Once We Were Late Clowns with Edi Patterson | Episode 30

Summary

Once We Were Spacemen

Episode 30: "Once We Were Late Clowns with Edi Patterson"

Released: June 3, 2026
Hosts: Nathan Fillion & Alan Tudyk
Guest: Edi Patterson

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode dives into the hilarious yet heartfelt career journey of actor, improviser, and writer Edi Patterson. Fillion and Tudyk–veterans of Firefly and now famed for their post-space creative lives–explore Edi’s path from small-town Texas “class day” star and reluctant princess-for-hire to one of TV’s most original comic actors and writers. With stories from her time on Resident Alien, Vice Principals, and The Righteous Gemstones, the discussion highlights the art of committed, character-driven comedy, the pain and delight of ‘making it’, and what it means to find your own groove.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Edi’s Breakout and Process on Resident Alien

• Casting Origin (02:30): Alan recommended Edi for the role of the “most beautiful alien in the galaxy”:

  "Edie Patterson, do you know who that is?" – Alan Tudyk (02:25)

• Insane chemistry & improvisation with Alan on set:

  “Basically what we did was… it did not say this in the script. We just went, ‘Hey, are you game for whatever?’ And then, yeah, we would just sort of launch and then it would make us laugh.” – Edi (09:15)

• Notable moment (10:02): The infamous “baby birding” scene didn’t make the final cut, but was a defining improv moment.
• Grounding comedy in sincerity:

  “As specific and weird as a human being in everyday life would be and let that rip. But also grounded.” – Edi (12:23)

• Discussion of “most ridiculous fucking show in the world,” which balanced absurdity with emotional investment (07:27).

2. Early Inspirations & Small-Town Roots

• From Texas City, TX (23:53), with TV as Edi’s primary ‘mentor’:

  “If anything, my mentor was TV because I definitely did not know a single actor... or anyone in entertainment.” – Edi (21:58)

• Early realization of comedic power via a Dating Game parody on “Class Day”:

  “…almost my limbs going numb with excitement because... everything I was saying and doing was getting, like, a napalm bomb laugh... I was like, ‘maybe I can figure out how this is my job in some way.’” – Edi (27:41)

3. LA Hustle: Princesses, Clowns, and Improv

• Moving to LA, doing odd jobs (princess parties, clown gigs, temping) while jumping into improv and Groundlings classes (36:27–37:12).
• Late Clown micro-moment (39:24):

  “They looked in the window and they go, ‘You’re late, clown.’ And I went and just rolled up the window and looked forward and drove away and never went back.” – Edi (39:24)

• Transition from gig jobs to first on-screen work after landing a commercial, a Vegas sketch show, and eventual commercial viability (41:05).

4. Big Breaks: Vice Principals & The Righteous Gemstones

• Vice Principals as the defining role (42:13):

  “That one I felt like, okay, I think I can really, like, unleash all my powers on this one. And it’s...they’re gonna dig it.” – Edi

• Collaboration with Danny McBride led to more roles and writing opportunities on The Righteous Gemstones (46:42):

  "...from the jump with Gemstones, he asked me to be in it and also to write for it...I wrote for all four seasons as well, which was such a cool gift..." – Edi

• Writing lessons: From long scenes to TV-tight scripting, often paired with Jared Hess (49:30).
• Affirmation & gratitude for creative fit:

  “That whole chunk felt like the first time I felt like, oh, this is exactly right for me right now.” – Edi (47:27)

5. Artistic Practice: Improv, Commitment, & Comedy Wisdom

• Roots and impact of The Groundlings and improvised theater (52:27–53:18).
• Edi’s one-woman improv plays: just her and a piano player, taking audience suggestions for character and plot–with honesty, vulnerability, and total commitment (54:16–56:51).
• Artistic philosophy (59:46):

  “1000% commitment is my only option. If I’m pulled back even a little bit, if I’m holding back even a little bit or thinking even a little bit, I’m dead.” – Edi (60:20)

• On authenticity:

  “The sooner you can lean into knowing that all you’ve got is that you’re you… don’t try to be anyone else… The sooner you’re gonna find, like, a groove.” – Edi (73:40)

6. Mentorship, Confidence, and Not Chasing Trends

• Stories of supportive parents, and the detriment of copying others to fit (thwarted attempts to transfer to NYU; supportive but non-connected childhood) (32:08, 74:37).
• On auditioning:

  “I managed to keep that feeling and that confidence... I had the feeling of, well, this is what I would bring to this, and you can have this or not.” – Edi (75:00)

7. Personal & Offbeat: Collecting, Fears, and Fun Facts

• Childhood collections of baseball/wrestling cards & love of wrestling (78:52–81:08).
• Haunted house anecdotes and belief in ghostly echoes, not trapped spirits (83:06–88:06).
• Greatest fears: existential (Matrix-like reality), vehicles out of control, heartbreak (66:13–69:10).
• Fun facts:
  • Edi can “talk with her mouth closed” (94:03).
  • Nathan is a secret bird-watcher—and resents being judged for it (96:31).

8. Pop Culture & Horror Fandom

• On reality TV, Love on the Spectrum, and improvisers likely “having a touch [of the spectrum]” (71:13–72:59).
• Horror favorites:

  “The Shining’s for sure my favorite… Silver Bullet… The Substance…” – Edi (104:41–107:25)

• Discussion of horror’s "cozy" effect and therapeutic value (105:32).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Improvisation Magic:

  “Has a mischievous look... It's like a child before they set the lawn on fire.” – Alan on Edi’s performance (18:56)

• Best Early Compliment:

  “She pulled me aside… and grabbed me and went, ‘Edie, you are class day.’ ...the greatest compliment I’ve ever received.” – Edi (28:24)

• Comedy Truth:

  “To any amount of effort of, like, trying to be funny is just like a poison shot.” – Edi (61:02)

• Job Hustle:

  “All the princess stuff was awful. None of the wigs fit. My dark hair would just, like, show out through the wig…” – Edi, on her character party jobs (37:12)

• Late Clown story (see above) – a hilarious personal low point, told with self-deprecating warmth and comic timing (39:24).

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Timestamps for Headline Segments

• 02:30: Alan champions Edi for Resident Alien casting
• 09:15–10:54: Improv and physical comedy — sunflower seed scene
• 27:41: Realizing the power of making people laugh (Class Day story)
• 39:24: The infamous "Late Clown" moment
• 42:13: Discovering creative fit on Vice Principals
• 47:27: On finally feeling “right” in her work
• 59:46–60:36: Edi’s art of 1000% commitment (comedy wisdom)
• 73:40: Advice to young creatives on authenticity
• 83:06–88:06: Haunted house and ghost beliefs
• 94:03: “Talking with mouth closed” party trick

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Edie’s Upcoming Projects

• Live Improv Shows:
  • Next Tuesday at Dynasty Typewriter
  • June 3rd at Largo, LA
  • June 11th in NYC
• Film: Co-writing and starring in a new (unnamed) movie
• In development: A “horny sports comedy” co-written with Alan Tudyk

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Advice for Creatives (and everyone else!)

• “The sooner you can lean into knowing all you’ve got is being you… The sooner you’re gonna find a groove.”
• “You can’t judge your success by others... everybody has their own groove, their own arc through this life.” – Alan (77:01)
• If you’re worried about your own timing: “Tudyk, you’re right on time.” – Susan Krebs (77:37)

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Humor, Humanity, and Heart

Throughout the episode, Edi’s stories are animated by warmth, wit, and a gratitude-infused humility. She demystifies the grind and vulnerability of comedic artistry while never hiding the joy and thrill of live performance and creative adventure.

Final takeaway:
The episode is full of laughs and genuine advice: commit fully, be yourself, and don’t worry if you’re not who they’re “looking for.” In both horror and comedy, truth and surprise are the best rewards.

Transcript

[A]

And then these two girls walked up and I had like the window down just a little bit. And I was like, are they coming to my car?

[B]

Oh, no.

[A]

They walked up. They were like these like tough 20 year olds. And they looked in the window and they go, I was a clown. Obviously, from what I'm about to tell you. You go, you're late, clown. And I went and just rolled up the window and looked forward and drove away and never went.

[C]

Once we were spacemen. Spacemen. Spacemen. I tend to play weird people, usually aliens and robots and things that don't have romance.

[B]

I once didn't get a job where they were looking for a Nathan Fillion type. Once we were spacemen.

[C]

Once we were spacemen.

[B]

Alan, you've worked with Edie.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

You speak of her often and fondly because of her brilliance, how good she is. And Alan, you. We need to work with people who are, who can contend with you at the very least.

[C]

That's. That's nice. It is really fun, though, when you are, you know, you know what this is like when you've got somebody who's what Frank Os would call chops. They got chops, man. She's got chops.

[B]

She's got chops. And then you put your chops and then her chops. You say, here's what we need you guys to do. And because of your level and your abilities and your skills, you too can elevate. There's no possible way they could have predicted what was going to happen when the two of you got together on Resident Alien.

[C]

I. Yeah, I don't know. Well, you know, when there was casting, I think I told her this before when they were first, when I was like, they're. You're gonna have a love interest. And they're like, do you have any ideas? And they were talking about. Because she. She's playing a character who's the most beautiful alien in the galaxy. And she said they were like, jessica Alba is looking to do something now. And we think we could maybe get her and have enough money, something. And I was like, edie Patterson, do you know who that is?

[A]

You.

[B]

You recommended Edie? Is that what happened? You. Where did you see her? How, how were you familiar with her work?

[C]

I was familiar with her from Groundlings. And I knew that she, I, I had seen a little bit of her on Vice Principals, but Brownlee, Vice Principals,

[B]

Weeds, Curb youb Enthusiasm, Californication. She did writing. She wrote for sketch shows. She wrote for SNL for a minute. Vice Principal.

[C]

She.

[B]

The Righteous Gemstones. She's huge for that program. Yes, she really brings a lot to the table, this young lady. And I just did a play with her recently.

[C]

Yes, I sell pictures.

[B]

A cold read play. You don't know what it is until you go out there on stage, you pick up a script and that's your first.

[C]

I didn't get the invitation in time.

[B]

Strange.

[C]

I'm still waiting for it. It's got a. Well, you were doing it.

[B]

This is Michael.

[C]

Maybe I wasn't really.

[B]

Yeah, you're right. You're in another town. This is Michael Osceolo. He's a fantastic entertainment reporter that I've met many times over the years. You and I have done interviews with him together. I just really him personally, I just think he's a really neat person. And then on top of it, he does a great job. I just like, I like the way he, I think he has integrity. Yeah, that's the thing. He has integrity and he wrote 517 episodes of a soap opera when he was a kid. And now he's putting them on stage with incredible actors that you know, who are cold reading as a kid. He wrote this stuff, junior high, high school in that area. It's a wonderful.

[C]

He didn't just write one episode of some. His own soap opera.

[B]

517 episodes ready to go. God, yeah, that's this thing. This thing's ready to go.

[C]

517.

[B]

It's a whole thing. But today we have the lovely and talented Edie Patterson. And we're both huge fans. I'm really excited about this one.

[C]

Great. Me too. Me too.

[B]

And let's get started. Alan, I believe you have something you wanted to start us off with.

[C]

Yes. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Once We Were Spacemen. Because once we were spacemen. But what would a spaceman be without a spacewoman? He would be lonely. He would have a lot of chapped parts of his body. That's why we have invited a space woman today. Not for. She's not gonna help with all of that. Just listen. Today with Nathan Philly and Alan Tudick. It's Edie Patterson. Wow. That was. Yeah, that I got offensive. I, I, I offended myself. Hey, Edie, welcome.

[B]

Part of the pleasure, Allan, of, of watching you do your intros is watching the expression on our guests faces when they, when you're going through it. They're wondering if you're having a conniption. Is there a stroke?

[C]

Desperately looking for the off button.

[B]

Easy. Space was a plethora of expressions that. Some were sympathetic, some were Uncomfortable.

[A]

Some were wondering, like, oh, God, is he in there by himself? And if anything happens, is anyone gonna get to him?

[B]

Yes. Do we call 911 and where do we send them?

[C]

I have Life alert, guys. This has been covered. I am protected from all. Edie, Edie, Edie. Thank you for coming on the show. Now you are actually a space. A space person. Space thing. A space creature.

[A]

I think we could fairly say Space woman.

[C]

Yeah, Space. Yeah, Space woman. You were in space on Resident Alien. So you actually, actually are a space. And you were flying through space. So I feel like that makes you even more. Because you were a bird.

[A]

That's right.

[C]

An avian for people who know aliens. She was an aven. The hottest alien in the planet and in the universe.

[A]

Tallest too, right?

[C]

Yeah, yeah, right.

[B]

You.

[C]

You were very tall.

[B]

Was that. Were you standing on a box? Was there stilts?

[A]

Oh, yeah. No, not stilts. They would go in and like, make the legs after with.

[C]

Yeah. Effects on a box.

[A]

But I was always on a big box.

[B]

And to what extent was your face covered? How much did you.

[A]

100%.

[B]

Okay. Because there's the. They had to be doing a little bit of CGI with your eyes.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And how long did it take to get into that get up?

[A]

Not crazy. I mean, as. As Alan knows, that whole team was pretty, pretty, pretty quick and efficient.

[C]

You were longer than me. So this is for Resident Alien, of course, for those of you who haven't seen it yet. Which is fine. Which is fine. It was on Sci Fi, which is evidently the. And we. It was in a corner of the galaxy in its own little spot. But. And season three, your character came along for my. For Harry Van Der Spiegel fell in love. You came to serve some papers. You were. What is that job that you had? You're like an actuary or something? I don't know. You came in just as. Yeah, you just came in. It was. The galaxy was bureaucratic and you had to serve papers and we fell in love. And it was a on again, off again situation. I've since just watched all of our stuff, so I'm very. It's all very fresh and. But it's also. I got to step away now and go back. How ridiculous our show. And I mean this in the best way. It was the most ridiculous fucking show in the world.

[B]

I've seen. I've seen some kissing scenes. Okay.

[A]

Yeah. Okay, I'm listening.

