I was writing something that I was putting it in take out and pitch and like
• 16:29
  I just kind of like that was my trajectory
• 16:31
  I felt like I just kind of had my own little unique style
• 16:34
  I didn't I didn't see where I fit in the SNL universe to be quite honest
• 16:38
  And did you think that maybe it fit better if you got yourself a sitcom or something?
• 16:42
  I just I just thought that like I'm better off writing and doing my own thing right
• 16:48
  Than like trying to fit into someone else's thing. I'm too weird for that credit. I'm too weird
• 16:52
  Yeah, whatever I got going on. It's like only I could curate it, you know, yeah
• 16:58
  Um, and I definitely didn't do improv and I was like
• 17:01
  And I also was under confident. Let me be very honest. I mean, I was truly under confident in my ability to
• 17:10
  Do act for real like do something in front of the camera that I wasn't the commenter of yes, you know
• 17:16
  Yeah, yeah, so it's a weird combination of sounds like under confidence and also hubris
• 17:22
  It's like only I can be the creator of my brilliant creative universe and at the same time
• 17:28
  I'm not good enough to do the nice thing stuff. Yeah, I don't know with I like I have no
• 17:32
  Handle on that, you know
• 17:34
  Uh, and apparently I was right because they offered me a writing job so I
• 17:39
  I know myself it's a pretty good runner-up price. I know myself pretty well
• 17:44
  But uh, yeah, so like I auditioned and then I got
• 17:48
  Were you auditioning for long at this day? Yeah, it was like Lauren
• 17:50
  I think Colin was in the room at the time. Kenward was there and Higgins was there
• 17:57
  From what I remember um, and were you insane?
• 17:59
  And I think Doyle was there or
• 18:01
  Well at first I was down there and it was very nerve-wracking because it was like everybody
• 18:06
  They just like put us in the the drink drink what I learned whether the dressing rooms
• 18:11
  Oh for cast and they had separated all of us and you could hear people like going over the characters through the walls
• 18:16
  It was just a nerve-wracking more deal. And what were you doing?
• 18:19
  Yeah, the audition like stand up again. I was just a stand-up stand-up. No character's not or anything
• 18:24
  You know trying to do anything. I wasn't even because I was like I don't want to sell a character to them
• 18:28
  And then they're like she's fucking the character bitch
• 18:32
  And then I'm like I'm not no and I don't really know what the fuck I'm doing
• 18:35
  You know, so I was like I need to just stick to what I know because if I get this I need to get this as me
• 18:39
  Yes, so that I'm not well that's wise and a wild position. Yeah after the fact, you know
• 18:44
  um
• 18:45
  And it was very nerve-wracking and I was like this is not good for my psyche
• 18:49
  You know what I mean like this is starting
• 18:51
  Where on me because you're hearing people audition through the walls. You're just feeling the nerves
• 18:54
  Yeah, you know, yeah, and so I asked one of the pages. I was like oh
• 19:00
  When am I going up? Well one of the producers I should say
• 19:04
  And I was like when am I going up and they were like yeah, it's like six people before you and I was like
• 19:07
  Hey, here's my number. Can you like text me when it's like one person before me and I'll come back and I left
• 19:13
  And I went and I walked around 30 rock a little bit and then I went to this bar that was underneath 30 rock and I was drinking like
• 19:20
  Probably some form of tequila at the time and there was an older
• 19:25
  Black two black ladies and they were sitting next to me and they were older and they were like
• 19:29
  Yo, what are you doing in New York that I was like I'm auditioning for a scenario that I'm like
• 19:33
  Oh my god, like that's so beautiful and they just like took gave me shots and we took shots together
• 19:39
  And they like they like kind of many like prayed over me
• 19:42
  They kind of many like blessed me up and was like you gonna get it and we behind you
• 19:47
  You know, I mean give me good vibes. Give me good good auntie
• 19:51
  grandma vibes and then I went up and I auditioned and then a week later
• 19:56
  I got a call and they was like hey
• 19:58
  Would you like to write for SNL like we really liked you and we like your stuff and we don't
• 20:03
  Think your ugly integral test to be on camera. We just think that you need to kind of grow in this space first
• 20:08
  But we do see potential for you to be on camera
• 20:10
  So don't feel like a complete loser and I was like, okay
• 20:13
  Great
• 20:14
  Do you think the uh the drinks and the blessing of the
