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WHYY in Philadelphia, this is Fresh

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Air Weekend. I'm Sam Brigger. Today,

0:22

singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers. I

0:25

was smoking through a sea

0:27

stream. When Rogers was at NYU

0:29

studying music production, her class was visited by

0:31

Pharrell Williams, who was there to hear their

0:33

work. She played him her song Alaska, and

0:36

he was stunned by it. The

0:38

moment was captured on a video that went

0:40

viral and propelled Rogers to stardom. But in

0:42

2021, she was burnt out by life on

0:45

the road and took a break, enrolling in

0:47

Harvard Divinity School's graduate program. At

0:49

its core, music has always been the most

0:52

sacred and most spiritual thing that I've

0:54

ever been a part of. Also,

0:57

we'll hear from Kristen Wiig. She was a

0:59

beloved cast member on Saturday Night Live and

1:01

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1:04

now playing a pageant queen

1:06

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1:10

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is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Sam Brigger.

2:48

While in college at NYU getting

2:51

a degree in music production, singer-songwriter

2:53

Maggie Rogers met Pharrell Williams. During

2:56

his visit to her class, Pharrell heard an

2:58

early version of Maggie's song Alaska and was

3:00

stunned by it. The interaction

3:03

was filmed and the video went viral,

3:05

propelling her to fame. I

3:08

got to see Maggie Rogers perform last time she

3:10

was in Philadelphia. She was playing

3:12

at a theater in a series of smaller shows

3:14

she was doing called Box Office Week. The

3:17

day of each show, Rogers would be selling the

3:19

tickets herself, two per person, meeting the

3:21

fans that lined up early in the morning. Rogers

3:25

was interested in paring down the

3:27

concert experience to something more intimate,

3:29

personal, and less corporate. In

3:32

the fall, she will be playing arenas,

3:34

but Box Office Week is the kind

3:36

of thoughtful concept you might imagine from

3:38

the singer-songwriter. In 2021, Burnout from the

3:40

Road, Maggie

3:42

Rogers took a break and got a

3:44

master's degree from Harvard Divinity School, where

3:46

she explored public gatherings and the ethics

3:48

of power in pop culture. She's

3:51

been trying to find a way to make the

3:53

life of a touring musician more sustainable. Let's

3:56

hear a track from Maggie Rogers' new album Don't

3:58

Forget Me. is so sick

4:00

of dreaming. That's

5:11

the sick of dreaming from Maggie Rogers

5:13

new album Don't Forget Me. Maggie Rogers

5:15

welcome to Fresh Air. Thanks for having

5:17

me. So you said that in this album

5:19

this is the first time where some of

5:21

the material doesn't come from your own life

5:24

that you're like playing with a persona. And

5:26

I was wondering if that's freeing because I

5:28

imagine if you're writing songs about your own

5:31

life there'd be this like self-imposed

5:33

pressure to like get it right to be

5:35

precise with the details to be

5:38

authentic to the experience. Massively

5:40

so. I mean I think in being able

5:42

to sort of inhabit a character I was

5:44

able to weave this

5:46

tapestry of all of these different

5:48

memories throughout really my 20s. And

5:53

I was sort of able to

5:55

tell maybe even a more real version of

5:57

the truth in telling fiction over

5:59

the course of writing this. record this

6:01

character who's like a

6:03

25-ish year old girl who's leaving home and

6:05

sort of going on this road trip through

6:08

the American Southwest kind of appeared in my mind.

6:10

And I was able to write the songs in

6:13

sequence. The album is sequenced in the order

6:16

that I wrote the songs in. And

6:19

I was sort of writing them like scenes in a movie, you

6:22

know, that takes place over like 36 hours and

6:24

has a very like Thelma and

6:27

Louise-esque ride to it. And

6:30

yeah, it was just helpful structure. So without revealing,

6:32

like is it that there are certain songs

6:34

that are more autobiographical than others or that

6:37

this persona and your own life are sort of

6:39

woven through each of the songs? They're

6:41

definitely woven through. I have no problem

6:44

revealing, you know, because... You do that

6:46

sometimes. I mean, yeah, I've been doing

6:48

that for a long time. I'm also

6:51

just sort of like professionally vulnerable and

6:53

just naturally very comfortable with that. But

6:56

I think it's the feelings in all of

6:58

these songs are very real. You

7:01

said that you write songs as a way of processing

7:03

your life. Does that mean that

7:05

like once you've written about something that it

7:07

helps you come to a resolution, like you don't have

7:09

to think about that part of your life as much?

7:12

I think that was really true when I started writing songs.

7:15

I started writing songs kind of at the end

7:18

of middle school and the beginning of high school.

7:20

And it was very much a like one

7:23

to one diary entry directive

7:25

where I would write songs as

7:28

a form of like self soothing

7:30

therapy and sort of play the song

7:32

until I felt a new way. And

7:34

it was also at this time where I was

7:36

experiencing so much in my

7:39

life for the first time. And

7:42

it was 15 years ago now. And

7:44

I think now, I think about

7:46

songwriting a lot as a form of archiving. I

7:49

mean, obviously, I'm a nostalgic person if

7:51

my record is called Don't Forget Me.

7:54

But There's so much beauty in life and

7:56

so much detail and so much memory. And

7:58

I Do. Worry

8:00

about. Forgetting it all. Of

8:03

being able to like. Get

8:05

my arms so full of. Detail.

8:08

That I don't drop anything. And.

8:11

Putting. It into my art feels like one

8:13

way of being able to just keep holding it.