[B]

What you two did there. I'm just trying to wrap my head around the day. So when they go, okay, that was Great. And now we're gonna go get the shot. We're gonna go get the over. So we're gonna. This is the part where you guys were. Where you were blown into his mouth so hard that his tongue shot out the side. I couldn't tell whose tongue it was. I could not tell whose tongue was shooting out the side there.

[A]

Mission accomplished.

[B]

It was one after another. I'm just thinking, did you. How much of that was. What if I did? How about if I. Or you just go for it.

[C]

What is the I.

[A]

Tell me your take, Alan. I feel like basically what we did was. Because it did not say this in the script, any of this. It just said, like, their, you know, PDA is off putting or whatever.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[C]

Real brief.

[A]

And so I feel like we just kind of went, hey, are you. Are you game for whatever? Yeah, I'm game for whatever. And then, yeah, we would just sort of launch and then it would make us laugh. And then. Yeah. I feel like the spitting stuff into his mouth was fully Alan's idea. Because he had the great idea that I should, like, baby bird him.

[B]

Baby bird. Yep.

[C]

It never made that one. Didn't make the final cut.

[A]

Oh, right.

[C]

But it. I've seen that. I've seen that take. Yeah, I've mentioned it. And I have seen that take because I was so excited about it. It was one of the first things when we were sort of drawing our lines. I was like, well, I just know at one point I'd love for you to. So just to catch some people up if you haven't seen it. Because she's a bird character. We go over for dinner over at Asta and Darcy's apartment and they are serving chicken, which is inappropriate because she's an avian, and they hand her some sunflower seeds.

[B]

Or. No, you.

[C]

We brought those.

[A]

We brought those.

[C]

The snacks that we brought were sunflower seeds. And so, for me, as an actor, I love the idea of that because I've had birds before, and I love how they can just, like, take a sunflower seed and they put it in their mouth and it sort of disappears, and you see it come out with their tongue and then. And then the shell pops out without the seed inside.

[B]

Yeah, they've been husked.

[C]

So for Edie, she's. We put them on the table, and you put your face down. You pick them up from the table with your face. Human face. This is without the bird on. Because you could only see us in our aliens when the boy was around because he could see our Alien selves. So you got views of us in our human form and views of us as if you haven't seen the show. Check it out.

[B]

It's a lot of fun.

[C]

You'd suck up a bunch of sunflower seeds and it says, she's spitting the sunflower seeds out. And you just chewed them up and be like, two, three, four good chews. And then just start spitting them at Austin Darcy, this shotgun, and they're pinging off of wine glasses in their faces. There's no. There was. It just started happening and I. My God, it was so great. It's so much fun when there are no boundaries at the same time.

[B]

All this weird, crazy stuff is going on. But there's a very unusual sincerity that you guys are playing 100. We're like, he's totally in love with her. She's showing them. This is my. He's mine now. And giving them the looks of. Yeah. Aren't you?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

There was a lot of. You managed to ground things with. Since you sell your comedy.

[C]

Yeah, well, yeah.

[A]

Yeah. I mean that. Honestly, the way that Alan was coming at Harry, because I seen episodes before I got asked to do this, the way that he was coming at it with exactly what you're saying of, like, going for the comedy, but it's still being, like, grounded and almost this mix of God. Incredibly complex human character work mixed with clowning, mixed like. I don't know. I just. I just wanted to get in there and, like, get after it with him because that. That's exactly what you just described as exactly what I like to watch. It's what I like to try to do. Yeah. Just be as specific and weird as a human being in everyday life would be and let that rip. But also grounded.

[C]

I did just familiarize myself again with what we did. And so we did the season three and season four, and that was. That was. That was a big part of season three. Also, I'm a little upset that we did not get nominated for an MTV Best Kiss award for that same.

[A]

Who got it.

[C]

At least it was over a minute. We were involved.

[B]

There were political

[C]

and. I mean, of all the awards, that's the one.

[A]

Oh, that would have been the greatest.

[C]

Yeah, no shit. That golden popcorn for Best Kiss. And with that kind of comedy, what Resident Alien did in its best moments, I felt like our characters got to do. And in season four, you come back, we have a bad breakup or we have just a sad breakup, there's blackmail involved, and you leave for the. Because you're being blackmailed. Said that they'll kill your family if the gray aliens are going to kill your family. There's so much I want to say about it. There's a moment. Just. Just real quick, here's a snapshot. You are holding me in your arms, this one place where we're both in our full makeup, holding me in her arms like a baby, while we're flying over the Statue of Liberty, yelling. It's like how. Like episode three that we. The third episode we do when we're fully in love in. In season three, and we're just yelling at everybody. Hey, you little ants. Your lives aren't anywhere near good as ours because we're aliens. We've got huge superpowers. Yeah. We're in love. It just. We're just two huge rubber people. And then you shit on the Statue of Liberty. Single tear. Yeah, single tier, single white tear from the Statue of Liberty. And then I'll say the thing I want to say. I'm sorry. And then at the end, it turns out I lost my powers in season four, and you asked me to marry you. It's all very sweet. And I. I realize after your dad attacks me, who comes over and attacks because he's racist against humans, and we're saying our goodbyes. I don't know. I was just thinking about what. It made me think about what acting is. Okay, so I am there as in human form. I can't turn into an alien anymore. She's in human form as well, and she's saying, please, I don't care about my dad. Let's just run away together. And I said, no, because you. You're repulsive. Like, listen, I find you absolutely repulsive. And that's not fair because before, when I was an alien, I found you to be the most beautiful woman. I can't smell you with my body anymore. And that's what you deserve. You deserve the love I could experience, not what I have now because I'm. I'm nothing anymore. Anymore. And I'm like you. You make me want to vomit. And you have a line where he said, yeah, that's fine, because we have kids now, little bird babies. You go, if you throw up, we'll just feed it to the kids. We'll be okay. And I realized, as insane as it was, that's just like all acting. That's. That's the rookie. That's the same thing. Because you're not a cop.

[B]

You're not.

[C]

It is. You're not a cop. You're saying, I love you to someone that you don't. You're not in love with. She has a husband, truly. You know, but we got to go to these ridiculous. For these ridiculous people saying the most ridiculous shit because of Chris Sheridan, who did the show. He set up this world that you. For some reason, it's hard to make a world that does that because it seems rare. And it was so much fun to do it with you. God damn.

[A]

So fun to do it with you. And I think a huge part of that is, yeah, the stuff that Chris was laying down was really fun to come at. If you're coming at it the way that you come at it of like, oh, yeah, this is just real. And then sort of like a side note is, this is so ridiculous. But it's like, that's not our concern. Like, just mean it.

[C]

You. You. There's a look. And I. And I. I could spend all the time talking about this, and I don't want to. There's so much to get to. But there was a moment, and I guess this is also just about your overall. Who is you and why you're so amazing. And what I believe in that same season, season four, where you've just vomited into clear plastic bags to feed the children because you're still nursing you. You're still pumping. I think I'm still pumping. And just bend over herky jerking and like, oh, I thought there was more. There's not. Oh, reload. And all little things you're putting in. Anyway, after that, we. We were always fucking. We were having sex. We were all so horny constantly. There was so much horniness. It was like, the basic idea was, you know, do you have something for me? Yeah, I do. I got a gift. Will give it to me. Well, I'm God. I'm gonna take it back and re. Gift it and, like, put it and give it and hand it and take it. And we're just doing versions of that. And there was a moment where we. And we're thrusting our pelvises into one another with each new idea. I'm gonna take it back and I'll give it. And like, it was While two people are watching.

