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Rachel Dratch on Cast Members Breaking Character on SNL | Fly on the Wall

April 12, 2023 / 03:33

This episode features discussions about memorable moments from Saturday Night Live, including sketches with Chris Farley and Christina Applegate. The guests share experiences of breaking character during performances and the challenges of maintaining composure on stage.

One highlight is the reminiscence of the "van down by the river" sketch, where laughter was hard to contain. The guests reflect on the pressure of performing live and how a successful sketch can lead to unexpected reactions.

They also talk about a sketch involving a dog, where the animal's antics added to the humor. The preparation for the sketch included feeding the dog to ensure it would perform well on air.

Another discussion centers around a character created by writer Scott Wanio, which was inspired by a moment involving Angelina Jolie and her brother. The guests describe the absurdity of the character and how it contributed to their comedic repertoire.

The episode captures the essence of live comedy, the joy of collaboration, and the unpredictability of performances.

TLDR

Guests share memorable SNL moments, breaking character, and the joy of live comedy.

Episode

3:33
00:00:00
before you're on the show you love seeing people break like when you're just watching as a viewer and then when
00:00:06
you're on like you really try not to break I mean I really would try not to but I remember both of you guys like the
00:00:14
Chris Farley the van down by the river oh yeah oh my gosh that was one of the early breaks because so fun we were
00:00:21
still not supposed to and so obviously worried about getting fired and then because you know after you do a decent
00:00:27
sketch just for people at home Lauren doesn't throw the headphones down and the amster light and run out and hug you
00:00:32
so you did it Gap girls is a smash and Spins me around while they go to commercial so uh he just you walk by and
00:00:42
and he might nod or you know a thumbs up yeah nice you'll get them next time but it wasn't
00:00:50
terrible B plus which is good terrible terrible so when when uh that was van down by the river one was a fun
00:01:00
one uh to break up in but really I don't know if I did it even ever after that and uh I think Jimmy has the most
00:01:08
on his resume of crackups yeah no you you weren't like a frequent breaker I just remembered that one as being
00:01:16
because I mean if I were there I'd be laughing too it was just so funny yeah and we had Christina Applegate yes I
00:01:23
think so um yeah and then and then Dana I was thinking about um yes and the dog ripping the thing off
00:01:35
yes that was that was the animal was more smiling but everyone else was going banana that was so fun the sketch was
00:01:42
killing so hard and we've told this story before but they put more of the dog you know the baby Gerber's meat food
00:01:49
on the prosthetic and they didn't feed the dog for dinner because Rob Schneider said how do we how do we get him to
00:01:55
really go crazy on air well maybe we'll do a light dinner and we'll put more on the thing so the dog went crazy for it
00:02:02
but the sketch was going so well and I loved it so much that I decided I really wanted to keep the thing on so I put my
00:02:09
hand on my temple and I was kind of smiling but the crowd was going crazy because I was just riding the wave of an
00:02:16
animal an innocent animal trying to get food you can't top that right in comedy so but yeah that was uh a lucky one did
00:02:23
you have one of those uh something where someone else wrote it and you're writing
00:02:28
this Great Wave that's just uh it's just great when someone else comes up with it
00:02:32
for you oh my gosh well um something that someone else came up with was um this writer Scott wanio wrote back when
00:02:41
um Angelina Jolie and her brother had this moment where they they kissed or something so then he wrote this
00:02:47
character that was their love child and so I came out with this like bald head with an arm coming out of my head and
00:02:54
like drooling and I mean it was like an Apache ball it was like it was a total look and he named the character he named
00:03:01
the character like turple clicks like it didn't even have any vowels in it so anyway I got and there was drool
00:03:07
involved so I got to come on as that and then that character recurred and all sorts of like American Idol
00:03:13
conversations oh yeah yeah and that was created by Scott wanio not at all by me so yeah
00:03:19
that always always really fun when you get handed this and it's great when it's funny with the sound off just that just
00:03:26
the image when you come out they're already laughing it's crazy yeah yeah you get that connection yeah wow

Episode Highlights

  • Breaking Character on Stage
    The thrill of trying not to break character during a live sketch performance.
    “I really would try not to break.”
    @ 00m 08s
    April 12, 2023
  • The Dog Sketch Chaos
    A hilarious sketch involving a dog that went crazy for food, leading to unforgettable moments.
    “The sketch was going so well and I loved it so much.”
    @ 02m 02s
    April 12, 2023
  • Creating Iconic Characters
    The joy of being handed a funny character concept by a writer.
    “It's great when someone else comes up with it.”
    @ 02m 31s
    April 12, 2023

Episode Quotes

  • You can't top that right in comedy.
    Rachel Dratch on Cast Members Breaking Character on SNL | Fly on the Wall
  • It's great when someone else comes up with it.
    Rachel Dratch on Cast Members Breaking Character on SNL | Fly on the Wall

Key Moments

  • Breaking Character00:02
  • Dog Sketch01:35
  • Iconic Character02:56

Tension Over Time

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown