The Three Questions with Andy Richter - Melissa Villaseñor

Episode Date: September 15, 2020

Comedian Melissa Villaseñor talks to Andy Richter about discovering her gift for impressions, working on Day of our Lives, and coming up from America’s Got Talent through being cast on Saturday Night Live.

Hi everyone, this is Andy Richter. Lucky for you, it's Andy Richter. Ah, the ego. This is the three questions, and I'm about to pose these three questions to one of the funniest people currently on SNL. I mean, not that anyone is on SNL right now, but she's one of my faves. Melissa Villasenor, hello. Hello, hello, everyone. Hey, Andy.

How are you? I am doing all right, yeah. You are the most regally named person I've had on the isenior isn't that it is regal it's very fancy it's a very fancy it's like the house of mister right isn't it exactly yeah mister's house the big deal yeah do you know where where it comes from like why you know i mean i would like to figure that out actually yeah because it's got to have some why you know i mean no i need to i would like to figure that out actually yeah that's because it's got to have some meaning you know it's you know yeah i'm gonna ask and i'll text you what my yeah yeah or mom's my dad says yeah yeah well hi hello how are you how how

is life for you how is life in isolation well you know it's been all right i feel like i've i'm from la and i'm my place is in la so i and all my family's here so that that's been helpful i really big yeah i'm pretty grateful for that i'm pretty close to them so i go hang out in my parents backyard and um and my dog penny is here she's not i, she's not shown up in the video, but she's downstairs sleeping. Yeah, my dog has to go to daycare when I record podcasts because she barks. Oh, yeah.

Because she knows I'm in here and she can't come in, so then she goes and barks at the front window. Not at me, but just like at people walking by with baby carriages because they're a threat. I guess. They might bring that baby in here. But yeah, so anyway, I'm sorry. Yeah, but you got your dog, you got your family,

and that's nice. Are there family, like do you have elderly family that you haven't been able to actually have physical contact with? Or like when you say you go over to your folks, you just stay in the backyard? Well, I've gone. My grandma, she actually had a birthday party.

It was just a drive-by thing. It was only an hour, but they had actually an ice cream truck, which was cool. But it was more like a slushy thing. was hoping for you know a good chunk of ice cream but it was more of a ice like a snow cone and i kind of was like uh i don't like the nice did it have like soft serve in it too no no it was just straight up more like a it was like more of a snow cone and I was kind of bummed. Are there people that are like lactose intolerant in your family or something?

Yeah, maybe, I guess. I don't know. Yeah, no, I agree. That's, and I can't even really, cause I have developed a, this is, we're getting really into me right off the bat. It's okay. I, I, that's good. I need to hear about you. I have, but in, I have late onset dairy issues, which is just, it's just like someone took away my joy, you know, I mean, no cheese and no ice cream and, you know, and, you know, and lactate kind of helps, and no ice cream. And, you know, and lactate kind of helps,

but not really. It's like, it's just like, do I want, do I want this ice cream cone? Because a little, like an hour of the stomach flu comes with it. That's like,

I don't think I do. But yeah, but I agree. Ice is a, is a jip. Yeah. It's like, I felt like I was in the,

in the snow mountains, just eating snow blocks you know fuck you grandma I'm out I don't care how old you are how dare you Melissa uh is your is your grandma are are your people kind of like formal people are they are they sort of loose? They're pretty loose and funny.

Yeah. Yeah, I think they're, yeah, they're the best. Now, you're from Whittier, right? Yeah, Whittier, California. And that's like kind of east of downtown a little bit? Yeah, yeah, yeah, east. It's like kind of east of downtown a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. East.

It's like a suburb. It is a suburb. And it's kind of like going towards it's right on the cusp of like Orange County. It's right near La Habra. Yeah. It's I love it. Whittier has come a long way. Really good.

Why was it? Was it just boring when you were little? Oh, no, no no i think it's always been fun i just think maybe i like it more and more oh i see and i'm really proud of it because there's a lot of cool movies that have been filmed in uptown whittier oh really it's like there's a the house that they use in hocus pocus oh and uh i think in Father of the Bride, they drove through Uptown. Is it like a pretty old downtown kind of thing? Yeah, it's pretty classic looking.

It's really cute. And yeah, I just like all the small businesses that owners have placed. And were you born there? Was it like your home throughout your whole childhood? It was home throughout my whole childhood, but I was actually born in a hospital in West Covina. Oh, okay. Well, I mean, that doesn't count. West Covina never counts.

Why? I don't know. I just made that up. Is that where my crazy ex-girlfriend was supposed to be? Was it in Covina? Yeah, it was supposed to be Covina, yeah. I love that they made that choice. Me too.

Covina. I thought that was really funny. All the places in LA. Yeah, she's like, I'm going to go to Covina. Are you part of the big family? Do you have a lot? I mean. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Especially my mom's side. I mean, my mom has 48 cousins. So there's. Jesus. It's pretty packed. Is it hard to keep them all straight? Like, do you forget cousins? Sometimes, yeah.

And then there's a lot of nicknames for relatives. Like my mom said, there's like Lola, Lily, Olga, Luli. So they're all kind of blend. Right, right. You should write it all down. Have a little primer that's... Olga Luli so they're all kind of blend right right you gotta keep you should write it all down have like a little primer that's

and then I have a I think I have a I think these are all nicknames but there's a I do have a Thea Thea Cookies but I always thought

well she doesn't have cookies but that's just it I don't know where that nickname came from see there's so much you don't know that you need to ask all these questions i know what's our last name mean why yeah why cookies why cookies why the hell cookies yeah aunt cookies it could be something really filthy you know yeah you're right You don't want to know. Oh.

Now, where are you in birth order? A lot of people are hung up on birth order. Well, I am middle child. Oh, you are? Yeah, my younger brother and sister, they're twins. And then it's me and then my older brother. So that's middle child. I'm the exact same. I'm an older brother and then a younger brother and then my older brother. So that's middle child. I have, I have, I'm the exact same.

I have an older brother and then a younger brother and sister who are twins. Whoa. Yeah. So I kind of, I feel the same way. Like, yeah, numerically I'm not middle, but I am kind of middle. And then it's, what is it? Why do people, middle child, is that connected with being a comedian in some way? Like needing some- Well, people say it's like attention seeking one.

And I know from having kids and seeing people with kids, the second kid, which is, I'm also the second kid. The second kid is a lot more, just doesn't give a shit I'm also the second kid. The second kid is a lot more. Just doesn't give a shit as much as the first kid. The first kid comes out and they're the only little creature in this family. And they tend to be more cautious and more kind of, you know, sort of sit back a little bit and wait for things. And then the second kid comes out, which for me is my daughter. And they just are like, oh, look, another kid.

You know, there's nothing to worry about. Not so special. The world's my oyster and I can do whatever I want. And, you know, because that was definitely a difference between my daughter and my son. But for me, you know, they tend to, they say and i think they're you know like the the comedian thing they say is i think because they say uh like it's attention seeking yeah you got the old one you got the old one who's in charge and you have the younger ones who are the babies and you're looking for you know conan's kind of a middle child and he, he puts that off to like wanting

attention. But I also think, you know, but for, I wasn't so much that I, I mean, I like attention, but for me, it was more peacekeeper. It was more mediator, I think. And kind of, that was sort of more the role that I ended up having, which I think is also a middle child thing. And I wonder, was that kind of the same with you or? Yeah, I was like, yeah, because most of my child, I was very shy. And my older brother spoke. My mom said he always spoke for me. So like when they ask, what is what do you want to eat, Melissa?

