zeitgeist

fall 2012 • zeitgeist 1

ZEITgeistfall 2012 • issue 1

2 zeitgeist • fall 2012

From the EditorWelcome to the premiere issue of Zeitgeist Magazine. Reflecting the spirit of our time is the primary objec-tive for our publication.

Our mission is to celebrate creativity, tradition and preserve our cultural memory. Bringing a sense of wonder to the ingenuity and artistry of communities throughout our nation. The first issue of Zeitgeist, shines a spotlight on female comedians in Los Angeles, CA. Comedy is an oral tra-dition, like storytelling, practiced in small groups and learned informally through performance.

Comedy has empowered the women highlighted in the following pages. They create opportunities for themselves, come to terms with failure and celebrate their successes.

We hope you enjoy the amazing women featured in this quarter’s issue.

Editor ia l Board: Terry Ei ler, Michael Bou-Nackl ie, Abigai l F isher, Claire Harbage, Taehoon Kim, Wi l l Parson, Heather Rousseau and Er ica Yoon


Table of Contents

After the Set14

Out of the Studio Box26

30 Girl on Top

36 Pretty Funny Women

Discover the highs and lows of women in comedy. A close examination into the life Los Angeles writer and comedian Megan Swertlow.

Media entrepreneur, Elizabeth Laime discusses the joy of developing her a podcast empire.

Pretty Funny Women, creator and comedy maven, Lisa Sundstedt discusses her workshop series.

An interview with multi-talented comedian Heather Anne Campbell about her days writing for SNL and her dreams for her future.


Photos & Story by Kate Munsch

Megan Swertlow doing standup during an open mic night at the Hollywood Hotel.

After the SetLife off stage in Los Angeles

An experience at Christian camp in southern Missouri was the first time Megan Swertlow realized the rest of the world was not like Los Angeles, CA, the city she called home. Being dropped off in the middle of nowhere with a group of evangelicals was a turning point for her. The experience made her understand humor in a different way.

MEGAN SWERTLOW


“I was this California girl, confronted by these fundamental Christians. I loved the hypocrisy of it all, the juxtaposition of my life with theirs. I remember making them laugh all the time. It made me realize how much I loved comedy,” Swertlow remembers.

Swertlow is a writer, comedian and improv performer. The 30-year-old Los Angeles native is passionate about her pursuit of comedy. Growing up in the city provided an unusual childhood for Swertlow. The eccentricities of Los Angeles, like going to high school with television stars, were commonplace for Swertlow.

Women in comedy are finding their voice in the city by participating in comedy on multiple levels, from writing to producing sitcoms. They are leaving behind everything familiar and creating an alternative family with other comedians. Swertlow is part of this new wave of women taking over the world of comedy.

Although she knew she loved entertaining people, it took her time to realize comedy was the right fit. Before turning to comedy, she dabbled in acting and Shakespearean theater in college. But dramatic theater did not satisfy her.

During this period, Swertlow, the daughter of journalists, did not consider writing as a career. Like most young adults, the idea of following in her parents’ footsteps was not appealing; she had the tools and talent to be a writer, but did not want to use them. Growing up, people would ask Swertlow if she wanted to be a journalist like her parents. In response Swertlow told them she wanted people to write about her.

In time, she identified all of her gifts and the challenges they brought with them. Her hyper-activity, anxiety, humor and talent, once understood and harnessed, were the perfect combination for a person who wanted to entertain people by making them laugh.

“Focus is my biggest challenge. My A.D.D. is such a gift, but also a weapon,” Swertlow says. She learned how to tap into these characteristics, using the good and the bad to become the person she is today. “I’m a

“I was this California girl, confronted by these fundamental Christians. I loved the hypocrisy of it all, the juxtaposition of my life and theirs.”

AfterSet

fall 2012 • zeitgeist 7 The ticket booth at comedy club iO West on Hollywood Boulevard. Founded by Del Close and Charna Halpern in 1981, iO West has been the launching pad for many of comedy’s most talented comics, including Tina Fey, Mike Myers and Chris Farley.


AfterSet

“When I’m on a roll, I feel fearless … I’m confident.it feels like I can lift a city and throw it. I can do no wrong.It’s amazing.”

Swertlow makes last minute changes to her standup set list before going on stage.


performer, actor and writer. It’s taken awhile for me to just accept that,” she muses.

Sustaining herself over the years by living at home with her mother, working as a human model at events and dressing up as a clown for children’s parties, Swertlow does what it takes during the day to make ends meet. This gives her freedom at night to participate in Hollywood’s lively comedy scene.

