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Comedian Sasheer Zamata talks about her Saturday Night Live

Colette Greenstein
Colette Greenstein has been a contributing arts & entertainment writer for the Banner since 2009. VIEW BIO
Comedian Sasheer Zamata talks about her Saturday Night Live
Sasheer Zamata (Photo: Photo courtesy NBC Universal)

Comedian Sasheer Zamata came to national prominence in January 2014 when she made her debut on NBC’s long-running sketch/variety series Saturday Night Live. But long before SNL came knocking on her door, she was preparing for a career in comedy.

After graduating from the University of Virginia in 2008 with a drama degree, Zamata headed to New York in 2009 where she performed with the improv group Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. In March of 2010, Zamata, Nicole Byers and Keisha formed the all-black, female improv group Doppelganger.

That same year, producers from Saturday Night Live began looking at Zamata as a potential cast member. After submitting audition tapes of her characters and performing in showcases for a couple of years, SNL called her in for a screen test in January 2014. Later that month she appeared as a featured player.

Zamata, who returns to SNL for her second season this September, will be performing stand-up comedy at Laugh Boston on Sunday, August 9. She recently spoke to the Banner about SNL’s 40th Anniversary celebration, meeting Beyoncé and how she went from improv to stand-up.

You’ve mentioned that you’ve been able to say ‘Live from New York!’ three times since you’ve been on SNL. When you first said it, was it kind of like an out-of-body experience?

Sasheer Zamata: Oh, definitely. It’s so crazy. It’s such a rush and the audience is so into it, and then the band starts. It’s an awesome moment to be a part of. It’s a historical thing. Not everyone gets to say, ‘Live from New York!’ and have it be live. It’s crazy.

I imagine you were at the SNL 40th Anniversary celebration. Was it also kind of an out-of-body experience seeing so many former cast members, hosts and musicians, and this great history that the show has?

SZ: It was bananas. Just like watching people rehearse in their costumes. It would be like Molly Shannon in her Superstar outfit, like Steve Martin in King Tut. It was just so crazy to see all these people that I looked up to and all these characters that I’ve loved, all together, just talking and hanging out. I think everyone felt that. Everyone I talked to was like, so impressed. I was sitting next to Michael Bolton for most of the show and he was impressed. He was like, ‘Can you believe that we’re all here together?’ It was really cool.

Was there anyone that you wanted to meet that you actually got a chance to talk to or say, ‘Hi’ to at the celebration?

SZ: I talked to Beyoncé. That’s the only person that I care about. It was so funny. She came to the after-party and there were so many celebrities there, but everyone was drawn to Beyoncé. Everyone wanted to talk to her. I chatted with her for a bit and I think I stayed very composed. I didn’t make a fool of myself. She was lovely. She was absolutely lovely.

You started doing sketch comedy after graduating from college. How did you transition from doing sketch comedy to stand-up?

SZ: I was taking improv classes and there were other people in my class who wanted to try stand-up. The idea scared them and that excited me, because I like trying scary things, trying new things. And, I was like, ‘I’ll try stand-up’. I was intrigued by the idea and wrote some jokes. I went to an open mic by myself. I didn’t tell anyone I was going. I wanted to try it and did okay. No one knew it was my first time doing stand-up, and that excited me. I kind of got the bug and really wanted to figure out how to do this well and write jokes that I love that other people could understand — and like having other people in my brain and sharing the experience on stage.