And then my brother be like, she wants a burrito. And then and I would just be like sure why not but then i think you know once i think it was puberty time you know 13 years old i was like that's when i was starting to come out of my shell and bloom you know of course like a beautiful flower yeah Yeah, well, no. In high school, I was not a beautiful... I looked so creepy. I had my eyebrows, like, so thin, and it looked like it. Like, it was that bad. Oh, really? You just, like, over-plucked them? Over-plucked them. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I was just a little awkward. I mean, it's cute, but it's a little creepy. I'll have to show you a photo. But I think that was one of them. Were all the kids doing that? Or were you just kind of like nervous about having too big an eyebrow? Yeah, I didn't like the fluffy, you know, I was being hairy. And then but then I was such a fan and I still am of Gwen Stefani. And at that time, Return of Saturn album album she had these like thin little tiny pencil eyebrows

and I was like oh I want that I want to look like Gwen I didn't look like Gwen at all in my mind in my mind I thought so but right reality people like well she's going downhill Going downhill. At 13. At 13. Did people in your family say, take it easy on the eyebrows? Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. My mom was like, they're not going to grow back. And thankfully, they did. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, because you have lovely eyebrows.

No, they're beautiful. And during this quarantine time, I have not plucked them. Even my, you know, I have a little tiny mustache, I'll be honest. We all do. I can tell. I mean, Zoom's not that great, but I can tell. You wax it, right? Because it's really well styled. Yeah.

There's a little shadow sometimes if I'm in the sun but i i've let them grow because i usually especially with during snl like i go to this place that threads them and um uh during this time i was like just let it all be you know i'm staying home and but my mom has been really persistent about like please let me drop off the nair and nair is a you know removes like a lotion that removes oh i know oh you do if you oh i know no nair i think most most boys know nair because of pranks like putting yeah absolutely like put like nair naring someone's head while they're sleeping. Oh.

Yeah. There's, like, all kinds of cruel hair-removing pranks that people do. Did you ever? If you're passed out drunk, they can write on your face with a marker or cover your head with nair. Which, I don't know. head with nair which i i don't know i i've never i've never witnessed it because like a i i loathe pranks i i i don't like them either i feel like i'm gonna cry it's just always i don't ever i mean i can sort of sometimes if they're really clever or elaborate get like some kind of vicarious thrill. But mostly I always identify with the pranky and just think like, oh, yeah, nice going. You made that person look stupid and feel bad.

Way to go. That's hilarious. Yeah, that's me, too. I could never do a prank call. Yeah, never. I was on cranky anchors once and I I was just terrible. Because I like would. You just want to say sorry. I'm sorry.

Yeah, that's me too. I'm sorry. Bye. I try to show that it's a prank by giggling. Like I'll be like, this is George calling in to get some paints. And then I giggle. And just so they know, it's like this isn't. She's not committing yeah um but yeah so my mom has been this time she's like please let me drop off the nair you

gotta get rid of that and i was like just let my leave my mustache alone wow come on mom yeah she doesn't like it well i mean just hope she doesn't listen to this because we're gonna get we're gonna get deep into her we're gonna really she's really funny is she oh yeah because she's so honest there's no filter and that's that's the funniest person that's the funniest type of person yeah but i mean does does that does she cut a wide swath through life for that reason like are people like oh what's your mom's name lupe uh guadalupe but yeah like oh shit here comes lupe you know did you hear what she said last time like is there that kind of thing no because she's not like mean anyone i think just like in you know turn like family like the intimate family she'll be like boy i don't like

that guy oh okay it's like you know just but she's not no no that's i'm definitely that's so fun i'm definitely loopy yeah because that's me too i i just i just did like a big kind of zoom fundraiser that was like the showbiz thing and the entire time i was chatting with the people like private chatting with the people that i knew they're saying like when will this guy shut up and you know like like just be just smart you know because like it went on too long and there was like lots of you know like lots of people going on and on and on and and uh and then my daughter told me at the end, she's like, because a lot of the people I was making fun of were kind of the organizers. And she's like, you know, even though it's a private message, the organizers can read that at the end of the Zoom call. Oh, man. It's so funny.

Oh, boy. It's okay. They need to know, too. Yeah, but I mean, I don't. I'm real brave behind people's back. I know. Like when it comes to actually hurting their feelings. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm like, oh, my God.

I didn't want to hurt their feelings. I know what you mean. Yeah. Yeah. And my dad is like the opposite. He's a people pleaser. He needs everyone to like him, and he loves to make people laugh. And my mom's like, who cares?

Who cares? They don't like you. And he's like, no. He's such a nice guy. And my mom's like, no, he's not. And I have actually a stand-up bit about how they're exactly John Candy, Steve Martin from Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, like that dynamic. My mom is so Steve Martin, and my dad's like the John Candy, Steve Martin from Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Like that dynamic. Oh, really? My mom is so Steve Martin and my dad's like the John Candy lovable, you know.

Yeah, yeah. Wants to make everyone smile. It's a good combo, though. It's so funny. To have a kid that kind of gets to see both of that, you know what I mean? I think that's helpful. What do your folks do for a living? Well, my dad, he has a fence contracting.

He's a fence contractor. So homes and businesses, he puts up wrought iron gates or chain link all around LA. And then my mom does. You want to give him a plug? You want to give him a plug? AD Fence Company, if you guys need a gate right now, if you're home a lot, you want some more security, call up Mike. A.D. Fence. Yeah, the A.D. is for attention deficit.

So the fence might not get finished. You know what's funny? No, my dad has that, and I do too, and that's so funny. Wait, that's so good. I got to tell him that. That's so funny. He's going to crack up. Oh, shit.

We forgot that fence. We forgot. Oh, I forgot. We put the posts in. That's it. And what about your mom? Does your mom work? She's a bookkeeper

yeah keeping yeah so she does actually she helps me with my business which is what a blessing oh my god i could use yeah yeah and you know what's good you know sometimes i'll get a little frustrated because she sees my spending but then it's good because she'll be like what did you what was that purchase and i'm just like i bought an inflatable globe so i could study so i could study the earth and have fun at the same time in my waiting pool yeah well now um what kind of student were you when you were a kid i mean like you said you were the shy one were you encouraged to not be shy or did you just kind of no i was shy in school too but i also i i uh i couldn't focus too well in school and i reading comprehension was the toughest for me i

couldn't i could read a paragraph over and over and just have no clue what that was about oh wow so i had a lot of tutors and but i was so good in spelling, spelling classes and spelling bees and art, obviously. Right, obviously. Look at you. For those who don't have the visual, she just did a weird Stevie Nicks kind of thing with her hands after she said artist. Whoa. Yeah, yeah. I think that.

artist whoa yeah yeah well now as you're going as you're when do you start being funny in public if you're shy or were you just kind of like quietly funny um no i got i i once i realized my gift of doing impressions and that was early like i was 12 years old when i was listening and absorbing so much britney spears and you know and christina galera and shakita and christina and i and i listened to them so much and i loved them so much that i realized oh i could i could sing just like them and i had an ear for you know mimicking yeah mimicking and And so once I started sharing those voices with my friends at school, all-girls school, by the way, Ramona Convent, 7th or 12th grade. If you're looking for an all-girls school in the Whittier area. Oh, Alhambra, actually.