[A]

Yes. Wild people are watching us.

[C]

Yeah. While Sarah, Tomk, Alice Wetterland are both there and their characters. And one of them, you turn to me, you're like, yeah, well, the store manager says you got to bring everything up to the front. And I. The look in your eyes, Edie. I. It's like a. Like a child before they set the lawn on fire. Or there's like a Mischief. And I'm going, there's no play. Nothing's going to stop me. This is. I can go into anywhere. It was. You could fly. I don't know. I. It was the most thrilling. It was thrilling. It was thrilling to see. And I. I feel that look at times. I don't know. It was great to get to. To dance with you.

[A]

Full agree. It's absolutely. Capital T. Thrilling.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Was that your first time meeting you guys? When you were working on that show together, was that the first time you met?

[A]

No, we had met. I feel like, only one other time up at the Groundlings. Oh, yeah.

[B]

What were your first impressions of Alan now? Don't.

[A]

I just. I thought he was awesome. I feel like maybe you came to guest in a show maybe because you and Mindy were working together on your show or something.

[C]

Yeah, she just knew me from doing that.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Mindy Sterling gotcha and asked me to do it, and she's like, you'll be great. You'll be great. And, you know the great thing about improv, it's a skill. And like, all skills, you need to keep, you know, you got to keep your tools sharp. And I. It was like the show ended. I'm like, oh, right. I'm kind of remembering how this works, like, after the show is over. But you were definitely a standout. I mean, you were. It was amazing not only what you did, but also how you would give opportunities to do things. I remember at one point you danced. You just came over to me. I was. Somebody said you were a dancer, and you came over and danced by me, like, kind of stripper dance by me, and waved your hands over me and turned, like, made it more about. Gave me something to do with. Anyway, that was a big part of it too. And then you also sang so well.

[A]

Thanks. Yeah, thanks.

[C]

You did some singing that night also. That was great.

[B]

We have her here. I'm gonna pull some information out of her just because if anyone were to look at your bio.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

It sounds so fake.

[C]

Really.

[B]

Sorry. I'm from Texas City, Texas, and I attended Texas State.

[A]

Yeah, it just sounds way too, like, generic sounding like, oh, cool. Try a little harder.

[B]

Being in Texas City, I don't think this is a. An acting mecca. How does one who. Who mentors this? I imagine you were a strange little kid growing up.

[A]

You know what I. I liked. I don't know if anyone thought of me as strange, but I definitely felt different. And I felt. Yeah. Like, I at times, like, didn't understand my surroundings. I would say if anything My mentor was tv because I definitely did not know a single actor or anyone who was in entertainment. And.

[C]

Yeah. God, no.

[A]

When I was like, Texas. Yeah. You know, Alan, I mean, it's like I. There's very few. Maybe now there's more cities in Texas and sort of the south, in the middle of the United States where you would know an actor or someone in the entertainment industry. But I definitely knew no one.

[C]

I. I remember there was when I went to college in Jacksonville, Texas, at Lon Morris College. Also sounds made up like Lawnmower College. But the big. The big celebrity in town there was Johnny Angel. Not who the song was about. Not the person who sang Johnny angel, the guy the song was written about. Oh. And he would, like. He fashioned himself as, like, an agent and like a. Like, he was a star in that.

[A]

Oh, man. Yeah.

[C]

Jackson. Yeah.

[A]

And that was the top.

[C]

Yeah, that was the top. I mean, where Texas City is. It's below. It's south of Houston. Yeah. When I. When I looked it up, I'd never seen this in a. This sentence caught my eye. Texas City. It's a small town.

[B]

It is a small town.

[A]

Yeah. I would say small city. Yeah.

[C]

Small city. Small city with a strong petrochemical presence.

[A]

Oh, yeah. It's one of those places with so many refineries that if you, like, come toward Texas City at night from certain directions, it's one of those places that straight up looks like Star wars at night. You know what I mean?

[C]

Have you ever been in Mad Mad Max?

[A]

Yeah. Around those places where the flames lit up at night and you're like, wow, We. What kind of cool wonderland are we heading to?

[B]

Master Blaster runs bar to town.

[C]

Yeah. I had a buddy who lived. I knew people who live near there. I. I thought it was closer to you than. I was looking at a map and didn't realize how you were more towards Galveston over there. About that. You're right. But the. The. The. The city was founded on petroleum, and that sort of became. It's just what. It's totally. But there is a burgeoning health care industry which might have something to do with the petrochemical.

[A]

Yeah. You think?

[C]

Yeah, it seems.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Those two things might be linked.

[A]

Yeah. My. My mom or. And dad. Neither of them worked at the refineries, but of course, we knew tons of people who did. My dad was a plumber, and my mom was an elementary school teacher. But I would say I didn't know. I always was making people, like, watch my skits or. Yeah. Watch me pretend to be People that I'd seen on, you know, Watch me do Pat from snl or a classic. Watch me do my. You know, my first grade teacher who was English. How weird. In Texas City, Texas, I. English. I mean, a. A first grade teacher who was an older English woman.

[C]

What was she on the lamb from.

[A]

No, but I loved her, and I loved coming home and doing her for my mom and dad. Esme Steli was her name.

[C]

And you still do. Still do.

[A]

I mean, she just sounded, like, almost. It was almost Mrs. Doubtfire vibes. Like, very soft and nice and sweet. Mostly I just liked going, like, oh, I could do a different voice. I could.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

But in seventh grade, we had a thing called Class Day, and it was the first time that we had had no plays up to that point. And it was the first time you could, like, go do this thing. It was basically a talent. And me and three other girls did a Dating Game parody.

[C]

Oh, nice.

[A]

That was at my house. We didn't have cable, but we had these three, like, upper channels where they would play all those badass reruns of, like, you know, the Brady Bunch and Green Acres and all the Gilligan's island dating shows. Gilligan's island and Dating Game and Love Connection and, like, all that stuff. And I always thought the Dating Game was so funny and weird and.

[B]

And awkward.

[C]

That's the one where it's like, three guys on one side and they can't.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

The girl can't see them.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And they answer questions.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Right.

[A]

And so three of us played the guys, and it was just very, like, super, super stereotypical, like, what a kid would write at that time. I was a nerd, one was a jock, and one was, I want to say, a businessman. It's so funny. I just.

[C]

A gynecologist.

[A]

Yeah. One was a gynecologist, and, I mean, he just could not stop going off about pussy.

[B]

Huge hit with the kids.

[A]

But I had, like, tape on my glasses and, like, a pocket protector. We just. We just sold my mom's house. And so I had a box of my stuff, and I found the pocket protector with a pen in it. And I was like, oh, this is the greatest. But we wrote it. And I just remember, like, almost my limbs going numb with excitement because, I mean, I had never had the realization before. Everything I was saying and doing was getting, like, a napalm bomb laugh from the audience, like, a raucous, like, up out of their seats, like. And I was like, oh, my God. And I. It had never occurred to me. And I Was like, oh, maybe I can figure out how this is my job in some way. And so it was class day. And then went so well. And then thank God for this teacher. She was not my teacher, but I was getting my stuff after and walking out. And this is. I know this is so cheesy, but I still go like, God, she really did me a solid. She pulled me aside and, like, grabbed me and went, edie, you are class day. And I remember I just was like, boom, this is the greatest compliment I've ever received. And I kind of just decided from then on, I was like, well, I don't know how I'm gonna do this, but I'm gonna do this.

