I don't normally do email interviews with entertainers coming into town unless there is a genuinely good reason. For instance, I did one with puppet master Jeff Dunham in 2012 because he had to save his voice for his shows. (I did eventually get to talk to him the last time he came into town earlier this year.)
I made another exception for Sasheer Zamata, the latest "Saturday Night Live" cast member who became the show's first African-American female on the show since Maya Rudolph left in 2007. She is making her first stand-up appearance in Atlanta at the Laughing Skull Lounge July 31 to August 3. (You can buy tickets here.) She hasn't done much - if any - press that I can tell since she was hired in January and I haven't heard much about what her experience with "SNL" has been.
There was a lot of controversy over her hire, first because of criticism over the relative lack of black females on the show over four decades and secondly, how creator Lorne Michaels held auditions specifically seeking a black female partway through this past season.
She ultimately held up well under the pressure as a featured performer fighting for airtime with a ridiculously large 17-person cast. Variety wrote that "she breezed in with solid supporting work that made you instantly forget those circumstances."
When I had Laughing Skull owner Marshall Chiles inquire about Zamata's availability, he learned NBC has placed her on lock down when it comes to phone interviews. I might have dropped it, but he said they were ultimately willing to take email questions. Naturally, email interviews are vastly inferior to a phone interview because you can't follow up questions or change the flow of the conversation because it isn't technically a conversation.
The result: she answered exactly zero "SNL"-related questions, even the most innocuous ones. I'm not going to place the onus on her. It's clear NBC publicists, for whatever reason, don't want her to talk about the circumstances behind her hire, her experience on the show or what her plans are for her second season. Why? I have no idea! After her answers to my non-"SNL" questions, I'll list all the questions she did not answer.
Q: Is this your first show in Atlanta? What do you know about our fine city and have you been here before?
Sasheer: It is my first show in Atlanta! I'm very excited about it, I hear you have the Real Housewives here.
Q: How did you end up getting booked with Laughing Skull Lounge?
Sasheer: My agent set it up.
Q: What was it like working with Upright Citizens Brigade?
Sasheer: I love the UCB Theater. It's a great place to train, create, try, fail, try again and meet collaborators. I got a lot out of that theater.
Q: You have an improv/sketch background. What is your stand up like? Are you more joke oriented or story oriented?
Sasheer: I'd say my stand up is more story oriented. All my jokes stem from events that happen in my life, so they start in reality and veer into the extreme.
Here's a sampling:
Q: You have a web series and do satirical videos online. How has the Web helped build your brand in this day and age?
Sasheer: Putting my work online has really helped get my face in front of a lot of people. Not everyone can see me do a live show in New York, but people can send links to their friends. And creating your own work and putting it out in front of people is so gratifying.
Q: What should folks expect from you in terms of a show?
Sasheer: Well I'll definitely be doing stand up, so if people are expecting something else they should probably go to another showl
Q: Have you seen the Jay-Z/Beyonce tour yet? If so, how did you like it?
Sasheer: I haven't yet. I saw the Beyonce tour and a Jay-Z concert separately, so I can imagine the two of them together will be insane.
Q: Have you ever heard from Beyonce or has she placed you on some sort of “stalker” list?
Sasheer: I haven't heard from her and if she has put me on a stalker list, I don't know about it. But I don't know why she would when all I want to do is LOVE HER FOREVER.
Here are the questions she didn't answer. I presume it wasn't her decision but the folks at "Saturday Night Live." Why "SNL" is keeping her from answering said questions I have no idea.
Do you agree with Kenan Thompson that there is a general lack of quality black female comics?
When did you first audition for the show?
What was your reaction when you found out you had been selected – midseason nonetheless?
Here's what Don Lemon of CNN had to say at the time: "You can also look for a whole lot of scrutiny and criticism from some who are looking for an excuse to say she got her job to fill a quota because she's black," he said, adding "...it probably won't be easy for Zamata — who, in the glaring spotlight that's about to be trained on her, is going to have to be a whole lot funnier than she is black." Do you feel that pressure and if so, how do you handle it?
How do you think you did on the show given the scrutiny and the fact the cast was so large? Fortunately, reviews have been more positive than negative.
Did you have a favorite moment?
Do you have a favorite impersonation you've done so far on the show and an impersonation you'd like to do?
What is your game plan for first full season starting this fall?
Here's her well-received imitation of Kerry Washington's Olivia Pope from March:
[hulu id=fbrnqduz7ttf8j4sg7d3tw width=512]
Concert preview
Sasheer Zamata
8 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m., 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday
$20-$30, depending on the night
Laughing Skull Lounge
878 Peachtree Street, Atlanta
www.laughingskulllounge.com
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