Oh, Alhambra, wow. Yeah, yeah, we drove out. My parents, we had carpool. Nice. Yeah. But, yeah, I think it was that time when i realized oh i could i have this superpower and i could make people laugh and i've you know felt seen and special and important and i was like oh this is my gift not everyone should do this and so that's when i

started breaking free and getting funny. And singing, yeah. Yeah. I don't think I got funny until, you know, just the past few years as a funny person. Oh, really? I think I've just had good impressions, but I wasn't funny. Really? That's interesting.

Wow. Yeah. Because now on stage, when I could do stand-up, I could do a lot more bits about myself or just things that, you know, crack me up. And I know it's funny or makes me laugh. And it's not relying on an impression anymore. And I felt like that was something I wanted to do for myself in my career because I was like, people need to know me. People need to know who I am because that is so fulfilling and to connect with people. And I just, I love it.

But I love mixing both. You know, I like doing a lot of voices, but also sharing me. It's so fun. Do you think that is, because I know I have a thing and it's not an uncommon thing where if something comes easily to me, I discount it. I think like, well, I can't, you know, like I'm good at that thing. So I can't really like I don't really give myself credit for that because it's easy for me. And do you think that that's kind of the same thing? Like, yeah, you know, you found you could do this and then, you know.

A little. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. thing like yeah you know you found you could do this and then you know a little yeah yeah yeah but but i will say every time i you know i capture a new impression of someone that hasn't been done that i i do feel a lot of pride in that yeah that and i imagine there's work you gotta you gotta study them and yeah yeah but is there how what what's like the normal amount of time that it takes to kind of um some could take a long time i remember trying to learn chris kristen wigs years ago and i couldn't get it down and then it wasn't until i saw bridesmaids that i was like oh i got it now um you know, her subtle little, I'm doing okay. I'm doing fine.

And then, but then some I've learned quickly. Like I saw Black Swan with my mom, actually, which was pretty awkward. And after the film later, I was like, oh, I'm, I'm Natalie Portman. She does this thing with her lips. And then I, so some, it just depends. Some could come rather quickly. Um, but I think with SNL, if there's someone, oh, I want to learn this person. I will watch as much as I can of them on my computer.

And then I won't even attempt it. I'll go to sleep. And in the morning I usually will start feeling little sprinkles of yeah yeah there's their soul it's such a such a particular thing to do i mean you know like and then so it is kind of i mean it's interesting to me to hear you say like that you didn't you didn't think you were funny until a couple years ago because it's like you were doing comedy like you know i mean you were thinking of funny things for britney to sing and you were thinking of funny things for these different people to say so you must have been funny you know yeah no i was fine i was okay yeah but it's more just was it more just a question of the personal expression that you didn't feel like?

It's just more like, you know, my way of talking now, it's like there's a groove to it that only comes after, you know, a decade of doing standup that I was just like, Oh, that's cool. It's so cool to find that. And you can't force it early on. You know, I, there was times in my, my early times on doing standup, I would want to speak a certain way. And I,

you could, I can look back and see videos. Even America's got talent. When I was on there, I was like, Oh, that's so forced. Oh God.

I can't even watch that thing. But, but you can't rush it. It just will come through time. And yeah, I just think that's what's so special about putting the time in it. How do you go from figuring out you can do impressions to then eventually getting on stage?

Is that in your head while you're going through high school? Oh, yeah. So my sophomore year of high school, I did the talent show at Ramona. Okay. Uh-huh. Did six solid singing impressions. We're talking Brittany, Christina, Shakira, Avril Lavigne, Ewan McGregor, because he sang real good on Moulin Rouge at that time. Yeah, that's a timely one, but you got to retire that one.

Yeah, he's got it. No relevance with that anymore. But I got a standing ovation for my high school, okay? And I felt this fire in my chest type of feeling where I was like, I got to do this now. I have a big dream. So then I went to the library and I looked up open mics for kids. I'm a kid. I'm 15.

And then I found the Laugh Factory Comedy Camp. And I said, well, I want to join this summer. And I had my parents drive me from Whittier every Saturday that summer. I could get on stage for three minutes and eat free food. Free chicken fingers and whatever. Yeah, and Oreos. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, that and then but right after high school, I did.

I started doing open mics at the Ice House. I started doing shows there and then that's in Pasadena. And then and then from there, I started going to the comedy store and doing. And that was a place that took me in and let me grow in the small room, the belly room. Yeah. Now, are you working during this time? Or are you just like, no, this is going to be it? No, I was working at Marie Callender's, you know, whipping pies.

Sure. Absolutely. No. Yeah, no. I was making the whipped cream, the way they taught us no but i didn't i honestly did not think you were lying okay i just assumed that yeah no she said marie calendars i'm gonna believe her uh um so you were you were making the pie were you waiting tables or working in the back well i was about to start you know a waitress, but I was the hostess there.

And what was. Well, then I had some cool job. I always forget about this. I can't forget about this because this was really cool when I was 19. You know, the soap opera days of our lives yes well apparently they saw my little stand-up clip on myspace through a friend and they said we want you to take this camera film behind the scenes of the soap opera stars and you could walk around and just film stuff for our website i think they wanted some some youthful kid that's funny

to connect days of our lives with the younger audience. That's such a weird, awesome job. It was so weird. And that was just kind of all of a sudden, you know? And you're like 18? You're like 18 or something? Yeah, 18, 19. It was like incredible.

Wow. And all of it, you know, it's just kind of this weird. So you're driving to, I meant, is that CBS? That was the old NBC where Leno's Tonight Show was. Oh, okay. So you're driving there every day. And I mean, how long is your day doing that? It was kind of whatever.

They said, whenever you want to film you can leave whenever we'll buy you this camera wow i know nice did you get to keep the camera i don't think so yeah yeah that seems too good to be true um yeah so that was like a little portion and then do you are there still videos of that online somewhere that i don't think so i think i've tried to look for them yeah yeah oh my god because that would be so funny because i bet yeah and then i was just coming up with characters too like there was a character i came up with where this like little weirdo that was an extra for the background you know play an extra and this and soap up and sketch i mean the scenes um yeah it's just

and how long did that last i mean i think maybe a year and did they um fire you or did you leave or was it like i think it was kind of a mix of both where it was kind of like where's this going yeah and then yeah they were like yeah we'll just put a pause on it which i knew was the end and i was kind of happy i mean i know it's good pay but i was like i don't know what i'm doing and then um i think i i think i also worked a little better having a part-time job and then going to do stand-up at night because it kind of made my brain feel like oh yes i'll do this duty but i know in the back of my mind oh this is my passion that i'm going to do later yeah yeah and it kind of i think that's true for. Yeah. And I worked at a golf and stuff and a miniature golf course in Norwalk.

