11/19/03 | The Phoenix, the official student newspaper of Loyola University Will the Real Amy Sedaris Please Stand Up? by Lisa Skriver Assistant Diversions Editor Phoenix: You used to live here in Chicago. What was your experience like at Second City? Sedaris: Originally I went to the Player’s Workshop, and that took a summer. I got into the training center. I don’t remember how many levels- maybe 8? Then that allows you to audition for the touring company and then I went to the main stage. Phoenix: Second City is a notorious boy’s club; did you face any sexism? Sedaris: I didn’t have that problem, I know people said that, but I know more funny men than funny women. The girls that I had to work with at Second City weren’t funny. The first funny woman I got to work with was Jackie Hoffman. And I remember when I got to work with her how fun it was. But I never played ‘the bride’. I played the parts that a guy could do to. I was a woman but it wasn’t the major part of the scenes. When the women I worked with wanted to do scenes like ‘let’s be female soldiers’ I’d be like ‘[expletive deleted]!’ Or the director would say we need a scene with women and try to force it in the show, and if it’s not happening it’s not happening. It was really difficult to do that. I just naturally worked better with the guys, and they were funnier. I just like to work with funny people. Not all the guys were always funny either, though. Phoenix: I saw your spread in Nest magazine. Your house is awesome. I love your plastic meat. Sedaris: Thank you, I have a lot of plastic food. They’re really hard to find. I have rubber too. I love plastic and plaster food. Phoenix: So I was wondering if I could come crash at your house next time I’m in New York? Sedaris: Hmm, probably not, just because the apartments are so small anyway. Even my family knows to get a hotel. Phoenix: Yeah, your rabbit would probably gnaw my face off. How is Dusty? Sedaris: Dusty’s doing great. She’s sleeping now. They tend to sleep during the day. She chews me out of house and home. I have to give her stuff to gnaw on. Phoenix: I really enjoy your appearances on David Lettermen. You project such a colorful persona, how close is that to the real ‘Amy’? Sedaris: On the talk shows? That is me. I think the people and the energy make me really excited. You kind of forget there’s an audience there, and I don’t look outside the chair. I always look forward to seeing him, and he’s really good at his job. You can just trust him, and if he asks you a question you just answer it honestly. Phoenix: Is there any sacred ground that you will not take your comedy to? What sorts of things offend you? Sedaris: Well, I always try to find something funny in everything, which is why I like to go see a lot of serious stuff, and see what’s funny about that. I don’t like to see a lot of violence and incest stuff. If I were an incest victim, for example, then I’d be allowed to make jokes about it because I’d probably know where to find the funny in it, but because I’m not and I don’t then I would probably just stay away from it. At Second City when we ask for suggestions people and they shout ‘incest’ you’re like ‘what the fuck?’ You just go off. I can’t stand anything with animal brutality. I don’t like see a rabbit get battered around. Phoenix: I remember in “Strangers With Candy” you had animals dying left and right -your turtle, Shelli? Sedaris: Oh, yeah. They weren’t real. I don’t like real stuff, like dog attacks. If I know it’s not real, that’s different. I hate documentaries with animals dying. I can’t stand that. Phoenix: Do you consider yourself a role model. I consider you a role model. Sedaris: Oh that’s so nice. I get letters from people and I’m like ‘don’t give me that responsibility’. It’s hard to believe that anyone would think of me as a role model, I guess. It’s interesting to me. I get a lot letters from girls who say that. Phoenix: Strangers with Candy came on when I was a high school freshman, and was the kind of show that helped me see that there was something really different out there. It was really inspirational. Sedaris: We didn’t know that we were doing anything different. That’s one good thing about Paul [Dinello] and Stephen [Colbert], we all met at Second City, and we’ve known each other for 16 years. We didn’t set out to do something really different, we just did what we thought was funny. Usually if you have a grounded character, and try to play it as honest you can it just naturally comes out. Half the stuff you see we didn’t write, you just kind of find it on set. When you have a crew and actors that you’re comfortable with it just kind of happens and comes out of that character. It’s that old queer thing that they say at Second City. Bernie Sahlins said ‘you’ve gotta know who you are and where you are and where you came from.’ With auditions to, you just have to make a choice and stick to it. With Jerri I know her so well, it’s really easy to go in and out of character. I just kind of did the mouth. Phoenix: I love the mouth. I bet when you raid a prop closet it’s like a tornado has come through. Sedaris: Oh God yeah. I have a lot of costumes still from Second City, and I have two prop closets in my apartment, and I have a wig collection. I always have everything at my fingertips. Phoenix: I read that you’re baking 400 cupcakes for a lung cancer benefit. Sedaris: I have all my supplies, I’m gonna make my frosting Sunday night. I have a small oven so I’m going to just do 12 at a time. I’m gonna get up at 6 a.m. and started knocking it out. It’s only 20 batches, it won’t be that bad. Phoenix: 20 batches of cupcakes! Do you make it from scratch? Sedaris: Yeah, it’s all from scratch. I feel like I’m working out. I feel like there’s a marathon coming up, so every day I gear myself up for it. Phoenix: Is your career how you envisioned it to be? Did you plan it out or do you just go with the flow? Sedaris: I’ve been doing the same thing since I was six. My first goal was Second City, and then moving to New York and doing plays with my brother. I didn’t plan TV, it just kind of fell into my lap, and it was like ‘Oh, great.’ Then movies - my goal was to do movies. I have an agent and if I go on an audition then it’s like ‘oh, wow I got it.’ In a way it protects me because I’m not disappointed if something doesn’t happen. I don’t face a lot of rejection. I just have the attitude that if you really want to do something just do it and everything will come from that. Like, I bet if I had a publicist nobody would want to interview me, but since I don’t have a publicist I tend to get asked for interviews. I’m just pretty lucky that way. I just don’t desperately want it, but I really appreciate it. In this business it would be really hard, I guess. I have other things I enjoy doing, that isn’t just performing. That’s another thing I have got to have. Everything plays into it. I have a little baking company, and sell my cupcakes. I have to do that because then I have a job I can bitch about. Like ‘butter is five dollars a pound!’ ‘Oh, fuck!, I’ve got to get these cupcakes out’ - it keeps me grounded. So when you go off and work in this la-la world, with crazy people, I get to go home to my rabbit and bake.