8:16

Will you know you mentioned nostalgia? I

8:18

wanted to ask you about that. When

8:20

I first listened the album was like

8:22

oh this is this is really nostalgic.

8:24

This is insensitive. I sat at but

8:26

you know then I'll I listens to

8:28

so much of the last two weeks

8:30

and you been writing nostalgic song since

8:32

you were like sixties seventies recess city

8:34

centre So I was wondering why I

8:36

see think that that's to steer inherently

8:38

a nostalgic person or do you think

8:40

it's like this process that you have

8:42

of like making sense of your life

8:44

is inevitably going to have. Like a

8:46

nostalgic aspect to it. As.

8:49

The gets. It's. Really a

8:51

part of who I am like.

8:53

my dad always tells the story

8:55

of the night I'd turned. Five,

8:58

He found me, saw them, and

9:01

I was just like completely overwhelmed

9:03

at the fact that I would

9:05

never before again. Where

9:07

you're right about that. Him, his kids lawyer.

9:09

Or yeah hey yeah I do. I

9:12

do read about that and it it

9:14

is just. I. Think This

9:16

idea. Of. Time

9:19

and the way that it slips. Through.

9:22

Your fingers and not being able to go back.

9:24

I mean I think. Not. To

9:26

talk more about live performance: My love it but

9:28

it it kind of is because. The.

9:31

Thing about being on stage is the

9:33

second it's awesome and you're like something

9:35

is really happening here. It's.

9:37

Gone. And you can't

9:40

hold. it can just be present in

9:42

it and hope that you remember it.

9:45

And. I'm so. Anyway, yes, I'm

9:47

a nostalgic progressive. Is so Maggie in

9:49

a huge just one of a handful of

9:51

popstars has gotten their masters degree from Harvard

9:53

Divinity School. As a specific com what was

9:55

it for you were hoping to get from

9:57

this program? I mean, it's not. It's.

10:00

Not a theology school to for

10:02

yeah, that's important is right? Note:

10:04

That I didn't go to any kind of seminary,

10:06

I didn't train be a priest. But clearly it

10:09

has to do with some sort of

10:11

element of spirituality and and that seemed

10:13

tethered to your understanding of work. With

10:15

music is like and performance. So I'm

10:17

here. Like where were you hoping to

10:19

sort of figure out when you're writing

10:21

a thesis? So my master's

10:23

degrees in Religion and Public places. So

10:25

this program that I went to specifically

10:27

for people who don't work in. Religion.

10:30

Who. Won a greater understanding of.

10:33

Religion. And in the way it works

10:35

in the world to be able to inform.

10:38

Their. Sort of non religious

10:41

mice and. A

10:43

sound as I was performing and

10:45

onstage. That. People were asking

10:47

me for answers to questions I'd

10:49

sell really unqualified to answer. Like.

10:52

I found myself in his

10:54

unconventional ministerial position without undergoing any

10:56

of the training like people

10:58

were asked me for my

11:00

perspective on politics suicide people were

11:02

asking for for marriage is.

11:05

Depression. And I was like

11:07

I'm twenty four, like I have no

11:09

idea. I was in no way any

11:12

more qualified than anybody else. Damn answer

11:14

to these things. The thing that I

11:16

really spent time learning about them? being

11:18

an expert in. Was. Music

11:21

but. People don't even really

11:23

ask me about music and even that

11:25

I was still early and learning and

11:27

and still him. And. So.

11:30

The program. It was

11:33

just really nice to have some quiet time

11:35

to think about what I believed and really

11:37

thinking about. You know, in this time that

11:39

is more divisive than it's ever been. How

11:42

did people come together? And. How

11:44

To people? Create. Meaning and

11:46

I think at it's core. music

11:48

has always been. The. Most

11:50

sacred and most spiritual thing that

11:52

I've ever. Been. A part of. whether

11:55

it's being in the crowd at

11:57

a show at an early age

11:59

or being on stage with my band

12:01

when we're all jamming

12:03

or playing music together and we

12:06

just hit that right thing all at the same

12:08

time. Something was

12:10

telepathically communicated. To me, it's

12:12

the closest thing I've ever

12:15

felt to something divine. And

12:18

so a lot of what I did

12:20

was study religious theory and study the

12:22

sort of technical, philosophical ways that

12:24

people think about and talk

12:26

about religion and the structure

12:28

of religion. And then I applied

12:31

it to music and to

12:33

touring and to festivals and used all

12:35

of that to sort of create this

12:38

system for myself to

12:42

navigate some of these bigger questions

12:44

I was having about ethics of

12:46

having a public platform and sustainability

12:49

within my career. And how

12:52

do I use the

12:54

work that I love to do the most amount of

12:56

good in the world? If

12:58

you're just joining us, our guest is Maggie

13:00

Rogers. Her new album is Don't Forget Me.