• 20:17
  Yeah, for sure. I think just doing what I would normally do before a set
• 20:21
  Health and not like sitting in that environment that wasn't conducive with how I do comedy with yes
• 20:27
  Yes, yeah, so I think just making the decision for myself
• 20:31
  To do what was best for me in the moment was important
• 20:35
  It's interesting isn't that how
• 20:37
  Corrosive it can be people's nerves before an audition like that when they're taking it too serious
• 20:42
  Yeah, all that energy it could it can get on you and then you're like bugging out and you don't even know why you're bugging out
• 20:47
  Yeah
• 20:48
  There's a kind of a big swinging dick energy going into auditions that I was always envious of that
• 20:54
  I'm an actor once told me that
• 20:56
  Like you should go into an audition remembering that you're not the one who has the problem
• 21:00
  It's the people who are auditioning you who have the problem in the sense that they want a new cast member
• 21:04
  And they don't haven't found the best person yet like you already don't have the job
• 21:10
  It's not an issue. It's like you don't have the job. You don't have to worry about it. It's not yours to solve
• 21:14
  It's all for doing it. You know, yeah, don't stress about it
• 21:17
  Don't like make a big deal laugh at just like go in and solve
• 21:22
  They're not there to judge you they want you to succeed go in and solve their problem for them and give them
• 21:27
  The best version of you and then that you know, it's helpful to that you're actually doing them a favor by not being taking it too seriously
• 21:33
  I'm gonna carry that with me good. I like it
• 21:35
  Um, and so there and then was there a point so talk talk to me about the beginning
• 21:40
  I'm just interested in what it's like to suddenly be honest and I'll for the first time
• 21:44
  I mean once you're not on the air but I mean to be right
• 21:47
  The first show it's like
• 21:50
  Your fake cry is it is fooling nobody the no
• 21:53
  I mean it's a huge thing to be in the like what's the first? Do you get to pitch a sketch initially?
• 21:59
  Do you get given an idea for a sketch initially?
• 22:02
  No, you can just kind of thrown in they don't give you much, you know, you just kind of
• 22:06
  You get there they're like there's always like you know meet up before you meet like other writers and all that kind of stuff
• 22:12
  You meet cast and then um
• 22:15
  You like a very casual meet up like Colin and Che at the time when I was there they were kind of the the guys that were like
• 22:23
  heading the writers and like bringing the writers in to make us feel like family
• 22:27
  So they would they threw this like meet up and we all went and like just hung out, you know and just chilled and um
• 22:35
  How many people are there? How many riders are there?
• 22:38
  15 16 or something like that and then you know you get shown your office
• 22:44
  and
• 22:46
  And they're like hey writers night is Tuesday night with a night, you know, we bring stuff to table
• 22:51
  You know expect you know on average it's like four four to five sketches or something like that
• 22:57
  Something like that. It's not too many because they don't want to get super overwhelmed
• 23:00
  So I think you're living somewhere in the three to four or five range and they're expecting a
• 23:05
  Written sketch or they're expecting a pitch. No, those you just got to have those things written
• 23:09
  They're actually right. I mean it means you got to write those things. You got to write them up. Right
• 23:14
  So Tuesday night is the night we write them up
• 23:18
  Wednesday night is the day we read them we read them Wednesday they pick them
• 23:22
  Wednesday and then Thursday we go into the production, you know, and so
• 23:26
  That's that's it. I just wrote really bad sketches
• 23:31
  for a long time
• 23:33
  I'm just watched everybody
• 23:35
  When around me and I just sat there feeling bad about myself for a good, I don't know
• 23:41
  five months until I
• 23:43
  Got something that did decent and it still didn't get picked but it I didn't feel like I was a big loser
• 23:49
  And then got a couple more things that were decent and then I think I got one thing
• 23:54
  That went to dress my first season or like
• 23:58
  Maybe two
• 24:01
  Nothing on the air in the first season. I got something on there with two other people
• 24:06
  Yeah, one thing I think
• 24:08
  Amazing, isn't it the sheer chance
• 24:11
  I mean the volume of stuff that they're dealing with the amount of resources that go into it like that
• 24:17
  Do you remember the first sketch that made it to air that was just yours?
