About this episodeSarah Sherman discusses her unique comedy style, rooted in internet radio and DIY noise music, which evolved i…AI summary
Sarah Sherman discusses her unique comedy style, rooted in internet radio and DIY noise music, which evolved into her Netflix special and her role on SNL. She details the intense, collaborative writing process at SNL, the importance of diverse cast backgrounds, and how childhood pranks and therapy influenced her visceral, self-deprecating performance art. The conversation highlights the challenges of balancing live audience interaction with pre-written material and the emotional resilience required in comedy.
Key takeaways 5
Sherman's comedy style is heavily influenced by her background in Chicago's DIY noise music scene and internet radio, where she created 'freak radio' shows using Adobe Premiere to layer chaotic audio, establishing a foundation for her visual and auditory-heavy standup.
She joined SNL through standup rather than sketch experience, noting that the show values diverse comedic backgrounds (impresssionists, character actors, standups) which allows writers to tailor sketches to specific cast members' unique strengths.
The SNL writing process is described as emotionally taxing but collaborative; writers often attach deeply to sketches that get cut, learning to let go and trust their ability to generate new ideas weekly.
Sherman’s self-deprecating and violent humor is linked to childhood experiences, including her grandmother’s pranks with prosthetic eyes and her father placing slugs in her bed, which she now embraces as part of her authentic comedic voice.
She emphasizes the importance of touring with friends (like Jack Mensinger) to collaborate on joke tags and punch-ups, noting that peer feedback significantly improves material compared to writing alone.
Notable quotes 5AI-generated: wording and quote attribution may be wrong. Use the play link to verify.
“I'm not a real DJ. I'm doing this all on like Adobe Premiere and like all the sound levels are jacked up and but it sounds very intentional.”
▶ 1:05Describing her internet radio show creation process.
“Roasts are so popular because they're in this tradition of everyone like feeling like they, you know, you feel like a family even though you're like being like awful to each other.”
“I feel like I could probably have fared better as a comedian like a 100 years ago. Like I kind of have like even though like a lot of my stuff is like crazy... I love like I wish I was a borch belt style comedian.”
▶ 3:19Reflecting on her comedic lineage and style.
“The reward is always like can I just like figure out the next funny thing. It's like I don't know why it's like not fulfilling. You know what I mean? Like that it's it's almost good because I don't place any value in like how it's received as much. my value is like more play.”
▶ 21:18Discussing the lack of external validation in SNL writing.
“I got to say, um, the special is amazing. It really is great. I'll take it.”
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