[B]

The success, the. The high on adrenaline, the. The compliments from. From. From mentor type people that you know whose opinion matter when you make the choice and say, all right, here I go. I'm gonna. I'm gonna do this. What is the reaction? Is nobody surprised at this point? Are people saying, ooh, Edie, I don't know. That's not success oriented career. I don't know if you want to dream that high, kid.

[A]

Luckily, my. My mom and dad were all for it. They couldn't go, like, here, go here and we'll give you a ton of money. But they. I went to Texas State because I got some scholarship money to go into the BFA acting program there. And I wanted to, at one point switch to a conservatory because I was like, what am I doing taking these other classes? And I was mad at it, you know, And I got accepted a couple of places, but the scholarships were, like, not enough to really go. And I remember at one point from my dorm room at Texas State, I would call. One of them was nyu, and I had gone to, like, one of those things where you. Your sophomore year or whatever, you go audition for a bunch of places, right? And I would just call their admissions office or their financial officer, whatever, almost every day and go, look, this is how much you guys told me you'd give me. But this. I need this much. I would try to say, and rightfully so. They were just like, that. Goodbye. That's not how it works. So then I would try again. Two days later, I'll try again. Because I just thought maybe if I just. Because also that's what my mom had said. She was like, I don't know, call and tell them to give you more, but we're not. We can't pay for you to go there. And I was like, okay. So I would call it anyway. I did not go There. I ended up doing four years at Texas State.

[B]

But you should have told them, I am class day

[C]

scholarship. That comes with that.

[A]

But they were very. They were very supportive and into the notion. I can remember some. I don't remember a lot of naysayers, so if there were any people, like, super worried, they kind of kept it to themselves. But there was one. I remember there was one woman, this older woman who taught at my mom's school. And my mom told her, like, yeah, Edie's gonna get a BFA in acting. And the woman was like, well, she needs a backup or something. And I remember my mom was really mad that that woman said that. And I was like, yeah, her.

[C]

And then I lit alone on fire.

[A]

Yeah. Luckily, they always felt like, do whatever you want. And mind you, I had to figure it out. But know how to aid that in any way. But yeah, yeah, their. Their emotional support was huge.

[C]

That is huge.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So you're. You're entirely on your own. How do you manage that? How do you. Was it straight to Los Angeles because you went from Texas City to Austin?

[A]

Yeah, I. Well, no, I went from Texas City to Texas State was in San Marco.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Austin. Yeah. And then right after I graduated, I lived in Austin just for a beat. Like, do people.

[C]

And do people who go to UT like, look down on the people in San Marcos?

[A]

I don't know. Definitely.

[C]

Of course they do.

[A]

Maybe definitely not anymore. Because Texas State has become one of the highest ranked musical theater schools in the country.

[C]

No.

[A]

Yeah, it's like top 10 all the time now, if not top five. Yeah. Some woman came in and revamped the whole deal like a chunk of years ago. Yeah.

[C]

How cool that a person can come in and just like, totally. Let me show you how to. Gotta do it.

[A]

Yeah. 100. And then I. I can remember, like a couple years ago talking to someone whose kid was about to go to college or something, and they were trying to do musical theater. That's not what I. I didn't do musical theater, but they were trying to do musical theater. And they were like, yeah, she's looking at Northwestern, Texas State, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, oh, my God.

[B]

But the move to la, you make it sound so smooth.

[A]

No, I moved to Austin and I was there for almost two years. I feel like, oh, wow. Yeah, maybe somewhere between a year and a half and two years. And that's where I started formally doing improv for audiences. And I was doing theater sports in Austin out of the high out way theater. And we were doing like, Theater sports and Gorilla and Maestro and. And then while I was there, I knew I was moving to la. Oh, and I had also done a couple of independent films and I was doing plays with this really, really cool avant garde theater group, the Rude Mechanicals. And they've toured a ton in different places and how to play around in residence and was really having a really good time. But I kind of realized, oh, right, if I want to make this my job that I get money from, I have to move somewhere.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

So I had two friends who had moved straight from Colle College to la, and I went and stayed on their couch for a month and then we all got a place together.

[C]

How old were you when that was going on?

[A]

I was. Let me think about this. Maybe 24.

[C]

All right, that's good. Couch couch surfing years.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

For sure.

[C]

You can put a couple of days in on a couch.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And nice that you had a couple of friends, which is nice for your social service. But how do you break into the industry? How do you. I mean, your first dance.

[A]

When I first was in la, I was doing that thing that just because I didn't know what to do, where I would, like just get a ton of headshots and like, literally send them out blindly, like in big envelopes and to all different agents. And then I had like, you know, some horrible manager for a minute where we were having to, like, deliver things. We were kind of having to, like, work to get represented. They would. They would get something every now and then, but then.

[C]

Wait a second. Wait.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

What were you delivering?

[B]

It was a lot of pills.

[A]

Yeah. It was this weird.

[C]

Like, this is a human kidney.

[A]

Yeah. I would take an ice box and sometimes it had like a little bit of blood on the outside of it. That's not weird though, right?

[C]

No, no, no, no, no.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

They were running only viable for 40 minutes.

[A]

Yeah. Some kind of thing where, like, to be represented by them, you, like, go drop stuff off on certain days. It was insane.

[B]

This sounds creepy.

[C]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Yeah. But I also, at the same time started doing what's now called Impro theater. And we do full length plays, improvised full length plays. I started, but was then LA theater sports. I started doing LA theater sports. I started taking classes at the Groundlings because I knew I wanted to do that. I learned enough about who came out of there and that their emphasis was character. So kind of started both those things at the same time. And I'm trying to think, like, I guess the first, you know, in doing whatever job to live, like, was A friggin princess at birthday parties and was like temping and all kinds of horrible stuff there was.

[B]

That would be wonderful. That's fantastic.

[A]

Oh my God. It was soul sucking. Every single one, Every single one of the jobs was like you'd get the thing and it would say like just head out to Tarzana to an open air park, you know. Oh my God. So you'd be driving an hour in your like clown or princess or like who's the girl from tourism First Toy Story. Jessie Pride is a cowgirl rag doll and one of the central characters in the Toy Story franchise. That was always the only good one to be her because you could actually be in like normal clothes and like maybe be kind of fun. All the princess stuff was awful. None of the wigs fit. It was just in my dark hair would just like show out through the way. I mean it was awful. And we, my friend Kendra and I were doing it and we lived across from these guys who were about our age, just these young dudes and they would have parties all the time and we were kind of friends with them, but they were also dicks. And they would sit outside their apartment in Studio City in like lawn chairs and kind of wait for us to come out and would like, you know, scream at us and cat call us and our friggin princess outfits.

[B]

Oh my God.