13:03

We'll hear more of our conversation after a

13:05

break. I'm Sam Brigger and this

13:07

is Fresh Air Weekend. This

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for free. Go to warbyparker.com/covered. So

14:19

Maggie, you know, the moment of your

14:21

discovery was filmed and went viral. You

14:24

were a student at NYU majoring in music

14:26

production. Your class was visited by

14:28

Pharrell Williams. He came to sort of listen

14:30

and give you some notes about

14:33

what you guys were doing. You played him

14:35

an early version of your song Alaska

14:38

and he was blown away by it. It's

14:40

sweet because you both look kind of nervous

14:42

and shy and like you're not sure whether

14:45

you should like be seeing what he's thinking

14:47

about your music. Like

14:49

obviously that's such an important moment

14:51

in your career and partly

14:54

performant as your success. Is

14:56

there a part of you that sometimes wishes that that video

14:58

hadn't gone viral, that that was a moment

15:00

that was more yours than everyone else's? I

15:05

mean, it was really, really

15:08

scary when it happened. I

15:12

was incredibly overwhelmed, but

15:15

it was also, it was

15:18

complicated because I got the

15:20

job that I had trained for and

15:22

that I'd always wanted. Right. Exactly in the

15:24

moment when I needed a job and

15:28

yet it was so deeply and

15:30

wildly out of my control.

15:33

Like it felt like something that

15:35

was happening to me, even

15:38

though it was something I had prepared for her

15:41

for like a decade at that point. Right,

15:43

because you've been performing for a long time,

15:45

even writing music for a long time. Yeah,

15:48

exactly. And then there was this moment where the door just opened.

15:52

Part of me wishes that I got to

15:54

upload that song and present my artistic statement.

15:56

But also what's beautiful about the video is

15:58

how ungrateful it is. It it is

16:01

super happen any other way. It

16:04

wouldn't be what it is, and I

16:06

feel actually really lucky that. The

16:09

version of me that got introduced. To.

16:11

The world. Is. And

16:13

was the most authentic version of

16:15

myself because that's the kind of

16:17

art that I love and I've

16:19

always been drawn towards making and

16:21

so do. I wish that I

16:24

like brush my hair When Mike

16:26

was put on a. Real. Out

16:28

when you like will be wearing that

16:30

necklace it's made of as I see

16:32

the elderly branch. What I. Mean, I.

16:34

I think that's the thing that sort

16:36

of wild and funny about it is

16:38

like when I suddenly overnight became a

16:40

pop star like and means a lot

16:42

of cologne and all of the close

16:45

I had were for like I lived

16:47

in the studio like I was a

16:49

studio rat and suddenly I mean like

16:51

colorful military outfits that decides what do

16:53

you mean a cat were like my

16:55

jeans and. Booth. Let's

16:58

hear little bit of Alaska. Oh.

18:18

That's Maggie Rodgers on Alaska. Yeah Maggie.

18:20

I'm not sure if it's because the

18:22

songs called Alaska, but there's always something

18:25

about the song that like for me

18:27

feels like there's a coolness to it

18:29

like mother's cold winds blowing and. I

18:32

don't know if it's related this, but you've

18:34

said you had synesthesia and. The. Music

18:36

has a collar to you, man and

18:38

so you Often when you're writing you

18:40

create these like color mood boards for

18:42

your lungs. Could you describe that? Yeah,

18:45

I mean I will. I think that

18:47

the the coldness that you're talking about

18:50

in that song comes from the synthesizers

18:52

and how. How smooth

18:54

they are And. Spartacus to kind

18:56

of. It. Exactly there is space

18:58

to it, but even in those

19:00

background vocals that sort of com

19:03

to help transition from the pre

19:05

chorus to the chorus, there is

19:07

a sword as. It's

19:09

a plate reverb and as a lot of

19:11

different kinds of reverb. but a plate reverb

19:14

is quite metallic in the way that it's

19:16

designed and I think that some us that

19:18

smoothness of the sense and and the way

19:21

that the sonic pilot of. That.

19:23

Song is designed. Does. Sort

19:25

of represent the landscape I was talking about

19:27

and that to me is that. It

19:30

is something I'm always trying to do

19:32

in I'm make the music, try an

19:34

echo or tell the story of the

19:36

emotion that it sound tracking and that

19:39

comes from. Yeah I grew up. Really?

19:41

Loving classical music and playing the

19:43

harp and orchestras. And I remember

19:45

my mom. Really? Early

19:47

telling me to listen to. Orchestral

19:50

music because they they were telling.

19:53

A story without words and. And I

19:55

was to. So. So. Taken

19:57

with an idea. As

20:00

far as these color mood boards go, I think

20:03

it goes back to how fast everything

20:05

was because I've always

20:08

had a very strong connection to

20:10

color and sound, but also

20:12

as I got sort of like thrown

20:14

into the like big dogs of the music

20:17

industry and was suddenly working with all of

20:19

these different collaborators after really just working alone

20:21

for a really long time. And putting

20:25

down my thoughts

20:27

and feelings of the

20:29

sonic palette or texture that I was trying

20:31

to create into a couple different

20:34

one sheets were really helpful

20:36

to walk into different people's studios

20:38

with because I could

20:40

show them in a couple

20:42

different terms, whether it was just blocks

20:45

of color on a page or

20:47

images I had pulled off of the internet about how

20:49

I wanted the record to feel. It was

20:52

something that helped me

20:54

communicate my artistic

20:57

vision, but also keep things really

20:59

coherent even as I was sort

21:01

of navigating all of these

21:04

wonderful new people that were coming into my

21:06

life because of all of

21:08

this new attention. Did that also help like

21:10

in order to sort of assert

21:13

yourself in those situations? Like

21:15

would people try to get you to record things

21:17

in different ways, but you had like all these

21:20

different ways of sort of showing that you

21:22

were really in command of these songs and that

21:24

these were your creations

21:26

and you knew what was best for

21:28

them? I mean

21:30

I think I

21:32

was lucky to work with a lot of really

21:34

wonderful people who were

21:38

true artists and really listen

21:40

to you. Well and the work of

21:42

a co-producer is to serve the artist or

21:45

to serve the art. I think that's

21:47

also part of the reason that I was drawn to

21:49

music production or to education in the first place because

21:52

in so many ways knowledge is power.

21:55

And I got into music production because I

21:57

was writing songs in high school

21:59

and I couldn't get the

22:01

guys to play my arrangements. So I

22:03

learned how to program. I learned how

22:05

to play the songs by myself and create

22:07

the arrangements for drums and bass and synth

22:09

and all these things on the computer because

22:12

it was like a gender problem. And

22:15

when I got to school and I could learn about

22:18

engineering and software and production and

22:20

microphones and drum

22:22

technique, it became

22:24

something that allowed me to

22:28

protect my vision. They were just

22:30

tools that allowed me to get

22:33

the thing that I heard in my head

22:35

down onto paper. Well

22:38

Maggie Rogers, thanks so much for coming on Fresh Air.

22:41

This has been such a dream. I have

22:43

to just tell you, I'm a big, big

22:46

Fresh Air MPR girl and this has been

22:48

really special. Thank you so much for having

22:50

me. Would you believe me

22:52

now if I told

22:54

you I might call you up in a

22:56

waste? I almost gave

22:58

it away. Would

23:01

you hear me out? I told

23:03

you I was here so scared. So

23:07

I can breathe. Breathing,

23:11

baby, I can

23:13

breathe. Breathing,

23:16

baby, I can

23:19

breathe. I

23:22

can't keep the whole thing off.

23:28

I can't keep the whole thing off.

23:34

I can't keep the whole thing off.

23:40

I can't keep the whole thing

23:42

off. That's

23:46

Light On by Maggie Rogers. Her

23:49

new album is called Don't Forget Me. Our

23:52

next guest is comedian, actor, and

23:54

screenwriter Kristen Wiig. She Was

23:56

nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress

23:59

in a Comedy. The Series for her

24:01

work on Saturday Night Live, and

24:03

received an Academy Award nomination for

24:05

best original screenplay for her Twenty

24:08

Eleven film Bridesmaids. Now

24:10

she stars in the new Apple Tv

24:12

Plus series called Palm Royale. Kristen Wiig

24:14

recently spoke to Fresh Air's Amery Ball

24:16

Dinardo. On a

24:19

Tv show, Palm Right out Kristen

24:21

Wiig play is Maxine, a former

24:23

pageant queen who wants more than

24:25

anything to break into the upper

24:28

echelons of high society. It's Palm

24:30

Beach, Florida in the late nineteen

24:32

sixties and everyone who is important

24:34

belong to the Palm Beach Country

24:37

Club. Outsiders are kept out, but

24:39

Maxine is determined to become a

24:41

socialite living a charmed life in

24:43

this scene from the first episode

24:46

she sneaks in, tries to pass.

24:48

That gets found out, questioned, And

24:50

asked to leave. How did

24:52

you get past security? I

24:54

came in the back. There are no doors on

24:56

the back of the Palm Royal. I never

24:59

said I used the door. Or use the

25:01

well. Most athletic. My athleticism

25:03

is just one of my many positive attributes

25:05

that would make me a wonderful addition to

25:07

the roster of members. Here and Pomeranz.

25:11

You. Will never be a member. Of. The

25:13

Palmer I have. It's

25:16

a high bar. Announce that

25:18

one. I could surely reached

25:20

his given the chance. As.

25:23

You know, even start the membership process. I need

25:25

another member to nominate me and how can I

25:27

get that if I can get know anybody? I'm

25:32

just feeling person new to Palm Beach. Look

25:34

in, the make a friend or to. The.

25:38

Palm? Really? Yeah? represent. Safety

25:40

in a rapidly changing world

25:42

embodying that which is sacred.

25:46

Resigned companionship sanctity and

25:48

a steep heart conviction

25:50

that. Beauty

25:53

is. Maxine

25:57

like Sen as recently either.

26:00

Yours is just trying to belong.

26:02

She's an outside are yearning for

26:04

acceptance like any and bridesmaids. The

26:06

movie Kristen Wiig costarred in and

26:09

co wrote. Kristen Wiig was a

26:11

cast member on Saturday Night Live

26:13

From Two Thousand and Five to

26:15

Two Thousand and Twelve. Last month

26:18

she hosted the Show said the

26:20

fifth time. Her other movies include

26:22

Ghostbusters, A Despicable Me Movies, A

26:24

Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Anchorman

26:27

Two, The Skeleton Twins, and Barb

26:29

and Star. Good of the stood Del

26:31

Mar Kristin Wiig Welcome to fresh air! Thank.

26:34

You so much I'm very happy

26:36

to be here. Can you describe

26:38

your character? Maxine? Oh

26:41

wow, Well see, Definitely doesn't

26:43

believe in the word obstacle.

26:47

When she wants something she goes

26:49

after it and I think she

26:51

has this sunny disposition along with

26:54

the which which I think kind

26:56

of confuses the audience as to

26:58

how to feel about are a

27:00

little that she's just. Constantly

27:03

Yeah No. Happy

27:05

and always seeing the glass half

27:08

full but what she's reaching for

27:10

his as you know obviously from

27:12

the outside. very shallow. This show

27:15

has a great pass. Allison Janney,

27:17

Laura Dern and her father Bruce

27:19

Dern and Laura Dern was actually

27:22

also is a producer on the

27:24

On a project There's Lovely Bed

27:26

and Carol Burnett. Carol Burnett plays

27:29

the Rich and Norma Teleport who

27:31

at the beginning the show is

27:34

in a coma. She. Is unresponsive

27:36

and living in a facility and

27:38

your husband who is her nephew.

27:40

She can have disowned him when

27:42

he married you, but you're trying

27:44

to get back into her good

27:46

graces even though she's in a

27:48

coma at the beginnings and in

27:50

the first episode we figure out

27:52

that your character Maxine has been

27:54

visiting normal everyday and has been

27:56

using her clothes isn't heard. You're

27:58

to make a less to make

28:00

herself look, read some like she

28:02

looks the part and I want

28:04

to play one of the first

28:06

scenes with Carol Burnett. He had

28:08

chairs or is unresponsive but Maxine

28:10

is still talking to her. I

28:14

met a friend. Norma. Honest good. he

28:17

slams. she's a member of the social

28:19

setting on a real fast. Can you

28:21

believe it? Or

28:24

no sense of press on a say

28:26

it out loud but I know that

28:29

you know I have a fast and

28:31

eleven my last a fast a mouth.

28:36

Hanging on it's harder as the years

28:39

pass. And to do with

28:41

a smile or am I really am. Too

28:45

tired. Stop.

28:49

Maxine pay for the pitiful. Is

28:53

unfortunate to have a scene with Carol

28:56

Burnett that we can't hear but is

28:58

the beginning of the series. he is

29:00

unresponsive. That's a scene from Pomeroy. Wow,

29:02

what was it like the doing those

29:04

first scenes with Carol Burnett but with

29:06

her on the bed like in the

29:08

room, unresponsive in the senior actually lying

29:10

in bed next to each other and

29:12

and you're doing this whole scene with

29:14

her their i know what was so

29:16

fun because when we would cut and

29:18

he knows. Wait for the next

29:20

set up. I would just stay inside with her

29:22

and be woods is talks and it was like

29:25

some other nice as memories I have of the

29:27

suit. To be honest. You

29:29

know it says. Oh,

29:32

legends, and rightfully so.

29:34

This is Not just

29:36

like unbelievably. Talented and

29:39

funny and fearless. And I mean

29:41

she's so warm and so generous.

29:43

The crew just like flocked to

29:45

her. She's a light and for

29:47

me and I grew up watching

29:49

her show was really my intro

29:52

and a. Sketch. Comedy

29:54

and. When we got

29:56

Carol we were like, okay, what? She.

29:59

needs to wake up Maybe

30:02

sooner than we had planned because we can't, people

30:04

will kill us. We have Carol Burnett and she's

30:06

just laying there. I

30:09

think that adds to the excitement too a

30:11

little bit. People know she's going to wake

30:13

up, so I think people are

30:15

kind of waiting for that. What

30:18

did Carol Burnett mean to you growing up? Well,

30:23

like I said, just the intro

30:25

to sketch comedy, I didn't really

30:27

know. I used to watch The

30:30

Mandrell Sisters and Hee

30:32

Haw and I'm aging myself.

30:35

But all of those old shows,

30:38

I used to love Martin and

30:40

Lewis movies and Abbott and Costell,

30:42

those really old comedic duos

30:45

and shows. There

30:48

was something about the

30:51

cast and how much fun

30:53

they were having. Whether they were

30:55

laughing in a scene or not, you could

30:57

tell they were genuine friends and

30:59

there was something that was so, I don't

31:02

know, appealing. I was like, oh, I want to do

31:04

that. She's a woman

31:06

at that time with her own show,

31:09

which was kind of crazy. She

31:12

was having fun with her friends.

31:15

I don't know, there's something about that that I

31:19

really admired, not

31:21

to mention just her raw

31:23

talent for characters. You

31:26

just called her comedy fearless. I

31:28

feel like there are a lot

31:31

of similarities between your comedy and

31:33

hers. I think of

31:35

some of her characters from the Carol Burnett

31:37

show, like her spoof of Gone with the

31:39

Wind, where she plays a Scarlett O'Hara

31:42

character and she comes down the stairs

31:44

with a dress made out of curtains

31:46

and the curtain rods are still in

31:48

there. It's like

31:50

a spoof of a beautifully dressed

31:52

woman and she uses physical comedy

31:54

and absurdity and funny

31:57

movements, slapsticks. Similar

32:00

to the some of the characters that

32:02

you play, do you feel like she's

32:04

an inspiration to your work? Like spoofing

32:07

glamour, almost as something that. I

32:09

feel like you both do. Well. I

32:11

mean yes, she's a huge inspiration

32:13

to me and I don't even

32:16

know how I could approach comedy

32:18

without thinking about her career and

32:20

her show. and also just that

32:23

there's not a need to be

32:25

a glamorous and always look. We.

32:28

Know. Good. In a sketch

32:30

where it's like the com any sort

32:32

of wins meaning like making yourself look

32:35

like attractive or to play sort of

32:37

like you know, A

32:40

character that so different from yourself or

32:42

something. really? Freeing about that and

32:44

I saw her freedom and that when I

32:47

would watch her if that make sense. Were.

32:50

Listening to the interview Freshers Everybody Not

32:52

a recorded with Kristen Wiig she Stars

32:54

and the Tv show Palm Royal on

32:57

Apple Tv. Plus we'll hear more of

32:59

their conversation after a break I'm Samberg

33:01

or and this is Fresher Weekend. This.