• 24:20
  Oh
• 24:21
  I've never written an independent sketch as now. I would say
• 24:25
  The first sketch that went to air that I was a co I used to co-write most of my sketches with
• 24:32
  My homie Gary Richardson. We were right our stuff together all the time
• 24:35
  On we became really close and we just uh, we're a movie
• 24:38
  Together vest with a Jonah Hills company um, but uh
• 24:44
  The first thing I wrote that I was like this is like feels like me, you know, like this is my voice and like
• 24:51
  It wasn't me trying to fit the show
• 24:53
  But me actually figuring out how I fit into the show
• 24:58
  uh
• 25:00
  I have been I wrote a sketch with Brian Tucker and it was Adam driver
• 25:06
  And he was
• 25:07
  With a white nationalist group here. It was a part of a white nationalist group
• 25:11
  And they kept saying that they needed a great white nation where they could like do all this stuff
• 25:16
  And he kept saying like we could just go to Vermont and everything they were listing
• 25:20
  He was like you can just do all of this is in Vermont. I promise you we can just go to Vermont and we'd have all of these things
• 25:28
  Um
• 25:30
  And that was probably like the first one where I was like yeah that feels
• 25:34
  Like my voice and like my stuff is in it um
• 25:40
  And then I started a lot of just really silly stuff
• 25:43
  I found that my sketch voice was actually quite silly and just
• 25:48
  To the way out in
• 25:51
  La la land
• 25:52
  I thought I was there to like because I do a lot of like I guess like
• 25:56
  Heady comedy so I thought I was there to like be like this political voice of
• 26:00
  And it was not working out and I was like I don't know why this isn't working
• 26:04
  And like middle of the second season
• 26:06
  I just started to really write things with Gary that like made me laugh genuinely
• 26:11
  And wasn't overthinking it and then and and I became like
• 26:15
  A person who would kill that table, but it would get to dress and get chopped the fuck down
• 26:19
  But at that table where yeah, yeah, oh it was sing and then we'd get it to dress and it was like
• 26:24
  We can't do this
• 26:26
  Fine I won at the table. I feel like I really felt good about winning at the table weirdly
• 26:31
  I was like if I won at the table like kind of one. Yeah, you know
• 26:34
  That mean like if you can get that room to like erupt
• 26:37
  And there was a good I had a good streak going for like
• 26:41
  Five months where was like every time I was like something was hitting that table. It was going crazy
• 26:45
  Um
• 26:46
  But a lot of myself was just super absurd. I mean I wrote this thing for Adam
• 26:50
  Sandler where he was like
• 26:53
  sniffing
• 26:54
  Ladies seats when they got up to go to the bathroom at work
• 26:58
  And he got confronted and he was like I don't understand what the problem is because they're already gone like I'm not doing anything
• 27:05
  And then it just it took a very wild turn into him and he had made merkins for animals and
• 27:10
  The boss loved the idea so much that he absolved him of this
• 27:14
  Seat sniffing situation. It was very stupid
• 27:17
  These sound like the ones that either get cut in dress or end up on the very end of the show when they might go on yeah
• 27:23
  That's the last sketch. Absolutely. We have time for it. We can get to this
• 27:28
  Sure, we will do it
• 27:29
  I mean it sounds like the problem that you are articulating at the beginning of not knowing exactly what your comic voice was or how it would fit into
• 27:36
  Like comedy was one that you were still resolving on the show there like you know
• 27:41
  How do you actually do the crazy shit that is in your head without feeling like you're supposed to be doing something that somebody else is expecting you
• 27:48
  Yeah, especially because I had never written sketch
• 27:51
  Yeah, so I just didn't know who I was as a sketch writer
• 27:53
  You know, and it just took a it took being comfortable there realizing I like wasn't gonna get fired any second
• 28:00
  And realizing that I was contributing and like gaining confidence through
• 28:04
  Just being a great team player, you know, just just making sure I was trying to help make the show good
• 28:11
  Even if I didn't get a sketch on just pitching on people's things and paying attention to the table and going like
• 28:17
  Hey, I heard that joke. I heard this where I saw this and rehearsal and like did you think about that or like
• 28:23
  Yo
• 28:24
  The dressing on that table. It was off during rehearsal. You might want to go talk to me about that
• 28:28
  Because I know you wanted it like this when we were pitching at the table
• 28:30
  But it doesn't really look like that. It looks like this and just realizing like
• 28:35
  Just because I didn't get a sketch on this and me and I wasn't a part of the team
• 28:37
  Yeah, and I wasn't a part of the show and I wasn't making the show better and then gaining confidence in that space
• 28:43
  Help me gain confidence in the writing space. Hmm interesting. And did you want to perform?