And then some tamping book jobs and bookstore places. And then Forever 21 at the Grove. Ooh. Yeah, at the Grove. But it was such a tiny Forever 21 because it was the smallest one I've ever seen. And they would pack the clothes on the rack. And the hangers would start, you know, they would make the shape of a U. Yeah.

Like angel wings. Angel wings. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, on the rack. And if someone pulled out one shirt, ba-boom. My whole creation of putting all the clothes on yeah yeah yeah oh that would make me crazy yeah and it did that it was yeah oh god that was funny it's like yeah no that would and i mean and it's also just like i don't know i find like that there's like tension in that in like a

in like a store that's all fucked up you know like that's like like every burlington coat factory i ever was in looked like a car just drove through and i always felt like this this like tension from it like that just like this place is going out of business and that means you know i think it's like to be sad about it is like because having parents that were small business owners that went under it always it always just made me feel like this is a business that's going under and the kids are going to be depressed you know like yeah so but burlington i think is still going i think so i'm not sure exactly but every time I ever went in there I felt like yeah it's so funny

a car driving through or like you know like two uncles got in a fist fight at grandma's funeral like that's what it felt like to me just what a mess it was and just yeah

that's hilarious I love that oh well so um is it helpful like when you start this is in high school still i mean is it helpful in high school do you find yourself making more your presence known a little bit more you you know, like, yeah, I felt like, I think, I mean, I was, I didn't get to go, my parents were strict, so I couldn't go out every weekend as most of my classmates were and hang out. And I felt like I was a little misfit in a way of, I didn't have close friends I would call and hang out with but I felt special about like oh I'm a comedian I'm just this free kind of weirdo that can hang out with everyone but I'm not necessarily a part of a group I felt like that comedy was like what

I don't know it just had I felt like so special from that. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that made me excited. And I didn't go to prom because I was like, eh, I don't care. I got big dreams now. Yeah. I was like kind of a. Well, did you have boyfriends at all during that time? I had one boyfriend. Yeah.

It was actually. So it was one of my brother's friends. And I met him because it was ours. So Ramona and Don Bosco, it's an all-boys school they would have it was called brother sister school which I don't like the sound of that yeah that sounds weird but my brother did go there and they would we would have dances so Ramona would host a dance and Bosco boys would go to the dance or Bosco would have a dance and Ramona girls would go over there. But I met him through my brother.

And then actually with my friends, my, my brother dated my friends. So it's kind of like here, we swap them. We'll swap it up. But it was the only way. How else do you meet?

Right. Right. Especially when you go to parochial, you know, single gender schools, you know it's it's um yeah it's so tough yeah but you didn't go to prom just because you know well i think the i think it was actually the boyfriend i had i had ended it senior year and i was like eh i don't want to deal with this anymore. And sometimes I'm an asshole, but I also felt like over it. I was like, oh no, this is the next step in my life, my career.

And I felt like way more, I don't know, just my head was in the clouds for me. And I was like, I don't want to be tied down or anything. It's a good thing to do when you're a senior in high school because a lot of people don't end up doing it until they're 30. You know what I mean? Both. Yeah. Like they're like, oh, I don't want to.

I mean, he's nice and I should, you know, I don't want to hurt his feelings. And, but no, that's, I've always been pretty good about connect feeling. I mean, paying attention to my feelings.

And if something's not right, or if my gut is like, it's time to break free and go, I've had a few times in my life where I had to just say, bye-bye. Yeah. Yeah. Bye.

That's good. That's, I mean, that's, that's good that's i mean that's that that's that's good good on you and good on your parents too because they obviously made you feel safe enough to be able to do that oh oh damn that's true yeah that's really cool i didn't get that yeah because a lot of folks you're right it. It's, it's tough where they, they just need someone. Yeah. And their parents probably weren't there and they probably, that's a good point.

Yeah. No, I think that that's like one of the basic things about like when you have a kid, you want to make sure that that attachment is healthy and secure and, you know, and able to weather like being angry at each other or whatever. And it's like, it's the kids that grow up with parents that they feel like they're always walking on eggshells trying to please them or parents that are distant that I think, you know, they end up being stuck with people, you know? Yeah.

Wow. Well, tell them you said that. They'll appreciate that. Oh, good, good, good. Well, so you knew college wasn't for you because you had the. Oh, yeah. No, I went to Fullerton Junior College just for my parents' sake. Okay.

But I didn't show up to class. I was like, this is dumb. Was it one semester or one year or two years? I think maybe a year, maybe a year and a half, but I was already, you know, starting to go to open mics in Hollywood. And, um, yeah, it was just, man, not for me. And I was commuting from my parents' house. So I always just felt like, eh, what's, I don't know. Yeah. No, if it's not what you want to do it's you know i mean yeah i just knew i just knew it wasn't for me and it's also like community college is not like college where you're really away from home and you're like learning to

be on your own and learning to what it you, all the things you learn from living in a dorm with a bunch of kids your own age. Yeah, I didn't have that. And I think so. And my mom was, you know, she would text me like, let me know when you get to school and let me know when you leave. So it's kind of just like, well, then I'm not really away. No, not at all. But I mean, that's another part of my story where I was like,

I didn't have those college fun years, you know? So it hit me later of like, oh, I got to get piercings and dye my hair pink and blue. I was like 27 when that happened. But that should have happened in high school, you know? It just hit me way later. I'm just a little wild. Well, that's all right.

Yeah. Well, and especially if your mom's making you call her, you can't pink hair then. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Now, is it something when you get into stand up and you start being around comedians, is there this feeling of like, oh, here they are. Here are my people.

Like, is there a striking difference when that starts? Oh, yeah. And you start making friends, you know? Yeah. I suddenly felt, yeah. And it's the same feeling now. Sometimes even in, well, yeah, when I go to a comedy club and hang out with other comedians,

I'm like, oh, this is, these, they get it. get it they just get it yeah there's just something they just get um and you always you kind of always feel comforted by that i remember just even in new york sometimes during the work week of snl i'll just go to the cellar and hang out there and sit there with other comics, and it just feels good. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I think that's a – yeah, that's – one thing that I find or I found on this show talking to – I mean, it's mostly creative people, comedy people, writer, et cetera, performers,

is the notion of finding your tribe is kind of the phrase that's come up with this. Such a huge, huge thing. And it's like, you know, part of this, part of this, the three questions thing is what have you learned? And I like, one of my things, the only, because like when people ask you

for advice in show business it's always like i don't know do it you know like that's it do it and but the you know because my to be a smartest sometimes i'll say well uh take some improv classes then become a sidekick on a late night talk show for a number of years and things will just start to happen. But I also feel like for anybody that wants to do something like this, it's like be around people that want to do this same thing as much as you can. And also not because you want to be a success or because you want to be famous or make a ton of money or just because it's the best way to live your life is being around similar people and and you can be your best self you know you can be the you that you want to be yeah so