[A]

Just like peek out the curtain and see them. We're like, oh God, Caleb and those guys are out there and you would just like run to your car.

[C]

They're all just unemployed jackasses who just have.

[A]

Or like working at night like bartending or you know what I mean?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But I finally hit a point with those where I was like so late to this one because I got lost and, and couldn't find the place and was just sitting in my car like what am I doing? What is this? I hate it. The only joy I was getting in my life was when I would go do live shows at night and what is this? And then these two girls walked up and I had like the window down just a little bit and I was like, are they coming to my car?

[B]

Oh no.

[A]

They walked up. They were like these like tough 20 year olds and they looked in the window and they go, I was a clown. Obviously from what I'm about to tell you. You go, you're late clown. And I went and just rolled up the window and looked forward and drove away and never went back.

[B]

Thus ends the career.

[A]

Yeah, thus ends the career.

[C]

Drop. That's a good mic drop.

[A]

Yeah, late Clown. And I'm like, okay, what are my options here? I go in late to this friggin park and like I have to fight two girls because they're mad at the clown or like I get sort of abused the whole time. Oh, also, so many people would hire a clown for their one year old's birthday party.

[B]

Oh boy. And you're just like, this is wonderful to hear the suffering for the art, the sacrifice before the success.

[A]

And then I think I, at some point I got, I got a commercial and then I did this weird sketch and improv show in Vegas on and off for a year, which helped me to like. And I would come back here about an audition and like that helped me to like get a ch. A little chunk of money to not have to worry so much. When I was doing the Sunday Company at the Groundlings and like, it was just sort of like kind of, kind of working itself out. But right around then like I had a commercial and maybe that. And I was like, okay, that I can, I can do just this.

[C]

Yeah, that's just. But that is that just, just the first making it.

[A]

Oh yeah. Where you're like, I can remember I used to, There was sometimes some of us would go do this through what was then theater sports, which became in pro theater. Every now and then there was this job where you'd go for like five days to Northern California and you do these shows for the sweetest guy, who's still my friend, Doug Nunn. And he had. This was part of this theater in Norcal, like up by Mendo. And you'd go up and you'd do a bunch of shows and I can remember looking at what I was gonna get and it was something like, I don't know, 500 bucks. And I remember thinking like, yes, okay, I'm gonna stretch this for a month. I can do this and this and this. But yeah, it was all that figuring like, what can I do with this and how do I make this last to this and like, hell yeah.

[C]

But yeah, wow, wow, wow.

[B]

What would you consider then? Who have been your, your biggest break? What. What put you in. Was there a moment you said, holy cow, man, I made it?

[A]

Well, I feel like the, the first time I felt like, oh dude, this is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm in exactly the place I'm supposed to be was when I did vice principals, I think.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And I'd done some cool things before then for sure, but that one I felt like, okay, I think I can really like unleash Unleash all my powers on this one. And it's. And they're gonna dig it.

[C]

Vice Prince was a Danny McBride

[B]

name drop.

[C]

The two of you together are. Seem like such a perfect match because, I don't know, you guys just seem on the same like, frequency.

[A]

Well, it was really, it was really, really such a cool and fun thing in that I think maybe my first day of shooting on that. I think it was a scene where like he's getting on a bus and then we're all getting on behind him. And we had done his side of it a few times and I just thought it. I'm gonna ask. And I went, do you ever want us to throw something different to you to so you can react in a different way or you'd want it just on script. And he said something like, say whatever. And I remember thinking, oh my God, yes.

[B]

Used to kill.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And so. And I. That I really, really love to improvise in character. I'm not really ever interested in sort of that old school version of improv for film or TV where it's just like say funny things. Now I'm gonna say this non sequitur. I really, really am only interested in story and character and improvising from organic story and character. And so it was just, yeah, full license to just be that person. Her name was Jen Abbott. And just to not censor myself and just be her and try to tee him up and try to tee up moments. And yeah, I think that was really cool thing and that. That was only supposed to be three or four episodes in the first season. And then the whole second season was revamped to make me the sort of main love interest, the main bad guy. And I was the one who tried to murder him. And like, it became this whole Fatal Attraction thing.

[C]

I need to watch the show I haven't seen. I know Walter Goggins is in it season.

[B]

So you get the phone call, they're going to give you four, three, four or five episodes. Someone calls you and says, hey, there's been a change of plan.

[A]

Yeah, you're going to be sick. They had a, like a week or so. It was one of those crazy things where they shot both seasons. They knew they only wanted to do two seasons to make it sort of a. In the vein of a British show of like, this is what it is, it's this story. And they shot them back to back. And so I can't remember if there was one week between the seasons or two weeks between the seasons, but yeah, Danny called me in between the seasons and went, would you be up for this? And he literally said, like, would you be up for like a Fatal Attraction type thing? And I was like, would I be up for that? Yeah, yeah, I'd come be in every episode of the next season. And yeah, yeah, I'm up for that.

[C]

I'm Sharon Stone. Right.

[B]

What do you do for the rest of the day after that phone call? You get the phone call from Danny McBride saying, Here we go, we're going to all the way. What's the rest of your day look like after that?

[A]

You go, I mean, I think I blacked out. I was just like, this is the greatest.

[B]

Now, clearly, I mean, Alan Tudyk, very funny, very practiced, very, very good at his craft. A skilled guy. Danny McBride, his talent is incredible. I know these guys are just waiting for someone that can contend with them, and it's not just going to service the part, but you clearly come in and you elevate everything around you. Everything is able to climb.

[A]

That's what I'm trying. That's. That's my goal is like, job well

[B]

done and clearly worked because you and Danny nurtured a relationship that he said he called on you later because you were gonna. You guys. I'm skipping ahead, of course, to the mighty gemstones, the righteous gemstones.

[A]

Yeah, we. He knew that was. He knew he had that idea to do next. And we had. After vice principals, we wrote a movie for me and wrote really well together. And so from the jump with Gemstones, he asked me to be in it and also to write for it. So I wrote for all four seasons as well, which was such a cool gift to be able to not just embody Judy, but to be fully, fully in on the creation of who she is.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

What does it feel like to be given that affirmation that your work is that good, that you. Your contribution, is that necessary? Like, please come along.

[A]

I mean, just kind of that, that thing I said earlier of like, that. That whole chunk felt like the first time that I felt like, oh, this is exactly right for me right now. I'm sure you've. You guys have felt that at certain times before, too. Like, there's a lot of times, I think, when, when we're working that you can have, not yearnings or whatever, but thoughts of like, ah, this is great, but, oh, man, am I missing this, this and this. And I just never. I never felt that with either of those. Those projects. I just felt like, oh, this is exactly right. Which I feel like is so lucky.

[B]

Yes. Yeah, yes. Being in the perfect position and being able to know it at the time, not looking back on it and going, ah, yeah, retrospectively, I guess that was great. But knowing it in the moment that you need to be and then I

[A]

think that helps you going forward. I think part of it is just like a growth and gratitude thing of like, then you can kind of know that with everything you do from then on. But when you're getting going, I think you've got to feel it once to then go like, oh, this is. This is. Yes, that was super lucky that the stars align like that. But like, oh, now I can sort of decide when I'm in the right place and make it.