Today, improv, standup comedy and writing consume the majority of Swertlow’s time. Standup and writing are individual endeavors, while Improv is community oriented. The group has to work as a team in order to have a successful show. “Improv is about listening, collaboration with a group and thinking on your feet. There’s an intoxicating rush when everything is going well on stage, when everything is clicking,” Swertlow comments.

Rituals in improv, such as a warming up with your team, mollify apprehension and get the team on the

same page before a show. For example, a herald is an exercise, consisting of 25 minutes in which you have to listen to everything your teammates say and play off one another.

“There are times when I will catch myself getting nervous or I’ll be planning because it’s 25 minutes of watching other people, listening and picking up on what other people are doing,” Swertlow says.

During a successful improv show, Swertlow experiences a rush of empowerment. “When I’m on a roll, I feel fearless. I think of something and I do it for improv, I’m confident, I’m strong and it feels like I can lift a city and throw it. It feels like I can do no wrong and it’s amazing,” she declares.

Some nights everything falls apart. When the team is not working together there is a snowball effect of negativity within Swertlow. She begins second-guessing every decision she makes. “I’m tentative and I don’t make bold moves. Staying to the side and questioning

The alley behind iO West is a place where performers and students can regroup between improv shows and classes.


“I’m not someone who feels like they always need to be on. People like that are exhausting.” Retreating from the group, Swertlow takes a moment for herself at the end of a long night with friends.


all of her decisions makes Swertlow feel like running and hiding, “You just want to go under a rock and not come out. You want to run off stage and cry,” she says.

Swertlow has to rely on other people when doing Improv. This can make it more frightening than performing individually. “If you get someone who’s bad on your team and you know that they’re bad, you’re like what is this person going to do? So, with improv it can be a little bit scarier because you just don’t know what’s going to happen,” Swertlow admits.

Over the years, Swertlow has developed a strong community of friends through her experiences with Improv. Standup, however, a solitary endeavor. “The standup world is less supportive than the improv world. In improv you have to work together, but for stand up it’s just you,” Swertlow says.

Being an anxious person makes standup more challenging for Swertlow. If her set takes a turn for the worse, she alone is responsible to find a way to recover it. If she gets nervous during a standup set, Swertlow feels like she is dead in the water. “If I get nervous when I’m up doing standup and it’s happened a few times, I’m not very strong. My set doesn’t recover from it,” she admits.

On the other hand, Swertlow has more control over her set than she does doing Improv. The ability to read the crowd and make changes when needed is in her power. Because of this, she tends to let go more in standup and take greater risks. “A lot of times, I’ll get nervous before doing standup. I’ll get worked up before I go up on stage and then I’ll just have a blast. So I tend to let go more in standup because I can be freer, I know that it’s just me,” she says.

Both improv and standup require the performer to be a skilled writer. “Writing is a challenge. Writing to make people laugh is an even bigger challenge,” Swertlow says.

Writers are an interesting group of individuals. They have unique routines, traditions, and compulsions. Swertlow is easily distracted when she writes. When she has a case of writers block, her tradition is to remove herself from her usual environment and escape to Joshua Tree, California, two hours north of Los Angeles.

For Swertlow, Joshua Tree provides a place where she can be alone with her computer. Solitude in “this strange place” allows her to focus, she says. “I feel serene and calm. I don’t have to worry about anything,

After Set

fall 2012 • zeitgeist 13 Swertlow eating brunch with friends at the end of a group weekend in Joshua Tree, CA. The tight knit community of comedians in Los Angeles, spend time together and support one another outside of comedy clubs.


AfterSet

“If I can act, perform and write…that’s pretty much the most amazing thing to do and getting paid to do that stuff, that’s phenomenal.”

Legendary comedy club, iO West on Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA


Strong friendships in comedy form quickly. The tight knit community of comics in Los Angeles live together, plays on team sports with one another and support each other in their endeavors to succeed in the industry. The relationships Swertlow has made are invaluable to her.

Swertlow has not experienced the catty stereotype usually associated with groups of women. “You tend to form strong friendships really quickly, so a lot of women will go see their friends perform or want to perform with their friends. Usually you want your friends to succeed. It is such a collaborative art form and you are usually performing with your friends. If you do well your friends do well, so you want them to do well,” Swertlow comments.

People expect comedians to be funny at all times. Swertlow feeds off other peoples’ energy. It excites her and inspires her creativity. Maintaining this high level of energy is not a priority for Swertlow.

“I’m not someone who always feels like they need to

being anywhere, the men in my life, friends or anything, I just write,” Swertlow says.

Women in comedy, like Swertlow, face a different set of challenges than their male counterparts. Stereotypes and sexism still exist at some level. Swertlow says she just wants to be funny. But there are traps women can fall into—the cutesy girl, the body and the comic. “I try not to but sometimes I can’t help myself and I don’t even know if I do or not,” Swertlow admits.

She has been told the majority of people laughing during her sets are women. “I think I connect more with women when I perform standup,” she believes.

Comedy, like most things, is a double-edged sword. Being judged and put in a box because a comic is female part of the equation.

However, there are also benefits. According to Swertlow her personality allows her to get away with discussing topics in her sets that men would not touch.

For Swertlow, comedy is more than a creative outlet.

Swertlow talking with friends before an all female team called Lola performs at iO West improv show to begin at iO West.


Swertlow on Hollywood Boulevard.

AfterSet


be on. People like that are just exhausting,” she says. There are nights when she goes out with friends and will be physically worn down. People are like what’s wrong and I just don’t want to have to be making a joke all the time. It can be exhausting,” Swertlow explains.

Major changes have occurred recently in Swertlow’s life. Not long ago she was laid off from a job she had for four years as a writer for Entertainment Tonight. “The job was great, but it’s not my passion, it’s not my love and it’s not what I want to do with the rest of my life,” she reveals. “I felt like I was living my parent’s life. I did all these things I knew would be good for my resume, but it was all irrelevant to me” she adds.

Currently, Swertlow is trying to figure out the next stage in her life. “I want to keep writing, and try to write a television show,” Swertlow says. Writing pilots and the ability to continue acting and performing would be ideal for Swertlow. “If I can act, perform and write. That’s pretty much the most amazing thing to do. Getting paid to do that stuff, that’s phenomenal. I just want to be able to create,” Swertlow says.

An acting professor once gave Swertlow some sound advice, “If you can imagine doing anything else but act, then do it. But if you can’t imagine it, then you’re meant to be an actor.” Swertlow feels, she has no other choice but to follow her passion for writing and comedy—it is her calling.

Making sacrifices to make her dreams come true are worth it for Swertlow and she is very optimistic about her future. “I think getting laid off is a gift I just have to open,” she muses.

Swertlow has learned, she cannot run away from herself, so she has embraced all she is instead. “Comedy is hard. It is serious business. You think comedy is all fun but, it’s a lot of work,” she admits.

For any creative person there are going to be highs and lows, instability and pressure to constantly create. But the obstacles do not deter those truly dedicated to their art. Once you find your calling it is hard to shake. In the end, following your dreams and the satisfaction one gets from living their dreams make all the sacrifices worth it.

Chairs after an improv show at iO West.

Z


Podcasting is a new form of media. Producers and consumers are interacting at unprecedented levels. This contemporary platform allows for a freedom of produc-tion and the opportunity to reach an unlimited audi-ence. Podcasting has found popularity across disciplines.

Growth and exposure are the driving forces behind podcast creators. Podcasting has proven to be especially helpful for comedians, providing an outlet for becoming known to a larger audience then a traditional comedy club provides.

At the forefront of this evolution is Elizabeth Laime. Comedy maven by trade, Mid-Westerner at heart, Laime


ELIZABETH LAIME

Elizabeth Laime and husband Andy Rosen recording an episode of Totally Married in their dining room.

Out of the Studio BoxPodcasting from the Comforts of Home


has a charming smile and a witty sense of humor. “Com-edy is very competitive,” she says, “I mean that’s what makes you good. You are trying to be better, funnier and looking for your unique voice.”

What happens once you capture that voice? “The competitiveness falls away and then it’s like your friends are pulling you along for the ride they are going on—you want to collaborate. It becomes much more supportive and community oriented.”

Laime lived in New York for a period of time. During her time in the city, she discovered improv and sketch theater group, Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB). UCB

gave Laime the opportunity to produce and star in her own one women show. While working on her show, she fell in love with writing, as well as her hus-band Andy Rosen, a music producer.

When the two moved back to Los Angeles, Laime decided to focus solely on writing. The experience was fulfilling but left her feeling detached from the comedy community. To trouble shoot her feelings of isolation, she and Andy decided to start a podcast. Laime describes the combination of writing and com-edy as “perfection.”

Today Elizabeth and Andy produce two podcast from the comfort of their own home. The first, “Totally Laime,” creates the illusion for the audience that they are eaves dropping on intimate conversa-tions between Laime and her guests. The second, “Totally Married,” is more interactive with the listener. The couple doles out unqualified relation-ship advice to callers during this podcast. Laime admits, she is much more self-conscience and aware of the audience for “Totally Married” because of the interaction with listeners.

