You have to go as hard as you possibly can, or it's going to be weak. Whenever I find myself not committing fully to a character, it's not as funny. It doesn't have that clear point of view, and you find yourself wandering all over the place, whereas committed characters make strong choices that are clear to the audience.
The connective tissue between storytelling, advice, and comedy is passion.
So many of my characters have really crazy physicalities, so it's really fun to be able to say, like, 'I'm an elf who's the size of a dollar bill!'
It's like, if you tweet anything about One Direction, you'll get a lot of hate - immediately. They're just searching the words and then writing back to anybody who writes about them.
I love improvising on the spot. I like that pressure.
Every so often, you have to do a show that makes you walk to your car with your head down, wondering what you're doing with your life. It's good for you, as long as you're not feeling that way every night.
Most people have kind of done something that could put them in jail at least for one night.
I was invited to do an all-female improv festival in Portland called All Jane, No Dick. The person running it asked me if I had a female improv team, and I just said yes and then figured out who I would want to bring with me. We had such a fun show together that we decided that we should keep doing it.
I did a number of local children's theater plays growing up, but in 5th grade, I had some good times on stage making people laugh as a troll in 'The Hobbit.' That solidified my dream to be on 'Saturday Night Live,' which was hugely influential for me growing up.
Improv changed my life in the best way. I gained so much confidence and really learned how to use my sense of humor to do something other than make sarcastic comments to the TV, though that remains one of my best skills. I stayed in Chicago for college mainly to continue doing improv, which was an awesome decision for me.
I love creating characters that are ridiculous and flawed. To me, the most important thing about comedy is the joy it can bring to the performers and the audience alike. I love making people laugh and not over-thinking things. Some of my favorite moments are when I am doing an improv scene with friends, and I can't stop laughing during it.
Comedy is my first love; that's my main goal in life - to keep doing comedy.
I often play characters on TV shows that are more sweet and naive and just kind of puppy-dog eyes, and I don't think I am like that as a person.
I had a teacher who recommended I take improv classes in Chicago - I'm from Evanston, Illinois - so I did improv classes at Improv Olympic, and that kind of opened me up.
Doing improv really got me started in my whole career.
I love L.A. and feel attached to this city, but I don't identify myself as being a part of it.
I'm more of a tomboy - I fall into the jeans-and-a-T-shirt style, for sure - but I have a girlie side to me.
I love watching 'The Real Housewives of New York.' That's my guilty pleasure. But I don't even feel guilty. I can just watch it, zone out, and forget about my problems.
Getting to be the 'weird roommate' on a sitcom was a dream come true.
Doing 'Comedy Bang! Bang!,' you have to play at the top of your abilities, so it is so fun to get that opportunity. I've grown a lot as a performer just working with those guys.