• 28:48
  Um, no
• 28:52
  No, no, no, no
• 28:54
  This wasn't one of those stories where you get to the end of season two and you're like badgering the
• 28:58
  No, I
• 29:01
  But then I got offered my own show at HBO and I just got torn between two things. Yeah, I picked my own show
• 29:09
  um
• 29:10
  But I just I always just I always felt like the cast had to do so much
• 29:15
  Yeah, yeah, so much is on their shoulders, you know, and um
• 29:20
  And as a writer who's really behind it seeing it. I was like uh, but when I did get offered cast
• 29:26
  I was super excited about it because it was I loved being there as much as people talk about how much it was terrible
• 29:32
  It was this I didn't feel that way at all. I really loved being there. I have and had a great relationship with Lauren
• 29:37
  And I was excited to be able to still work with my friends, you know
• 29:42
  I loved everybody who wrote on this show. I had fun
• 29:46
  So I was like, oh now I get to be in a different capacity
• 29:49
  But I get to like be with my friends and work and truly picking my own show was like
• 29:55
  It was like having to grow up a little bit. It was like I was I was really tired, you know
• 30:00
  Because I was like does this mean I don't get to go
• 30:02
  To to work every week and like make fun stuff with my friends, you know, it was a really hard decision
• 30:09
  And that was paused the yeah, like the house party talk show
• 30:13
  Um
• 30:14
  It by the way before we leave yes, I know what what do you make of the new UK version?
• 30:18
  Just so that they've lost it yet
• 30:20
  But I was asking some UK comics and they said that they were surprised at how good it was
• 30:24
  But I haven't watched it. I saw a few clips. It was pretty funny
• 30:27
  Although it's weird that it's exactly the same format. It's like it's even the same
• 30:31
  It's like
• 30:32
  Why is Grand Central Station
• 30:34
  It like from 1985 in London
• 30:38
  Yeah, yeah, yeah, kind of they put a London set and they do it
• 30:42
  But yeah, I mean it seems like it should work
• 30:45
  And so the idea of pause was it should be like a fish and chips
• 30:48
  Yeah, exactly
• 30:50
  You know British they've got
• 30:53
  Constable
• 30:55
  A beef eater
• 30:56
  Buckingham Palace, you know the beef feeders the guards at Buckingham Palace the guys where they hang out at strip
• 31:02
  What the cool people or the beefers the buckingham Palace?