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at britbox.com/ NPR. Well

34:02

you had planned to be an

34:04

art teacher and you are majoring

34:07

in art and you. Had to

34:09

take. An acting class. And

34:11

during the acting class you had an

34:13

epiphany and I was wondering what that

34:15

classless lake and what made you think

34:18

oh this acting might be the thing

34:20

I want to do. Well

34:23

my major was called studio art

34:25

I think I did sculptured, drawing

34:27

and performance arts and I had

34:29

to take like a are acting

34:31

one or one I believe was

34:33

with it was cause Martha. And

34:36

I really didn't want to take it

34:38

because I'm. Not.

34:42

Good at any sort of

34:44

public speaking, any sort of

34:46

speech, Or book report I ever had to give

34:48

and school was. The. Worst day of my life and I

34:50

hated it. But

34:53

I was like okay and I'll just. Take

34:56

this class and see what happens and

34:58

I really liked it. It was very

35:00

much like a group. Class.

35:02

There wasn't a lot of solo stuff he had to

35:05

do. And. I

35:07

really sell in love with. Just.

35:09

Being in an ensemble. I

35:11

think and. I.

35:14

Really liked it and my my teachers

35:16

really kind of what. Inspired

35:19

me because I was be announced in my.

35:22

Early twenties and I was so kind of

35:24

like when am I doing with my life

35:26

and see had. Just encouraged me

35:28

and was like you said think. About

35:30

doing this and else I play as never

35:33

thought of doing this of my life on

35:35

but there was something. The Colonel a. Stuck.

35:38

With me about it and I. I

35:41

was very aware that I was enjoying the

35:43

Clueless more than my other classes. Now

35:46

you majored in art and I read that. You.

35:49

Were fired. By. A plastic

35:51

surgery clinic to drop post surgery

35:53

bodies and the day your before

35:56

your spouse start is when you

35:58

that the of destiny. Is

36:00

that true? And one yeah is that it

36:02

was or wasn't drawing? It was like yeah,

36:05

I was like photo shop like oh, slept

36:07

so people sort of like before and after

36:09

and I'd I'd have no idea how I

36:11

got the job because I. Didn't.

36:14

Wanna call fact I'm and yeah says

36:16

it's like I was starting on a

36:18

Monday and the acting classes? Kunis through

36:20

me. I mean I was confused twenty

36:22

year old any way of to say.

36:24

What? What? Am I can

36:27

and years now that aids worth to psych

36:29

you years as last and broke up with

36:31

my boyfriend and like you know the whole

36:33

thing and I remember being in my bathroom

36:35

and looking in the mirror and been like

36:37

okay because I have the theory that if

36:39

you touch yourself in look in the mirror

36:41

you can't lie to yourself I was like

36:43

okay if I could do anything in the

36:45

robot would I do. On.

36:47

I just said I would move to L

36:50

A and tried attacking and I was. Some.

36:53

Kind. Of that, that was what

36:56

I was feeling. But I'm that's

36:58

what came out and I went

37:00

to this bookstore that I really

37:02

loved going to. I I can

37:04

remember the name of. it's one

37:06

of those sort of spiritual. Bookstores,

37:09

With criminals and and sense and crystals and

37:11

all other things and I. And I walked

37:13

in and I really loved this bookstore! And

37:16

know is made me feel

37:18

good and. They had. I don't think

37:20

he was like upon layer of like a

37:22

psychic that that was there. And. At

37:24

that time I don't think I've ever seen

37:26

anyone like that and I knew it was

37:28

like ten minutes for ten dollars or something

37:30

and I was like oh, I wanna go.

37:33

To this person think his name was my

37:35

goal. Little. Said ten our ten minutes

37:37

Elect I'm gonna do it. Never. I sat down with

37:40

them. And he

37:42

wanted to like hold appeasement jewelry or something.

37:44

and. He was like what are you.

37:46

Doing. Here. And

37:49

I was kind of like. I. Don't know. He

37:51

was like know, what are you doing.

37:53

In. Arizona. He's like you

37:55

should be in Los Angeles. He's like you

37:57

said, be there by now. And

38:00

I was like, what? And he

38:02

mentioned acting and writing. And

38:04

I was like, okay,

38:07

that's weird. And

38:10

I went home and I

38:13

parked up all my stuff and I left the

38:15

next day. And

38:17

I drove to Los Angeles. Didn't

38:21

tell my parents. Well, when you

38:23

got to LA, what was your first move?

38:25

You moved in with your friend and you

38:27

started in acting class? I

38:29

did and I was at the Lee

38:31

Strasberg Institute and I started there and...

38:36

It wasn't? Like the acting class. The

38:38

acting class. And it wasn't for me.

38:41

I think I lasted a couple weeks and

38:44

I found an apartment. I

38:48

got a roommate. It was on like Rochester

38:50

Ave, which I thought was a sign. That's

38:52

where I'm from. And I was like, I'm supposed to live here. And

38:57

I moved in with a, she was a TV writer. And

39:00

I don't know.

