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Sarah Sherman & Dan Bulla on Nerves, the Craziness of SNL, and Their Friendship | Fly on the Wall

May 17, 2023 / 03:22

This episode features Sarah discussing her experiences on SNL, her influences, and the nerves that come with live performances. Key topics include her fearless energy, the pressure of performing live, and the humorous mishaps that occur backstage.

Sarah shares a story about a particularly nerve-wracking show where she took medication to calm her nausea, which resulted in her tongue turning white. To counteract this, she ate candy to change the color of her tongue before going on stage.

The conversation touches on the immediate feedback from the audience, with Sarah recalling how a laugh can ease her nerves during a performance. Despite the laughter, she often questions her performance afterward, feeling anxious even when the audience is still applauding.

Throughout the episode, Sarah's candidness about her anxiety and the chaotic nature of live television highlights the unpredictability of performing on SNL. The hosts share their own experiences with nerves and the unique challenges of live comedy.

TL;DR

Sarah discusses her SNL experiences, performance nerves, and backstage mishaps, highlighting the unpredictability of live comedy.

Episode

3:22
00:00:00
Sarah came in and like right off the bat
00:00:01
was pretty obvious like what her
00:00:05
influences were and just like I remember
00:00:07
the first table read being like damn
00:00:09
this person is fearless you know it's
00:00:12
just oh wild energy just like it was
00:00:15
immediately like this person
00:00:17
has it you know and has something big
00:00:20
and stuff yeah I watching your stuff you
00:00:23
seemed
00:00:24
um there you don't seem to be ever
00:00:26
pushing or trying I mean you seem like a
00:00:29
veteran like the way you present on SNL
00:00:31
is not normal for how soon you are into
00:00:36
your tenure so that's I truly there was
00:00:39
one show Dan can attest this because I
00:00:42
get like psycho I go I get psychotically
00:00:44
nervous and I really had to puke before
00:00:47
the show because I was like anxious and
00:00:50
so I took a Zofran
00:00:52
to get myself from Scott because I
00:00:55
didn't want to obviously whatever
00:00:57
nausea thing Googling it's like they
00:01:01
give it to like pregnant women with like
00:01:03
morning sickness so they don't puke
00:01:05
their brains out and I like needed it to
00:01:08
act really fast so I like chew I chewed
00:01:10
up this like pill you're supposed to
00:01:12
swallow and it turned my tongue
00:01:13
completely white and I was like oh [ __ ]
00:01:16
like I have to go do a sketch where I'm
00:01:17
like the whole sketch is just someone
00:01:19
saying something crazy and I go like
00:01:21
this like
00:01:25
but my tongue was white from chewing
00:01:28
this like drug and so then I ate a bunch
00:01:31
of candy before the sketch to like dye
00:01:34
my tongue a different color than white
00:01:36
and so like the I have like a bright red
00:01:39
tongue during this sketch from like
00:01:42
eating a punch in my head the story is
00:01:44
like awesome
00:01:46
no we like it we like the craziness of
00:01:48
the show because we your nerves come out
00:01:51
in those crazy ways I I remember being
00:01:54
in that eighth floor bathroom that's way
00:01:56
in the back past page test but going
00:01:58
back toward the elevators then you can
00:01:59
go way back and there's a bathroom there
00:02:00
looking at my nose going it's dead quiet
00:02:03
here now I have to go out there and it
00:02:05
and in 10 minutes everyone will see me
00:02:07
across the country it's not like you
00:02:09
film a movie and then it comes out a
00:02:10
year later you could walk off and the
00:02:12
phono ring like I just saw you uh and
00:02:15
you don't have cell phones back then so
00:02:16
you have to wait and just wonder if it
00:02:19
was any good very odd but I'm glad you
00:02:21
get nervous and you don't look because
00:02:23
you're not as cool as you look out there
00:02:25
but what isn't it you get that first
00:02:27
laugh do you calm down at that point a
00:02:28
little bit because that's that was big
00:02:30
for me I'd be so terrified then if I got
00:02:32
a laugh I it took it down 20 no and then
00:02:35
I come off stage and it doesn't matter
00:02:37
how well it goes I go straight to Bullet
00:02:40
I go I'm gonna [ __ ] kill myself
00:02:44
there definitely have been times Sarah
00:02:46
walks off and she goes was that okay and
00:02:49
people are literally still laughing and
00:02:50
clapping like it's not over yet people
00:02:53
are still laughing you did great I think
00:02:55
we're all we're all crazy after Jewish
00:02:57
Elvis I thought I was gonna die I was
00:02:59
like I literally thought I was gonna die
00:03:01
and I was being crazy and I come
00:03:03
backstage and I'm like soaking sweat
00:03:06
and you're like that was great and I'm
00:03:08
like I you know when I do that thing
00:03:09
where I'm like well you're just like
00:03:11
saying that because you're like trying
00:03:13
to make me feel better because I'm
00:03:14
clearly having a panic attack and I'm
00:03:15
like everyone's lying to me

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 60
    Best performance

Episode Highlights

  • Sarah's Fearless Energy
    Right from the start, Sarah's wild energy and confidence were evident.
    “This person is fearless, you know?”
    @ 00m 09s
    May 17, 2023
  • Nerves Before the Show
    The intense anxiety before going on stage can be overwhelming, leading to desperate measures.
    “I literally thought I was gonna die!”
    @ 02m 59s
    May 17, 2023

Episode Quotes

Key Moments

  • Fearless Energy00:09
  • Pre-Show Nerves02:59
  • Panic Attack03:15

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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