but still stand-ups they can be real pricks though right yeah i guess so i mean myself too there's a side where i'm like oh man i hate this but uh yeah no i'm this i mean it is like i love these comedy people then there's days where it's like oh these fucking comedy yeah yeah i think it's all balance yeah yeah um but god i just love it when everyone just you know i miss going out to eat with comedians and just everyone's just making fun of each other yeah yeah that's that's the it is really fun and it sounds to outside ears so mean but it's like it's it's a weird kind of love but it is a love can't you tell my loves are growing well when do you start to really feel like like are you scared during this time are you like i don't know if this is going to work out

or you just kind of have a firm enough belief in yourself no i was always back and forth with my cell phone should i do it i don't think i should do it i'm gonna fail and it was also you know i auditioned for snl when i was 21 what i got some stuff pretty early on hey i i got some love early on all right but i wasn't i mean yeah you were on that days of our lives thing jesus christ that's that's probably when you got on snl everyone's like nobody is that that days of our life yeah yeah well i think it was uh you know i was a rare i was a rarity in the comedy world because i was a female doing impressions i was was nice. I, well, I don't know if that's that, but, but regardless, I was at the comedy store and, and, um,

my friend, Freddie Lockhart got on the show, Frank TV, Frank Caliendo show on TBS. And they were looking for a female impressionist. They had me audition. I did some impressions on his show and that was, I was only 20, but it was like, that's pretty early to be getting those things. And then audition for SNL. Then I did America's Got Talent. You know, that was all before 23. And I hadn't even done standup that long.

I got stuff pretty early on, which was really nice. Um, uh, but I think after I auditioned for SNL and I didn't get it, I was still looking at my parents and I was kind of like, oh, I should just study plants or, you know, go to quiet life. Yeah, what was the fallback? What was?

Well, I mean, I was just kind of wandering. I was working at the golf and stuff place. And then. Which can be a career. You know. Mini golf. You know. Yeah.

I mean. And then I. Well I'd love their frozen pizzas on my break. And I would ride the go karts. But I was kind of just floating around a little bit. I was. I had a routine where I would work at Golf and Stuff. Then I'd go home and have a bowl of mini wheats.

And play Nintendo. Go to sleep. It was kind of a. would work at golf and stuff then i'd go home and have a bowl of mini wheats and uh play nintendo go to sleep it was kind of a routine for a while and i was like i don't think i need to do comedy that's that is very much the life of a retiree play golf each shredded wheat except the nintendo is like you know that would that would be like a Golden Girls rerun instead. Yeah, exactly. And then I was starting to just find some, I was, I remember doing some volunteer work and I wanted to help save the trailheads and just nature in my town. And then I met a friend who introduced me to polymer clay figurines.

And I think that was actually a time where I was getting wrapped up in hobbies, like comforting hobbies. Cause I was just trying to distract my brain from thinking I had to do comedy. So I was crocheting a lot. I was making clay figurines and jewelry. I was starting to draw a lot too.

And I think I was just trying to convince myself I don't need to do that but then there was always a the biggest signal for me was there was a sadness in my chest that I was like well that was a clear sign that I have to be on stage I have to be doing it

that was it just I knew I couldn't just live a quiet life. Yeah. That makes sense. No, it makes absolute sense. Yeah. No, yeah.

It's like another kind of common theme that I find is dissatisfaction. Is people growing up somewhere among a certain group of people and feeling like, nope, not for me. I got nothing against all of you and against you place. I just, yeah, I need something different. I need something more because I definitely, I mean, I grew up in a small town in Illinois and I got to be a teenager and I was miserable and I had no idea why. And I was like, you know, I was a popular kid and played sports and had jobs and lots of friends. But I just was like, and I didn't know what it was. And then like I got to the city and I was like, oh, this is it.

Right. I'm supposed to be in the city and I'm supposed to be with these weirdos, you know, and it just takes time. You don't know, you know. Yeah. Tell me about America's Got Talent, because those I know different people who have kind of come up through those kind of contest shows. And they're so it's they're so fascinating to me because it's such a weird. It is weird. And it's such a weird It is weird. And it's a huge way to do it.

And that show especially feels like that show especially feels like it's from a different country. You know what I mean? It feels like it's Italian or something. Just the pacing of it and the cutting of it. It's not... It's just weird, you know?

That was a lady who was a producer on it or something she had messaged me on facebook she knew me from some other show i did uh and she said i'm helping setting up appointments to audition for the judges like you can audition in la and then if you go you get picked you go to audition for the judges she was like, I think this show is perfect for you. And I was like, I don't know about this. And I was kind of just, I didn't like the show, to be honest. I thought it was funny to watch with my parents or something,

but I didn't see myself on the show. I was quite panicked because I was like, what if I just look like a fool and then just get squashed? Yeah. You know? Oh, yeah. That's a put up or shut up kind of moment to be on TV. Yeah.

And there have been some poor comedians and they want to make people look stupid for entertainment. It's just like, that's the part I didn't like. What season was it? Like, had it been on a while or? Season six. So pretty. Oh, wow. Kind of early.

Yeah. Was that a Howard Stern year or was it still Simon Cowell? No, he was the next year. Oh, wow. Kind of early. Yeah, yeah. Was that a Howard Stern year or was it still Simon Cowell? No, he was the next year. Oh, okay. I had Piers Morgan, Sharon, and Howie. Oh, okay. And I remember, you know, I didn't even try hard at the first audition. I kind of just was like, here are some impressions.

Here. See ya. And then I got the email, congratulations, you're going to Seattle. And I was like, no, God damn it. I was such a brat. You know, I didn't realize just how, you know, my friends were like, Oh my God, are you crazy? That's a wonderful thing. And I don't know why I was kept thinking I was nervous about it. And then I flew to Seattle and it ended up being perfect for me. It was a perfect show because it made me feel very special because there was no other female impressionist on that season, comedian. And, you know, there were so many singers and dancers. And I was like, oh, I'm I'm feeling very special here.

And it was really sweet. It was perfect for me at that time. And. Yeah. And it was great. And how many times how many times do you go back? Well, they did. Let's see.

Hold on one. So I did the Seattle one and then they had this vegas one which is actually just a trick it was we were in a theater all the contestants that got picked for vegas we were sitting in the crowd and they call up 10 people 10 names and they say stand up and i and that was one of i was one of the 10 they're like, you don't have to perform. You could go home because you're going to the next round. And I was like, oh, sweet. And that's it.

What's new impressions on this? Wait, you went to Vegas to be told to go home? Yeah. Oh, my God. Because we didn't have to perform. We could just skip and go straight to the LA live shows. Wow. And then I had the, there was two LA live shows.

There was, I did one, I did okay, but they still passed me. And then I went to top 16 and that's when I was booted off. But then it, this is something that pissed me off. Okay. So I get to top 16 and then they say we're gonna bring back 10 people or i don't know how many people contestants that were eliminated your favorites the credit to the crowd and they're coming back so it's top 24 or something and i was like no they were Leave them out. Don't bring them back.

I beat those people already. But it was, it was like perfect that I, you know, got booted off then because I was like, I got nothing left. I had, I gave them my best impressions. I don't know what else to do. It was just enough. It was perfect. Yeah. Yeah. It was just enough it was perfect yeah yeah it was yeah because that was what i was going to ask is like you have i didn't want to win yeah you have to give them more material yeah and it's like because i always wonder like the weird acts where they're like you know like they do some weird thing with shadows and candles and it's like how are you going to do another shadow and candle like elaborate you know

what i mean like the really bizarre kind of acrobatic acts or weird specialty acts you know like yeah there was a cool group that year too they're really awesome they had these it was like in the dark and they were dancers with lights yeah and i guess it just depends on what song they pick you know right and there's different dance moves and yeah yeah effects but but then i wonder too also if the ultimate goal of that show this is now i'm just not now i'm not talking to you i'm just bitching about yeah yeah agt um is is like like you're a stand-up and you do like you have a very marketable skill and it seems like what this is aiming towards kind of like a vegas kind of that's what it was yeah and i think yeah i think that the winner got part of the prize was

you got a a big show in ve. A residency in Vegas, yeah. Something like that, yeah. Yeah, but like the light dancers. How do they sustain an hour and a half show in Vegas? You know what I mean? Yeah, I feel like I would get dizzy and throw up or something. Yeah, or just like, okay, that's it. We get it.

It's like, okay, yeah. Oh, cool, more lights, you know? Oh, sweet. A new light. I've never seen that color. Did you ever see the show Stomp? Do you know about the show Stomp? I never saw Stomp.

But you know what it is, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That was the same. It was that, like, I saw that, like, right when it started. I'm picturing you. And I just was like, okay, all right. Now they're banging on a fire extinguisher. And it's been like, it's been a fucking hour and 15 minutes.

I get it. They're banging on shit. They got trash cans on their feet. All right. Yeah. Okay. You know, I just was like, I didn't understand. Yeah.

You know, and I, although I don't know, Stomp might still fucking be running somewhere. I think it's, oh yeah. I think it is. It yeah, I think it is. It just, it's so weird. That always, the one that really got me too is there was one where they just, they had little boxes of wooden matches. And they would shake them to make like, and tap on them. Like it was a very small, like it was the part of the show where they got small. And they would just like shake these steps.

But the fucking looks on their faces were just like, whatever that German word for a face that's aching to be slapped. Cause they just would be like, like they could not believe the sounds that they were getting out of this matchbox. Like, can you believe we're making a whole song with Matchbox. Like, yeah, yeah, no, I get it. Because you already did it with buckets and mops and shit.

I got a lot of beef with performance art. That's really, that's great. Percussion. Oh, man, I'm furious about percussion. Percussion performers. Well, now, how does SNL, is SNL like when you go back to re to you know do it again are you oh wait first before we get to that are you in la going through pilot season you know uh

before snl you mean yeah yeah yeah auditioning for sitcoms and things like that very much. Yeah, although I kind of waited a little bit because I did want more. I wanted a good amount of training before going on auditions because people can't remember you. You have to get. Right, right. You know, so I took a lot of classes at Leslie Kahn and then some other. This other good one, too. And then I didn't really do much pilot pilot seasons no i did that one actually the year i got us now i did some auditions and my friend thought of me for um bill hader's show barry and i got oh the part at the end where i was a waitress

and that was my first pilot I ever kind of booked. I was like, you know, it's like two or three lines, but it was, it meant so much to me. And then, yeah, I got SNL later that year. But I didn't really do a lot of pilot season. SNL, I mean, being an impressionist is very helpful with SNL do you go in kind of feeling like you know I know I have I know I have this marketable skill that makes me useful to them or do you think from having done it once before you were kind of like what was your attitude going in I guess I was pretty nervous I mean it's kind of like a new kid at school feeling where you don't really know anyone.

And no one's writing for you. They don't know. They can probably know, oh, you have this character or some impressions, but it's not really. I don't know. It's tough. If you don't come from, I didn't come from a lot of, I mean, I did some groundlings classes in UCB, but I didn't have that. I didn't know how to write a sketch.

I didn't know my brain. I didn't know that stuff. So I kind of, the first year I felt like it was, I mean, it's hard for everyone, but I felt like I didn't know what the hell to do. Yeah.

Honestly, I think not, not a lot of everybody gets, isn't that saying, even if you you've done UCB for two years, it's not the same. You know, you might have written sketches for UCB, but it's not the same as. Yeah, and then it's all about. TV is TV. It's a different, you know.

Yeah. I mean, I. Yeah, you want to find that friend who you could write with that gets you. Yeah, yeah want to find that friend who you can write with that gets you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's the most important thing is finding that connection of, who is my buddy here that I can laugh with and write with? And that first year is just like, you don't know. You're trying. You're trying.

But then I think the second year, my buddy, who still I love writing with, Stephen Castillo, he cracks me up so much. And we share our office together. And then Dan Bolo was there this past season, too. And just the three of us, it's just got a nice groove. Yeah. And a Dresden I like writing with, too.

But yeah, it just takes a lot of time to find. And then also, I get better, too. The first season, I was bad. I was flubbing over every single line I had. But then, and you can't prep for that show too. It's a hard show. You don't know what that's, there's no practice for it. But I think I could see how every year I get a little bit better.

You know, having known, I've never been on been on the show i mean i've been backstage during the show when we used to be in the same building and i'm you know had so many friends go through there but you hear so many stories like of it alternately being sort of like a hostile place for new people and then you hear sort of it like no no it was actually kind of like a warm and welcoming place for new people and you know because like when you when you do go through that where you say like you flub your lines are you feeling like oh shit that's it lauren's gonna tomorrow lauren's gonna say yeah i felt like that i thought the first year i thought i wasn't coming back for sure yeah now is that in your head or is

that something that you think kind of is just in the air there? It's just in my head. A lot of the time it's just in your head and no one's mad at you or no one's, you know, it's just a stressful place, but it's not personal, but it's, but you carry it in there. Cause you're like, Oh, I'm messing up. Oh, I have no no ideas i got nothing anymore to offer yeah you know it's that thing i'm like am i just repeating the same things that i do it's it's hard yeah it's really tough but um yeah i don't know it's such a big institution there that has so many people that I think it is hard for, you know,

like every, you know, like on the Conan show, like if we do a bit and it doesn't work, it's like, it's not like there's 12 other people off somewhere else who are concurrently working on comedy bits. It's like, it's just us.

And it's like, oh, that didn't work. And, but we're, you know, and also too, when you're doing a show every day, you realize real quickly, like, oh, that didn't work. And, but we're, you know, and also too, when you're doing a show every day,

you realize real quickly, like, well, they're not going to fucking, yeah, that blew, but come on, we're back tomorrow.

You know, like there's always a chance to redeem yourself the next day. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. At least now there was, there was a time when it was,

when I was probably was, you know, more true than I wanted it to be. We're like, yeah, yeah, we could have been. Because I think there were like a couple of times where we were technically canceled. And then like, like on a Friday and then like Monday, they're like, nah, well, you know what? We'll give you another month. It was pretty crazy.

But I mean, I didn't know anything about it at the time, but. Yeah. But it was pretty great working in that building. That's a, that's like a special thing that I will hold on to for the rest of my life that I got to spend seven years going in there. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. It must be, you know, I mean, well, you'd be starting back to work now, wouldn't you?