• 31:05
  Oh, is that why they call that gin like beef eaters? Yeah. Oh shit. Yeah beef feeders gin
• 31:10
  It's got a little guy on the front. He does have that guy on the front
• 31:13
  A little blue split suit with his little gold buttons. Yeah, learn something new every day
• 31:18
  And then all they're not supposed to
• 31:20
  Like change their expression or talk to you. Yeah, yeah, I know that part and people try to like make exactly that's right
• 31:25
  And they like we don't do stuff be like yeah
• 31:28
  And they're like we don't do stuff. No, because we're we're watching feeders watching royalty care of
• 31:34
  With the shore no one climbs to her window, but then someone did climb to her window
• 31:39
  You know what it's getting very difficult here because since we are still subjects of the crown
• 31:44
  Yep, you know that right. Yeah ahead of state is Prince his King Charles. Yeah, yeah, I just did it
• 31:48
  I didn't mean to do it. You guys are all the way over here. I know which is wild. What are we doing y'all all the way on this side
• 31:54
  When I fool in anybody anymore. Yeah
• 31:56
  It's like all the way over here in like they over there and they still like that's us over. Yeah
• 32:03
  What did we do they get off?
• 32:04
  But y'all kind of all look the same so hey racist
• 32:08
  I mean look you've seen it for the Australian flag
• 32:11
  It's like part of the British flag right got the British flag in the whole corner of it. Yeah, mm-hmm
• 32:16
  Like we're still y'all got a fight for your rights. I'm gonna fight for all right
• 32:19
  What would you what would you make the flag if you're making the brand new Australian flag?
• 32:23
  What's it? What's it look like? I kind of liked I used to like
• 32:27
  I was very when I was in college I was very into the Australian Republic and which does not mean like Republicans politically
• 32:34
  It means getting rid of the Queen as they head of state having a like a teacher love
• 32:38
  President figurehead person
• 32:40
  And they were thrown around the idea of a southern cross. Do you know the constellation the southern cross
• 32:45
  It's like four stars with a little fifth star in the bottom
• 32:49
  Right armpit. Okay, okay, it's a kind of symbol for Australian
• 32:52
  You're like maybe and maybe like you would have an indigenous
• 32:56
  Like some set over the back of the
• 32:58
  Marsh to like indigenous, but then like with the modernity on it
• 33:02
  But maybe it would just be a southern cross on a blue background, but what's happened in the past?
• 33:06
  Maybe 10 or 20 years is that the southern cross has been
• 33:12
  A little co-opted by what you might call like kind of nationalist
• 33:19
  Types that's a little bit. No, not Nazis or Nazis
• 33:24
  Just the kinds of people who
• 33:26
  Think that they don't soil Australians. They don't like like foreign people here. Not really. They don't like not so many
• 33:33
  Okay, they wouldn't say it exactly like that
• 33:35
  But they feel federal flag, but it's a little bit like okay
• 33:38
  If you saw a pickup truck with like it's difficult in the States because they were US flags everywhere
• 33:43
  But like if there was you know a flag that was just a little bit that made a thing. Yeah, there's all those the redness
• 33:47
  There's the black
• 33:48
  There's a confederate flag and then there's that black flag that we have it's I guess it's supposed to simply like
• 33:53
  Police and whatever I don't know, but it's like a black
• 33:56
  American flag and if you see that on someone's car. Oh, okay, you know like
• 34:00
  They probably don't like black people right right okay, so I like foreign people right like you know
• 34:06
  I mean like you they probably aren't for yeah freedom. Yes, so well like they're you know
• 34:11
  I'm not saying that I just I don't think that anyone who but if you like see someone at the beach who has like a southern cross
• 34:18
  Tattooed like on the back of their neck then they're like you're probably like
• 34:22
  Australia for Australia
• 34:25
  And so that's what that on the flag
• 34:27
  But then if you remove that you can't just have the aboriginal flag because that already means
• 34:31
  Aboriginal so I don't know you're asking me hard questions
• 34:34
  Weve is a kangaroo on a on a surfboard
• 34:40
  If you put it to a vote
• 34:42
  We would probably pick something ridiculous like that a kangaroo on a surfboard because you also like surfing
• 34:48
  We've got kangaroos. Yeah, that kangaroos. Yeah, indigenous sunset. Yep kangaroo on the surfboard. Yep
• 34:55