Laime has an uncanny ability to connect with her guests, drawing them out throughout the show. Being a woman, she feels, gives her the advantage when it comes to her interview style. “I’ve spent my entire life getting people to be comfortable with me,” Laime says.

Her quirky personality and eagerness to please en-able her to go places with her guests a man might not be able to. One of Laime’s favorite things in the world is when people say, “I can’t believe I’m saying this. Or I’ve never talked about this before.” Moments such as these make the hard work worthwhile.

Laime’s podcasts are not moneymaking endeavors. They are a labor of love, creating a platform for other opportunities. Building her brand through a form of media she finds more honest is the vehicle Laime is using to fulfill her dreams of writing for a scripted television show or talk show based on her podcasts.

Laime and her dog Ruby outside their home in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.

Z


Tell me about growing up in Chicago.Not to sound crazy, but I had some difficulty socializing when I was younger … I mean not autistic or anything. I spent every weekend my whole life, playing with my-self in a fort. I had to make up stories all the time, or I’d go crazy. There was no real transition period between pretending for myself and pretending for other people.

What was the turning point in your career?A friend of mine was auditioning for a group called Boom Chicago in Amsterdam. I didn’t want to go. But, he really wanted me to go and asked me to audition with him as his teammate. It was a call to adventure, like ‘hey you should make this your life opposed to your hobby.’

I ended up staying three years. We toured all over Eu-rope. I got to travel on the company dime and was paid to do shows … it was amazing. A month after I moved to Amsterdam my face was on the side of a bus!

Eventually I moved back to LA and got a job delivering groceries.

What was it like writing for SNL?That was insane! It’s like saying I was an astronaut for a year. Some of the writers and actors at SNL are more talented than that show will ever reveal. The truth is everybody there is more potently amazing


HEATHER ANNE CAMPBELL

Girl on Top

Heather Anne Campbell has been doing improvi-sational comedy since she was 15 years-old. She has worked with comedy legends, including the legendary Del Close, father of improvisational theater. Perform-ing in major comedy clubs around the world, writing movie scripts and doing standup are just a sliver of her experience. Campbell’s crowning achievement was an Emmy nomination in 2011 for her work as a writer during her time at the live sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live.

I caught up with Campbell before an Upright Citi-zens Brigade (UCB) cage-match at Birds, a popular UCB hangout.

Emmy-Nominated Comedy Queen

fall 2012 • zeitgeist 21 Comedy sensation—Heather Anne Campbell


On Top

than you could ever imagine. They are all power-houses. But the format or the process or something makes the sketch fall, it’s not doing a sketch show, you’re doing SNL.

What is it like working in a male industry? I’ve always gravitated toward the boys’ club. I used to be a video game journalist, reviewing gadgets. I was also an action movie script writer. So I’m very unaware if people are treating me like a female come-dian, I’m blind to it. Comparatively, it was so much worse in the video game industry that anything pales in comparison.

Do you get away with saying or writing certain things because you are a woman?I write for The Midnight Show, which is a live sketch show. We just toured with Drew Carey, which was awe-some. I write the misogynist sketches where a woman

is yelled at or told to get in the kitchen…I’m always the one who writes those because I think anything…anything can be funny. But I feel like the guys, if they turned that in it would be like, ‘ugh that’s so ugly.’

Describe your performing style?It’s not a question about what is the right choice. It’s more, what should I do now! I feel like my teammate’s role in the show sometimes is trying to make sense of the fact that I’m some kind of ape woman. Since I’m not worried about rules, I feel like it makes it easier for me not to betray the reality of a scene or the emotional reality of a scene, because I’m in it as opposed to playing it.

How do you interact with the audience?There’s an exchange you have with the audience. We were all around campfires as cavemen, everyone told stories. Some people had to go hunt, some people would

Heather Anne Campbell performing during a cage match at Upright Citizens Brigade.


The audience getting prepped for a cage match at Upright Citizens Brigade.

be storytellers and there would be this exchange, I’ll give you meat if you tell me a story. The audience is paying for you to give them some kind of catharsis. I feel people like comedian, Andy Kaufman are betraying that trust.

I try not to play to the audience but it’s an exchange of one value for a like value and that’s money or time or whatever. It’s the contract of entertainment. I mean there are certainly tired houses or hot houses but I mean they are people. So it’s your failure if they are not entertained, not their failure. I don’t like it when people are like, oh this was too smart for them . . . no it was too self involved for them.