[C]

So did you learn to write from the Groundlings?

[A]

I think so. I mean, I.

[C]

Was it a class or was it just part of those doing improv plays

[A]

and definitely both doing improvised plays. But yeah, at the Groundlings, it all kind of. It all kind of morphs toward written sketch really. And improv is in the mix, but as you get sort of to the upper levels of the school and then in the Sunday company and then in the main company, it's all written sketch and maybe there'll be one improvised scene in the show or something.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

But it's. Yeah, the emphasis is not necessarily on improv, but yeah, I feel like I learned in my, like my writing lab show and in my advanced lab show when you're writing sketches. And then I feel like I learned so much even just writing on gemstones, because when I first started, I don't know if I should admit this or not, I would write these. There was a chunk where all of us were kind of paired up writing certain. Writing certain scenes or sending them to each other. And I was kind of paired up with Jared Hess, who wrote with us on the first season, who directed like Minecraft and Napoleon Dynamite.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I would send him these insanely long scenes. I would just. I was away part of the time working on this movie in Boston, was still completely. All the time writing and sending things when they were due and. And I would send him like a nine page scene that had, as I'm cranking it out in like a lobby of a hotel in Boston, is making me cry, laugh. And he so nicely. I feel like I learned through him and through Danny, like, hey, the very, very longest a scene is ever going to be in a TV show is probably. Probably three pages.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

But yeah, just crank these just because I didn't know. So I feel like that stuff, TV writing Stuff I definitely learned by doing.

[C]

Wow, how cool that you got that opportunity.

[A]

Really cool.

[C]

I'm amazed at like in like comedy, thinking about comedy. And definitely in America, like the people who are making comedy, the people who are making the movies that you see, the people are making the TV shows that you see are, are like Edie, people who came from the Groundlings or there's Second City or I guess UCB also is a big one. That people, it's those groups that they, they come up together and some people, you know, the best go to the top. There's. I mean, they're all the people. They, they tend a lot go to snl and then others are just out there. Are like, Donald Glover is from ucb, the Groundlings. I guess the most famous ones are from. We're on SNL with Melissa McCarthy.

[A]

Yeah, Melissa never did SNL and. But Jennifer Coolidge never did snl.

[C]

Oh, right, Jennifer Coolidge. That's right.

[A]

Paul Rubens never did snl.

[C]

And that's a character based improv company.

[A]

I would say it's a character based mostly sketch comedy.

[C]

Sketch comedy, yeah.

[A]

But with improv in the mix, for sure. I would say they call it a sketch and improv school because the first levels are definitely all improv.

[C]

I think that's just really cool that like. Of like if you're out there and you want to do any of this stuff and you want to find a place to start, I mean, you're not going to be Edie, but. But the Groundlings and Second City, Stephen Colbert and UCB is another big one. But they all have.

[A]

It can give you a world, a world inside a huge world of LA or wherever you are. I know, Nathan, you did, you did improv coming up. And like, I feel like part of the thing of, of getting in with an improv group or starting to learn to improvise is if you're in a big overwhelming or daunting place, it can give you a world and like a foothold to start climbing a mountain and some friends and.

[C]

Yeah, but it's also where all of our comedy comes from. I feel like most everybody, a lot of the comedians that you see on TV and the people who are cast, the people who are in the comedy world came from one of those three places. Or I guess there's other places. Well, but the. It's. And you still do improv?

[A]

Oh, yeah, A lot.

[B]

A lot.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You're.

[C]

You were doing your own play, like just an improv.

[A]

Yeah, I'm doing it. I'm doing it. Again on next Tuesday, I think as part of Netflix is a joke. And then I'll do it.

[C]

Oh, cool.

[A]

That'll be at Dynasty. And then I'm doing it at Largo on June 3rd. And yeah, I've been trying to do that on the Reg because, yeah, I just, I, I like, I like what it is. I like the simplicity of doing it because. Because it is just me and a piano player. But I also, I really like how challenging that show is because it's.

[B]

Yeah, you're there's. Because it's just you.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

So we. People can go see you then do this if they want to just come see you do. Is there. Do you get. You take suggestions?

[A]

Yeah, I talked to the audience for a little bit and I get, I get them to name this play that I'm about to do and I get them to make up a. Tell me a character name and then that person will be in the first scene. And I don't know if they're going to be the lead of the play or they're just in the first scene. And then I get them to tell me something that character is wearing because usually that their name plus something they're wearing will tell me. Give me at least a tiny hit of a character. And yeah, I'll usually talk to someone for a while about something that was in their house growing up or a family heirloom or something. So I have an object that might come into play and yeah, then I just start and hope that it turns into a play and thank God it happens every time.

[C]

Wow, how great. And you just do all the characters. That is. That just blows me away. That is not. That's fantastic.

[A]

I do all the characters and I've got Dan O. Connor, my husband, in the booth and he's. He's doing lights and usually we're on the same page. He can feel when I'm ending a scene and going to go into a next scene. But sometimes if he, if he brings them down, it's a very much a hide in plain sight type show. And I'll say, like, you know what? That scene wasn't over. Let's bring those lights back up. And I'm not gonna lie to you guys, I have done it at least twice. And one of the times was for me to be this very gross character jacking off. And another time was for some very, very weird sex.

[C]

And you're the only person on stage.

[A]

Yes, I'm the only person on stage.

[C]

So you're having weird sex.

[A]

Yeah, Sometimes there's like 10 characters in a scene. And I walk myself into corners constantly because I try to talk before I know what I'm saying. And I try to just keep going. But very often I'm surprised and or shocked at what I've decided is about to happen.

[C]

Wow, that is something you.

[A]

You.

[C]

You're telling yourself, just start talking. Don't. Don't try to figure it out. Don't try to. Don't get in your way. Just start going.

[A]

Just go. Because only then. Only then if I just go, will it be. I think that's the only way that we'll all feel. Me, the audience, the truth of it, that's the only way it's true, is if I'm just going.

[B]

I love that you said that it's about truth because we talked about sincerity. We talked about. You don't like the kind of improv where you're just going to try to say something for a gag, to try to be funny. Don't just say something that's wide. Now, I had the honor of, and the privilege of working with you recently in a little play of Michael Osciello's that he wrote as a child. He wrote over 400 episodes of a soap opera called Beverly Hills.

[C]

400 episodes.

[B]

417, I want to say.

[A]

And it might be 517.

[B]

Oh, thank you. Thank you. It might be 517.

[A]

It's an insane number.

[B]

So Edie walks on stage, and there's a chair with a script on it. She picks it up, having never seen it before. She gets onto the main port. Like, now we're kind of in a proscenium, kind of a seating arrangement. Everybody's facing the center of the stage. She gets in the center of the stage and she does an immediately sincere, somewhat melodramatic, you know, soap opera, larger than life character, but nothing too crazy, but with an obvious affectation. My question is, how do you know how far to go before you pull back and say, that'll be too much? I'll just do this because she had a speech impediment where she shushed all her esches. Are you pulling from a quiver of characters? Are you saying, I'll just do this? This will put a twist on this?