Yeah, I think, I think we all go back like mid-September, and they're going to try to make it work in the studio somehow. Oh, they are? Yeah, I believe so. I mean, I don't know how much information I could share on here or not. No one listens to this, so you're fine. By the way, my older brother, I remember in high school, we went to the SNL tour,

but we went to the gift shop and we got the fifth anniversary VHS of Conan. And you guys were just so damn funny on that. Oh, thank you. And we watched it over and over this, you know, the, uh, our family. And we're just, and I was like, thankful for my older brother. Cause he was like, Oh, this is the most funny show. You guys got to have to, you have to watch it. And I was like, what is this is this but it was we still quote all those oh that's nice what pieces thank you so much thank you what were you were you naked when you went into that one where conan's like yeah go in there this is a really nice spot oh yeah he pushes me out onto the today

show um no i was i was in uh we had these like nude bikini underwear yeah yeah because we would always like we would we would use nudity as like a punch line for different things you know like so much so that like there was a a sitcom that al Al Franken was on called late line. And it was supposed to be like a, you know, a news show. And Conan and I did a cameo on there where like it, we were supposed to be Conan and Andy coming in or,

or maybe he was coming to do a bit for us or we were shooting a bit on their stage. And I was supposed to be naked like that was like but they showed me you know in just the nude colored bikini and and i was and i just i was kind of like you know because they did that i was like is this what i'm become like is this like he's the prop humor guy that uses his body as a hilarious joke um but yeah but no that that matt lauer one that that was that was one of many that was the most that was the best usage of our nudity that we would sometimes use because yeah there were so

many good stuff though oh thanks there were other writers that sometimes they'd be stuck for an ending and then they're like and then andy runs across the stage oh i see and i would be like no that's that's a special that like that's a special tool we keep in the drawer except for very rare occasions but yeah that was yeah no that was uh it was and that was you know that was the other thing about working there is that we got to go you know be naked on supposedly naked on the today show set so with matt lauer which no i know and i have a whole new a whole new angle on it is the fact that it was matt lauer i know geez yeah no i have to remember that though like sometimes i'm so in it that i'm like ah it's so hard i don't want it but then's like, it's time goes so fast. And then, you know,

it'll be the older and I'll be like, I'm going to look back and be like, damn, I was there. I was there at that time. And I got that honor to be there. So. How were the, how were the at home shows for you? How did, I mean, when that evolves, do you, can you even conceive of how that's going to work as they're talking about it? Well, we just did three and the first one I wasn't in. I think they're still figuring out how to do that.

Do it. But I. Were you in L.A.? I was here in L.A. at my place and I I just reached out to my friends that i write with and i said well this is an idea i have what do you guys think and then they wrote it real fast and then we just got the approval of um a director who can help me you know film while i was alone placing the camera around but i was just talking to him on the phone facetime for angles and shots and uh yeah because that's a lot of work yeah that worked yeah but i actually was i was glad because that took like that was a three-day shoot it was called um melissa's big date i don't know if you saw that one where i have an invisible date oh yeah yeah i remember that it was really it was really funny yeah it was very sweet too yeah but i remember that. It was really funny. Yeah. It was very sweet, too.

Yeah. But it was based on this sketch. I mean, not a sketch. My Instagram video where I was telling the camera, I was like, I don't want to forget how to kiss during quarantine because I'm in this alone. So let me just make out with this guy, a ghost right here. And I'm kissing you know my kissing is so bad i'm like tickling his armpits and his hair and yeah cleaning his ears um and that was they

were like well let's you should just have an invisible date you know but that that was i was just grateful that week to be so busy with the show again mentally even if i wasn't physically there it felt good to be busy because yeah those first few months it was like this is just getting dark in our minds you know yeah yeah it was but i was grateful to be busy um but yeah i think it'll be nice i hope it works out okay how has being home been for you i mean have you what have you been doing to kind of i mean has there been rough spots for you and and what have you done to kind of get out of me so little bits i mean gosh it's i think once i accepted i think i was pretty cynical the first few months of like everything's done no more

there's no hope and then once i once a few people and my therapist were like you just have to pivot things you have to just do still work on stuff but it's just going to be different and once I accepted that then I found a better groove of oh I could do my podcast oh I could you know um uh work on my art book because I like to draw oh I could uh do stand-up shows outside or online shows and I was just trying once I figured out a better way to work on things and then I felt better yeah but there's still days but even yesterday I was kind of like boy I'm I'm a gloomy mess yeah but just it's okay are there are there do you have people, I mean, aside from your family, are there days when you don't see people or, you know,

or do you have enough kind of? Well, the thing is I actually do need to be alone. There's a lot of times where I actually, I need it. And I have to tell people I actually need to be alone a day just because I'm a, I think it's an introvert thing, or maybe it's just me thing where I have to have alone time in order to gain up energy to talk or even hang out with anyone. Yeah.

Kind of that type. But I do have a boyfriend who I met through this time. Oh, really? Late May. I was on the dating app Raya. And because I was like thinking, you know what? Maybe this is a good time to actually talk to someone. You can't you're not going to be for you.

You can't be distracted right now. You can't go to a bar you can't go to in the movies you can't go there's no distractions you actually have to get to know someone yeah and and if you mesh and i remember though on raya this is funny because i i was messaging guys that i matched with and i said hey what's going on or sometimes i'll say howdy or yo sup no one responded and i was getting fed up because no one wanted to start a conversation right and so then i put in my my bio or whatever i said you have until june 1st that's when my membership for this app ends but i was fed up i was done and sometimes that's what happens to me and then uh the guy that i i've been seeing he messaged me he's like oh i'm glad i caught you before june 1st and then i just started

chatting with him and then yeah it was nice because it took a few weeks before we even met up in person outside it was just it was good to just chat. Yeah. Like you couldn't rush it. How do you date during COVID then? Do you like, are you, you just have to sort, do you get tested or something? Yeah. I mean,

I've gotten tested already a few times, but he's always been home throughout it. But I think for me, it's like, I'll see my parents and grab food, but I don't know. I i yeah yeah i'm just kind of going with my gut but i don't get close to people and yeah yeah but man it's tough too the you know my uncle passed away last week which was yeah i'm sorry about i saw i'm saw that and i'm sorry

about that he's thanks andy he seemed i i had an aunt who just died recently who was the same thing. Like, she was the funny one and made me appreciate what it meant to be funny. Yeah. His name is Cesar? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, Cesar. And he, it was one of those things where it was, yeah, it was a shocker, but he wasn't, he also wasn't taking care of himself. Um, but just such a, the,

he like care he was, he meant family, you know, it was nothing but family. And, uh, but last week, you know, I saw so many, so many family members, obviously it's like, we just want to be near each other. But then with COVID, you know, it's like, can we hug? Can we, I was like, I don't care. I need to hug everybody. I don't care. I need to hug everybody. I don't care. But then I got tested again after, you know, the family stuff. And I was fine.

Yeah. Man, what a whirlwind. Yeah, no, I just can't even. I find myself thinking about life outside. Oh, thank you. Yeah, it was not like, she had dementia and it was, you know, kind of like one of those things where it was. It hurts to see them suffer too. Yeah, yeah. And I mean, and when people have dementia too, you say goodbye to them a long time before they end up dying.