  Hat yep
• 34:57
  Southern cross upside down because he's like I'm with it, but I'm with it. All right
• 35:02
  It's like a nod to end a little a little baby
• 35:07
  kangaroo fetus
• 35:09
  We're crawling a worm crawling up the belly of the kangaroo
• 35:12
  No crawling out of soil
• 35:15
  Cuz new life and new
• 35:18
  Okay, it seems like it might be a little complicated as it might be a little um noisy
• 35:24
  I think it will look good on like some Olympic attire. Yeah
• 35:28
  Yeah, well then you've got the whole question of the anthem
• 35:31
  Which also is just a bit old-fashioned and funny. Yeah, then you got the whole currency
• 35:36
  You guys you guys do the full reinvention. We do we know a little bit of a you know
• 35:40
  But then other people are like, you know what don't rock the boat
• 35:45
  If I ain't broke don't fix it. Stability
• 35:48
  You know lots of republics fail
• 35:50
  The crown's been around for a long time. The crown's been around for a long time. It's solid solid
• 35:55
  crowd going anywhere. You think about it. The fact that they're still a crown. Yeah
• 35:59
  Says a lot. There's a lot and they have dominion over
• 36:03
  Not just us Canadians New Zealanders. Yeah, VGMs probably they tried they tried to be in over Americans
• 36:09
  But I know you were like well, they did for a while and
• 36:13
  They did you tell you that I've seen Hamilton. I'm fully aware
• 36:17
  Uh, but you know by the word for they were in charge. Yeah, they were in charge
• 36:22
  And then you know you told them to get stuff
• 36:25
  Baby will shoot you and will throw your tea in the exactly we did it a little more
• 36:31
  Sotly in fact, I think it was because you guys were so we got so around you guys had a whole different procedures
• 36:37
  Because we got so round you go so roundy that then after that
• 36:40
  The palette bucking and palace was like we're not gonna go through all that again
• 36:43
  Yeah, let the Australians go yeah, yeah, and we went but then they were like but we'll still stay the head of state
• 36:49
  Yeah, that's fun. That's a good but they were like we're not going to try to control so much exactly
• 36:52
  They learned from us to not try to be all in it
• 36:55
  You know what if we don't got to be all in it. That's right. We don't got to be all in it
• 36:58
  Just a name on piece of paper just let us get some money off that and we'll chill and let you get that anymore
• 37:04
  Don't even get the money. They just get my money. They just get the
• 37:07
  It's just like it's just like here. We did that too. We did that too. You're still ours. We did that too. Yeah
• 37:13
  I don't like that for you. I don't like it. I don't think I think it's ridiculous
• 37:16
  I saw I was talking to a French person who couldn't believe that the the British was there was their animal
• 37:23
  Was there yeah, what they got was the animal
• 37:27
  Badger kangaroo versus a badger and a all-end oppression not even fight. I mean kangaroo wins you guys are free
• 37:36
  Badger when nice you got to stay for another 10 years can I bring us hot water crocodile instead of the kangaroo? No
• 37:44
  Not that fun. No, it's got to be fun. Okay kangaroo fun
• 37:48
  Can I swap and imagine Matt go around? Yeah, but I'm just worried about the but I'm worried about the badger now. I think
• 37:55
  Now I'm worried about because they they can be vicious little fox. That's what I'm saying
• 37:59
  I mean is that a guaranteed win for a kangaroo? No, but I'm what what in what are English animals? I don't even know
• 38:05
  There's such a there's such a gray lacklust. Yeah, they're animals. Yeah, they have a oh
• 38:11
  kangaroo foxes. Oh a fox versus a big red kangaroo. Yeah, there we go. That's a battle for you. There we go. I like it
• 38:20
  Get a human as well if you've listened to this much of the episode then you must enjoy it presumably unless you're just
• 38:26
  releasing from masochistic reasons
• 38:28
  uh so you should listen to the rest of it and the way you do that is by subscribing to the premium feed
• 38:32
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• 38:36
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• 38:46
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• 38:51
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• 38:56
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• 38:59
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• 39:08
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• 39:17
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  i'll see you the next free episode i guess take care