What are your hopes for the future?I want my own show where I have creative control. My favorite kind of comedy right now is bittersweet - equal parts sad and hilarious. One of the universal things

people feel is insecurity and loss. Shows that paint in those colors without being just depressing, are the kind I want to work on.

What advice do you have for women who are just starting out in comedy?

Don’t stop. The thing that keeps people, the ones who are talented enough, from making it is that they stop.

It was a hellacious 18 or 19 years from when I first walked into a show. It was 10 years to the day when I actually moved to Los Angeles before I got SNL. There were plenty of times when I was sobbing. I was broke. I was having panic attacks about bankruptcy and the aw-ful, shit people would do when I was a grocery delivery girl, I mean it was humiliating.

Everybody can make it but they can’t stop. That’s why you’re alive, you know. Z



LISA SUNDSTEDT

Pretty Funny Women

Being called too-pretty-to-be-funny inspired writer and comedian, Lisa Sundstedt to create an industry showcase featuring an all female cast in 1996. “I’m being discriminated against because of my looks,” Sunstedt says, “Why don’t I find all of my friends who are really pretty and put them together in a show.” She called the group Pretty Funny Women (PFW). Instantly a sensation, the original cast performed in front of a sold out audience at Luna Park in Los Angeles, CA. To date, PFW is the longest running, all female, comedy show and workshop series in the business. Sunst-edt wanted to provide women a space where they could be seen and not objectified. Her workshops encourage women to celebrate their femininity, brains and beauty. Creating a safe and collaborative environment provides a space in which women are free to be themselves. Sunstedt believes in creating the world she lives in by surrounding herself with quality people. “My world and my business are thriving and very successful.

Lisa Sundstedt enjoying the humor of her students, during a workshop.

Celebrating Feminity in a Male Dominated Industry


I do my own thing. My audience comes to me. I don’t have to try to win anybody over,” says Sunstedt. Being unique is celebrated in Sunstedt’s workshops. She “If you’re just being yourself, you’re not in competition with anybody else,” Sundstet believes. This attitude “encour-ages women to be true to themselves and follow their own voice.” Sunstedt loves standup comedy because it is incredibly proactive. “You do as much work as you want. You can get up on stage every night, you can write as much as you want. It’s very empowering,” Sunstedt states. The individual is in control and has the ability to create their own opportunities. However, she also believes comedy presents a struggle for women. “It’s a very male thing to be funny because you’re controlling a room with your words and it’s very aggressive,” Sunstedt says. Comedy is not nec-essarily feminine and it is not necessarily sexy. Women are applauded as actresses, dancers and singers, “but the

Sunstedt’s holds her workshops in a cottage behind her home. She teaches her students to find their unique voice.

Sunstedt encourages her students to write as much as possible.


Nervousness on the face of one of Sunstedt’s students during a workshop.

Pretty Funny


“Standup comedy is like horseback riding, you can’t learn by watching. You have to be on the horse.You have to fall off to learn how to be better the next time.”

minute a women puts a mic in her hand, there’s some-thing about it that is very controlling and dominating. It’s a little threatening to men,” she believes.

A clear philosophy focused on embracing femininity counter-acts the up hill battle women face in the world of comedy. Women in Sunstedt’s showcases are encour-aged to wear dresses and heels, immediately makes them less intimidating to a male audience. Looking sexy and professional when they hit the stage is the first step toward building a connection with the crowd.

When female comedians take pride in their ap-pearance it makes, “it really hard to have a bad set.” Sunstedt affirms, “putting on heels and a dress, makes women feel sexy and good about themselves. “It brings the show to another other level,” Sunstedt says.

Telling clean jokes during a performance is another lesson women learn at PFW workshops. Encouraging her students to avoid the easy joke, forces Sunstedt’s stu-dents to think outside the box. Rising above the lowest common denominator by being clever and intelligent is the approach Sunstedt encourages her girls to take.

Her philosophies and workshops have launched the careers of numerous women, who have become outrageously successful, such as Chelsea Handler and Sarah Silverman, proving PFW’s formula works. After 18 years, the success of her students continues to inspire Sunstedt to build her brand-. She believes standup comedy is a vehicle for people to branch out into other industries, whether it is writing, acting or hosting a show.

Her advice to women embarking on a career in comedy is, “You have to be on stage. You have to do open mics. And you have to write everyday, you have to write everything down.” She advises her girls, “Standup comedy is like horseback riding, you can’t learn by watching. You have to be on stage. You have to be on the horse. You have to be falling off to learn how to be better the next time.” Z

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