39:02

It just, I got a job. I

39:05

worked at a hot dog restaurant in Beverly Hills

39:07

for a little bit. And

39:10

I think

39:12

my next job was, it

39:15

was right when anthropology was like starting

39:19

and they were opening the store. Yes,

39:22

it was like opening the store

39:24

called anthropology. And it was Santa

39:26

Monica and Thurgood Promenade. And I got a job helping

39:29

to open the store. And I worked there for

39:31

a while. And that

39:34

was when I was like settled. I was

39:36

like living in Santa

39:39

Monica, working there. Wasn't

39:41

doing any acting at all. I

39:44

just kind of like, I

39:46

kind of gave up. I just was like, I don't,

39:48

what am I doing? This town is full of people

39:50

that are trying to do this. I

39:53

have no experience. And I'm like 20

39:56

something years old. And I just, I

39:59

started working at. anthropology and I did get

40:01

into like the visuals there and because

40:04

that's sort of like what I really loved

40:06

and started doing that

40:08

and like the jewelry department. Well

40:10

then you became part

40:13

of the Groundlings which is an

40:15

LA comedy troupe and improv theater

40:18

where a lot of famous

40:20

comedians got their start including

40:22

other SNL cast members like

40:24

Will Ferrell, Maya

40:27

Rudolph and

40:29

what was the trajectory

40:32

from anthropology to the Groundlings?

40:35

Well when I was at a in

40:37

one of the performance art classes in

40:40

Arizona I met my friend Eric who

40:42

is still my best friend

40:44

to this day and he

40:46

had moved back to LA. He worked at anthropology

40:49

with me for a little bit. He lived downtown

40:51

and I met his neighbors who

40:54

were artists and

40:57

he told me one day he's like

40:59

have you ever been to the Groundlings

41:02

and I'd never heard of it and he was like I just

41:04

saw a show there I totally thought of you I think you

41:06

should go see a show there

41:09

and I saw

41:12

I think it was one

41:14

of their like Friday night like

41:16

one of their sketch shows but they have improv in

41:18

there too and I had never seen improv

41:23

and I love

41:25

sketch and I was

41:27

like oh my god that's what I want

41:29

to do it was I saw it as

41:32

something so different than just

41:34

the regular sort of acting class

41:36

or like moving to LA

41:38

to act it was like oh they're

41:41

improvising like they're making stuff up there's

41:43

no script they're creating characters

41:45

like it just seemed like I couldn't

41:48

really figure out what I wanted to

41:50

do until I saw a show there

41:53

you auditioned for SNL

41:55

two times And

41:58

you were first down the show

42:00

in two thousand and five as

42:02

well. Or your auditions like to

42:04

do people have the groundlings just

42:07

get a decisions that that's the

42:09

ballot or does that process like

42:11

I was terrified because I had

42:13

done scouts and most of my

42:15

characters were and scenes with other

42:18

people I wasn't a stand up

42:20

for. There wasn't a lot of

42:22

like just me onstage by myself

42:24

at all so I've felt. Very.

42:27

Nervous about that and I just kind

42:30

of. Was. Like alright

42:32

this is my chance and I

42:34

just for wrote a little thing

42:36

as as many characters as I

42:39

could do any impression that I

42:41

had was mostly characters and just

42:43

cram to them all in there

42:45

and herbie edition and went home

42:47

and didn't hear anything and then

42:50

ah. So. I just assumed. That

42:52

eight and gathered known Zone was calling me

42:55

i'm And then I heard of they Want

42:57

To See You Again and my first thought

42:59

was like I'd literally did everything. And that

43:01

last edition, I've got nothing more. I don't

43:03

have any other voices or characters so I

43:06

had to continue to come up with new

43:08

stuff which. I think in

43:10

the end ended up being good

43:12

for me just as a writer

43:14

and performer. just be like own.

43:16

Maybe there's more in there. And

43:19

then how did you find out? Ah,

43:22

that dishing. While.

43:24

The season started it was like. September.

43:27

And. And is watching

43:29

this season premiere and he wasn't about

43:31

Angeles so far as like another guy

43:33

got it and then it was after

43:36

like. The. Third show aired. I

43:38

got a call or my manager gonna

43:40

call thing. That. They wanted

43:42

me to fly out and watch

43:44

the show and and start the

43:46

next week. and what was her

43:49

like for starting bear and you know he didn't

43:51

start at the beginning of the season so yeah

43:53

it was already sort of up and rolling

43:55

a i would think that that would have been

43:57

scary a scary way to start oh yeah It

44:00

was terrifying because

44:02

also everyone, especially knowing how it is now,

44:04

like, you know, everyone's so

44:08

well, like, you can't even describe

44:11

the bond that the cast creates

44:14

on that show. And

44:17

I could feel that when I walked in,

44:19

but in an exciting way of like, oh,

44:21

I, you know, I knew

44:24

it was going to be my family

44:27

and I knew they were going to be

44:29

my friends. And it was exciting. And

44:31

at the same time, I was

44:33

very much like, okay, I'm the new girl. I just

44:35

want to try to do my

44:37

best. And I was on the show with

44:39

people that, you know, I've been watching and

44:41

it was like, like, Maya

44:44

and Tina and

44:47

Amy and Will Forte

44:49

and like all these people where I was

44:51

just like, how am I now

44:53

on the shows? It was

44:55

very surreal. Well,

44:58

I've heard you talk about your time at

45:00

SNL and how you missed the part of

45:03

your brain that you used there, that there

45:05

was a certain map to it. Can

45:07

you describe what you mean? Well,

45:10

it's the week goes by pretty

45:13

quick. And

45:17

there are a lot of little deadlines here and

45:19

there, which I do

45:21

better with deadlines. Like

45:25

Tuesday night, for example, it's like, okay, you get in

45:27

at, you know, I don't know,

45:29

two o'clock and you stay till five

45:32

or six in the morning and you want to

45:34

write probably three sketches. So

45:36

just knowing that that has

45:38

to happen and scheduling with another

45:40

writer or another cast member, it's

45:43

sort of like this unpredictable sort

45:45

of puzzle you

45:47

have to put together and to get everything done by the

45:49

time you get home. And then

45:51

there's the rewrites and

45:55

the time between dress and

45:57

air when you've got This. You

46:00

know, eight? Page. Sketch and if you

46:02

want to make it on a hurry, you have

46:04

to cut. It's. Thirty seconds and.

46:08

Putting. Thirty seconds is really hard because

46:10

like each joke depends on the other one

46:12

and there's timing and things set up.

46:14

Certain things and if you don't have the

46:16

set up is this joke in a still

46:19

work and I I loved that. I

46:21

don't out there. There was something about that. Frantic

46:24

panic between dress and air and

46:27

knowing that you were going to

46:29

do the sketch. On aired different than

46:31

you had done it all week. I.

46:34

Don't know those something. so. Exciting

46:36

about. Trying to figure that out

46:39

name. I do miss that

46:41

and just the timing of it. So

46:43

dress They dress rehearsal happens earlier on

46:45

Saturday night. Yeah and at Eight Seattle.

46:47

Okay so then you do the whole

46:49

show and then you have what an

46:52

hour and seems an hour and a

46:54

lot worse. Okay, well I'm his work.

46:56

Well actually yeah because the it starts

46:58

at A and it's that. Just herzl

47:01

it and dress rehearsals much longer than

47:03

that. Live. Show. Others. It's

47:05

on an army the half hour longer so you're

47:07

over at like. Ten.

47:10

Thirty And then you go

47:12

and get. Notes and

47:14

try to rewrite stuff and then

47:17

you're in the chair, you know,

47:19

getting. Your. Wig on

47:21

and getting everything for the first sketch

47:23

and the So sites and eleven dirty

47:26

so it's all. It's all sas pets

47:28

but everyone's running around so that's what's

47:30

so. Fun! About it

47:32

like everybody. the

47:35

year before you left snl the

47:37

movie bridesmaids came out that lessons

47:39

when he eleven and it was

47:41

a huge hit you where the

47:44

star and you co wrote the

47:46

film with your creative partner any

47:48

mom allow you play any a

47:50

woman who has bake shop went

47:52

out of business and your best

47:54

friend played by maya rudolph is

47:56

getting married and is starting a

47:59

new fancy like She has a

48:01

new fancy friend played by Rose

48:03

Byrne and Annie feels like

48:05

she's being left behind I'm going

48:07

to play a much quoted

48:09

scene Here's the

48:11

bridal party They're

48:13

on a plane going to Las

48:16

Vegas for the bachelorette party Your

48:19

character is sitting in coach because she

48:21

can't afford a first-class ticket and

48:23

Annie is nervous about flying So

48:25

she takes something to relax and

48:27

has a drink and is pretty

48:29

out of it when she visits

48:31

the characters played by Maya Rudolph

48:34

and Rose Byrne in first class

48:38

Hey buddy How you

48:40

doing? I feel

48:42

so much more relaxed. Thank you. Hello.

48:45

I just feel like I'm

48:47

excited and I feel relaxed I'm

48:50

ready to With

48:56

the best of them I'm

49:00

gonna go down to the river Wow,

49:04

it looks like somebody's really

49:06

relaxing now Yeah,

49:08

what are you guys talking about up here? We're

49:12

going to a restaurant tonight and the owner

49:14

is here Oh

49:18

Here he is Mmm

49:22

Mmm Hey

49:26

Let's go take a nap. What do you say? Miss, you

49:29

cannot be up here Hello Grandpa That's

49:34

a scene from the 2011

49:37

film Bridesmaids. Now this film is over

49:39

10 years old and it's hard to

49:42

remember that there was this whole narrative

49:44

about how Shocking it

49:46

was that a comedy starring women was

49:48

successful and funny and who will say

49:50

that when I talked to my daughters

49:53

I've teenage daughters About

49:55

how this was what people

49:57

thought there. They don't know

49:59

what I'm talking talking about. You know, they don't

50:01

understand that people used to think that women

50:03

were funny. That's good. Yeah, no,

50:06

I think it's great. But what did you

50:08

think about that narrative at the time? Like

50:11

what do you remember about it? I

50:13

mean, I was so used to it. It

50:16

was such a topic of conversation

50:19

and I

50:22

didn't understand it. I

50:24

guess I understood sort of

50:26

like the financial, like

50:29

comedies with men made

50:32

more money, I guess. It

50:35

was sad to me because I could

50:37

name a million female comedians

50:40

and comedic roles in films

50:42

and movies that have

50:45

been successful. And it just kind

50:49

of felt like so much of it

50:52

was put on the female

50:54

part of it. And it

50:57

wasn't just seen as like a comedy. It was

51:00

like it was so much about, you know, being

51:02

a female comedy and like, oh, even guys will

51:04

like it. It's like, well, yeah,

51:06

why wouldn't they? I mean, girls

51:09

watch, you

51:11

know, guys. It was just

51:14

so, it's

51:16

just weird. Well,

51:18

Kristen Wiig, it's been great talking with you.

51:21

Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

51:25

Kristen Wiig spoke with Fresh Air's Amry

51:27

Baldonado. Wiig's new TV show is called

51:29

Palm Royale. Fresh

51:32

Air Weekend is produced by Teresa Madden. Fresh

51:35

Air's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our

51:38

technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our

51:41

interviews and reviews are produced

51:43

and edited by Amy Salat,

51:45

Phyllis Myers, Roberta Shorrock, Amry

51:47

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51:49

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51:52

digital media producer is Molly Seavey-Nesbir.

51:54

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