Meet Maryn, a member of Senseless Acts of Comedy!
Year: Sophomore
Major/Minor: FTDM major, education minor
Hometown: Grapevine, TX
Q: So, you said you’ve been doing Loose Ends since freshmen year?
A: “I knew I wanted to do improv. I did competitive acting before and when I toured TCU I talked to a film professor and he told me about Senseless Acts of Comedy. Then he was like ‘there’s Loose Ends.’ I found them on Facebook and then I showed up the first week. I didn’t audition my first semester cause I got mono. I was sick for like an extended period of time. So I missed a lot of practices but then I tried out second semester and here I am.”
Q: Are you involved in any other extracurricular activities?
A: “Student Filmmaker’s Association.”
Q: Why do you have the maroon tie?
A: “I think people have wondered that before… We had our first meeting with the new troop and we were all trying to pick colors and I didn’t want a bright color cause I’m like the color of paper. Bright colors just make me look worse. So I wanted a darker one and they were like ‘be maroon’…I’m like ‘I love maroon’… so now I’m the maroon tie.”
Q: You said you first became interested because you did acting?
A: “Yeah it’s called oral interpretation. They have it on campus here… So yeah it was weird but it forces a lot of characterization and it is my favorite event. It’s also the event I was most successful in was humorous interpretation.”
Q: What’s your favorite improv game?
A: “I really like anything that involves character…Anything that we have to give jokes on I’m really bad at. Like I cannot… I suck at jokes.”
Q: Do you have a go-to character?
A: “Yeah and I hate it. I feel like I always jump into to like a southern person sometimes or a kid. I play little kids a lot.”
Q: Any reason?
A: “I guess it’s because I’m the most confident with that voice. I’m confident with British… The first thing I jump into is like a little kid or like a southern woman who’s really uptight and I’m like uhhh I need to stop playing those people. I guess those are my go-to.”
Q: How have you changed as a comedian? What challenges have you overcome?
A: “I was really shy for a really long time. Then I got into stage theater, quickly found out it was not my thing. I don’t really like singing. I like goofing off and I like doing voices. I’ve gained more confidence I think, and I’m not as uptight. I learned if people don’t laugh that’s okay and just kind of go with the flow as long as I’m having fun and doing what I love that’s important. I used to be a lot more uptight.”
Q: Are you planning on doing anything with comedy after college?
A: “I would really love to write for a late night show or the ultimate dream would be on SNL. But no, I would like to write for a sitcom, write for late night or possible be in one, but also I would love to do movies, like Hot Rod, Bridesmaids stuff like that. I could not direct a serious movie.”
Q: Who’s your comedic inspiration?
A: “I really admire Jane Curtin. She’s on SNL. I think at the time, the early 70’s, it was really hard to be (I mean it’s always hard to be) a female comedian. She just kind of went in there and was very businesslike, just was like ‘screw you guys like I’m doing what I’m doing.’ And she didn’t party either, not that I’m like against that, but I just thought that was cool. Because she’d go home with her dog and her husband and everyone else was like going to bars. I just think she’s really cool.”
Q: Do you have any advice for people looking to get into comedy?
A: “I think a lot of people are hesitant. I think the laughter thing is like ‘my god what if people don’t laugh at me?’ ‘What if things don’t go well?’ haunts people; it makes them nervous. I guess my biggest advice is if it’s something you really love, just do it because the more time you do it you’re going to get used to and there’s someone somewhere that’s going to think you’re funny. I was told in high school for improv that a lot of girls were afraid to do double chins or really gross characters and I never was like that because I’m weird. This senior always said ‘ugly girls win’- like girls that just go out there and are going to go head-to-head with guys in comedy and just do it and not care what people think. Do not care about looking good or getting this certain amount of laughs…Do it. Be weird. Don’t pay attention to the audience.”
Photo courtesy of Maryn Richardson