You know what i mean and it just and it just kind of that's just what it is it's like it's not i can't say it's any harder than having somebody suddenly die you know what i mean it's like it it's all hard it's yeah it's all hard but i mean but like the actual death with somebody like you've already done this sort of, you know, time lapse of grieving the loss of this person that you realize over time, you know, like she could,

she still was bright and cheerful, but she just wasn't the same person. And, you know, she didn't, you know, didn't remember things and people and stuff. And, you know, she's still funny things and people and stuff. And, you know, she's still funny.

You know, she's still like there was one time when I saw her and her husband, my uncle. And I was, you know, I said to her, I said, like, well, how have you been? And she went, I have no idea. And I was like, that's so fucking funny. that's so fucking funny because you know it's like it was it was exactly like she really she was aware that like oh i don't remember anything anymore you know that's the funniest line i've ever heard yeah yeah i have no idea yeah like just smiling and happy about it. I don't know. Oh, God, I love that. That's so funny. But, yeah, but it's, I just, I don't know what to, I can't picture life after this.

I don't have any. That's the hard, that's what, that's where that sadness comes from. I think that it's like, well, when or how? Yeah, that's, yeah, that's. When I think of that, that's what makes me be like, well, what's the point of working on anything? But I can't be that way. Yeah, yeah. Always, you know. No, I just, I have my, I end up doing chores more than I do any sort of like writing. I'll be like, I'm going to hang some shelves, you know.

But I think that helps your brain too. I feel like there's, it's good to do that. Just keep it busy. That's the key. Yeah. Well, we're kind of getting into the philosophical port here. Because, you know, the notion of this being where do you come from, where are you going? Like, where are're going, you know, the notion of this being, where do you come from? Where are you going? Like, where are you going? It's such a moot question at this point. You know, it's like,

where are you going? It's like, uh, staying home, you know, it's like, that's where I'm going. So, I mean, I don't, you know, I mean, do you have any sort of like concrete plans for what's happening afterwards? I mean, you know, I mean, I just, I want to do comedy movies. I want to get my book out of my art, which I accepted. I'm going to start working on it with a publishing company. Awesome. See that right there.

That, that makes me really happy. That, that makes me feel like, Oh, there's, I want to help people. I want to share my story.

I want to make them laugh. It's just a lot of. And that work is the same regardless of COVID or not. Yeah. Yeah. It's staying home and drawing. Yeah. Yeah.

So, yeah. I don't know. Well, what about the, what have you learned? Like, do you, do people seek your advice?

Are there, when you go to Marie calendars, are there people spreading the whipped cream saying like, how can I be like you? I, what have I learned? I, I think I always,

I think everything has unfolded perfectly for me. Sometimes I want stuff so soon or sudden. And I mean, even thinking of SNL, sometimes I want more and I'm just like, but everything I've done on the show is the right timing and the right, what I was able to handle. Everything happens for what I can handle.

Yeah. I think that is what I've some to handle. Everything happens for what I can handle. Yeah. I think that is what I've some big, some, that's something I've really learned. Why do you think that is? Do you like, do you think that there's a hand of fate guiding it? Or do you think that within you, you have your own sort of hand of fate that makes things happen when they're supposed to? I think it's when I have a better mindset and better heart in the in the time like when i perform like the lady gaga piece i was truly so happy and i felt so light and and silly and good and like well that was the perfect moment

for it because i was feeling good yeah that's when deserve it. I think it's special when it's, because when I'm, and I'm someone that fits, when I have too much going on, I'm not, I'm all over the place. I'm not enjoying it. But I think in little, in good, precious moments, making impact, that's even, that works good for me, someone like that. Yeah, yeah. I don't know i think what else have i learned huh

family means a lot to me i think every time i hang out with my siblings and close friends and i think that always reminds me of who i am. Sometimes I feel like I could get lost of who I am, but every time I just come home and I feel grounded with them. Yeah. I have that to always. That's nice to have. Well, yeah. Well, that's pretty solid.

That's a good thing to learn, you know? Yeah. Well, do you want to stop yeah yeah sure never asked anyone hey you want to you want to stop you want to just stop you know there's been times on stage where i i when i my set is just it's still it's going down it's going down. I'm not doing well. There's been times on stage where I'm like, I want to go. Can I go? I'm not doing, it's not going to get better. Can I just go?

Yeah. But no. I was trying. I was trying for a while just out of like, because, you know, like I have friends who are improv people who then did stand up. And I would get invited to do things like especially like when Scott Aukerman and B.J. Porter used to do a show called Comedy Death Ray. And they would do live versions of it and they would have me come and do stuff. And I would it would sort of I'd expect it happened a number of times where I'd expect to be like, OK, what are we doing? And they're like, oh, you just you're just going to do stuff. And I would, it would sort of, I'd expect, it happened a number of times where I'd

expect to be like, okay, what are we doing? And they're like, oh, you just, you're just going to do something. Like we're just giving you 10 minutes. And I was like, oh shit. Okay. I'll try and I'll try my hand at this. And so I kind of half tried to do standup in different ways. And then I just, there was one night where i just came to the conclusion and i was hosting at san francisco sketch fest a night at cobs comedy i was hosting a night of conan writers who are stand-ups and writers who had been on conan and i was supposed to like do 10 or 15 at the top or something like that and i was like five or six minutes into it. And I just was like, I don't like this. Yeah. I don't like being on stage by myself. I don't like not talking to somebody. I don't like to like talk to a room of people that aren't really answering back.

And I kind of don't want them to answer back because that, you know, like that's not the point of this. So are you better with crowd work though in that case because you couldn't zone in on one person yes whenever i've done yeah whenever i've done things like this it's like i always am or i host something i'm like just let's get to the q a as fast yeah yeah because that's like when i'm not thinking about it and it doesn't seem so and it feels like everyone's invested like everyone is an active participant in the thing now. But yeah, but I felt that. I can't remember who the first, it might've been a part of Minchella.

I can't remember. But like the first standup, just, I was like, all right, I'm done. And they were, you know, they were expecting like six or seven more minutes. I had to rush out on stage, but yeah. But yeah, when you're done, you're done. But I mean, this has been really nice. And I'm really glad to, you know, we haven't really ever met before. And I have really so much enjoyed the work of yours that I've seen.

So it was really, it was fun to get to talk to you. Yeah. This was, I really enjoyed this too. Excellent. Good to to you. Yeah, I really enjoyed this too. Excellent. Good to do it. Yeah. These virtual contacts with humanity are keeping

me going. Good. Keep it up. Thank you, Melissa. Thanks, Andy. Everybody watch her on a show called Saturday Night Live. It's on Channel 4. Channel 4.

On Saturday nights, coincidentally. And that's it for this episode of The Three Questions. And we will get back at you next time. Thank you for listening. I've got a big, big love for you. The Three Questions with Andy Richter is a Team Coco and Earwolf production. It's produced by me, Kevin Bartelt, executive produced by Adam Sachs and Jeff Ross at Team Coco,

and Chris Bannon and Colin Anderson at Earwolf. Our supervising producer is Aaron Blair, associate produced by Jen Samples and Galit Zahayek, and engineered by Will Becton. And if you haven't already, make sure to rate and review The Three Questions with Andy Richter on Apple Podcasts.