[A]

I'm trying to think. I mean, that. That woman who talks like this is definitely something that is funny to me that I've, like, written into Groundling shows before. I just feel like that sounds like it's a very elegant, like, disgusting way to talk. So I don't know. I think I just looked down and thought, this seems like that, but, Yeah, I don't.

[B]

Huh. You have years of experience, that you've honed your skills. I'm. What I'm saying is drop some comedy wisdom on me that I can use in, like, three sentences or less.

[A]

How do I steal, like, you crushed that night. I feel like I just did probably what you were feeling in your gut of, like, just come out and mean this. And, like, because it's a soap opera, let's be a little more. Let's meet it a little more. I mean, I just was trying to, like, be in the style, but still open to something morphing, you know? Yeah. God, I'm not being articulate.

[B]

I just want to. I want to know, what can I. What can I pull from this? What can I steal from this to make me better?

[A]

Okay, here's what I think. I think. I think no matter what, always, whether it's that Beverly Hills show or whether it's an improvised play or whether it's something scripted, I feel like, for me personally, 1000% commitment is my only option. If I'm pulled back even a little bit, if I'm holding back even a little bit or thinking even a little bit, I'm. I'm dead.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

And it's gonna come. It's gonna land. Like, it'll feel mid. And that'll be worse to me than if I flamed.

[C]

Wow. That's. Thank you. Yeah.

[A]

I would say commitment. That's.

[B]

Commitment.

[C]

That's a tough thing.

[B]

I get commitment, and I get sincerity. I just. How can you. How can you bottle what you do? You're. Damn. You're so good. It's so wonderful to watch you. You. It's so easy to watch you, and it's so. I believe everything you do, which I think is essential for comedy. If you're not selling it.

[A]

Yeah. Thank you. I agree. I think. Yeah. To. To start trying in comedy to. To any amount of effort of, like, trying to be funny is just like a poison shot.

[B]

Yes. Yes.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But at the same time, you allow me to. I laugh at you. I'm able to judge your characters.

[A]

I want you to.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Where I can just judge them and go, oh, my God, this lady's a totally moron.

[A]

Yeah. I want you to feel like. Oh, cringy. Like, you're looking at, like, really. Like a hidden moment of human experience that we all know.

[B]

Yes. Rubbing my head going, oh, my God, this woman.

[A]

Yes. Yes.

[B]

Yeah, that's me watching Judy on Righteous Gemstones.

[A]

Yeah. Good.

[B]

Jesus.

[C]

Judy, she's so hard. She's so heartbreaking at the same time as being funny. Yeah. But she'll break your heart every time.

[A]

Oh, good, I'm glad to hear you say that. She, I, yeah, I have loved her from the jump and I just feel like she's doing her best. And it's.

[B]

And the costumes, the costumes, the stuff you get to wear on that show. A lot of, a lot of. I mean, Alan, you've done this where you, you do some prosthetic stuff and it really informs the character. You, you have a character all kind of in, in mind. And then you get dressed up and you go, oh, that's who this person is.

[A]

100 beauty.

[B]

I'm trying to imagine what her closet looks like. It's like a circus.

[A]

Yeah. It's insane. And I fully. The Judy hair, the curly hair and the costumes were an immediate, like the fastest water slide for me into like, oh, right, there she is. And I, I remember when we started talking about Judy, I, I had this strong hit that I wanted her hair really, really curly. And Brian Moss, who initially did my hair on gemstones, he had. It was his idea that sort of like awkward mid length. And I was like, God dang, that's perfect. Because it's just. I just wanted it to be just a little bit awkward. Like, I still wanted to be pretty, but I wanted to feel a little bit like, oh, fuck.

[B]

You know, you ride the line between pretty and awkward.

[A]

Yeah, great.

[B]

Sometimes when I do a show, I'll put on a piece of costume and go, oh, my God, this is really nice. Hey, did you hear what happened to this jacket? It got stolen a little later on today because I, I want to take something home. Is there anything of Judy's that you wanted to take home?

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Or did.

[A]

And I did.

[B]

Oh, really?

[C]

What'd you take?

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

And where, where would you wear it?

[A]

I have, I have worn almost every single one of them to events. Like one, there's this crazy vintage, like super sequined. It's like fringe at the bottom. I don't know what era. Maybe 80s Bob Mackie dress that almost has like a lightning bolt on it. Like we. I wore it at. There's a point in the show. I don't remember which season. Maybe the second season where we're at the funeral of this race car driver and his whole car is getting lowered down into the ground and the, we're, you know, we're dressed like obviously to the nines always. And yeah, I got given that Bob Mackie dress and wore that to a few years ago to host the, like, the Texas Film Awards or something in Austin. There's a bunch of, like, vintage Gucci in the mix. And, like, literally, when I have to go to anything, and it's not the kind of thing where someone else is gonna help pay for a stylist in glam. I will just sort through those Judy dresses again. I think now I've worn almost every single one of them.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Nice.

[B]

Now, do people look at you and go, oh, she's doing a bit. Or do they, like. Or they go, oh, no, they're wearing.

[A]

They're great dresses. Yeah, I didn't. I didn't take any of the ones that are full. Like, I'm an ice skater, you know? They're all, like, actually pretty badass dresses.

[C]

So cool.

[B]

Edie, what are. What is your greatest fear? I'll go heights.

[A]

Yeah, please.

[B]

Heights. Heights aren't, like. Heights scare the crap out of me. If there's something that kind of, like, I feel like, a pain in my chest that pulls me away from when someone else is standing at a balcony and, like, kind of leans over and I know it's 30 stories up, I'll. From across the room, like, I have a pain in my chest. Like, something like, I. I'm not a fan of heights. You will not catch me. Bungee jumping, Skydiving, High diving.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

I feel like my greatest fear would be more

[B]

existential, like, letting down your parents.

[A]

No, not that one. But I. I feel like it would be some version. Some black mirror version of, like, waking up and going, hang on, Is everyone around me not real? Is this whole thing, oh, not. Wait, have I been living this whole life, and I'm not really. These people aren't people.

[B]

You have a matrix fear of the Matrix.

[A]

Yeah. Which I think probably we are in kind of in a matrix, because I. I'm down with them a lot.

[C]

I agree. I'm there.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

This is all interesting. Okay.

[A]

I just don't want it to be a scary matrix. Yeah. I like the Matrix idea where, like, I know I'm that through my frequency and vibe and, like, gratitude and all that, that I can. Everything can be awesome. Because I really. I really believe that if you lead with. With love and kindness and everything can be really, really awesome. I just don't want dark matrix where it's like, you wake up alone and you go, like, oh, God, was I the only one here always?

[C]

Oh, my God. Oh, God.

[B]

Okay, that's a.

[A]

That's an odd Fear, I would say, if it's more like of the Earth. A chunk of years ago, working on this movie, I had a snowmobile crash. And so I really don't like

[B]

being

[A]

in something that's going fast and feels like out of control.

[B]

Motorcycle type.

[A]

Oh, yeah. You couldn't pay me to get on someone's arms.

[C]

I love those things. I love that. That's what I saw in your eyes that day, what I feel when I'm riding a motorcycle.

[A]

But I don't need to feel it on a machine anymore.

[C]

Anything could happen. Oh, wow.

[A]

Oh, yeah. Anything could happen is my favorite feeling on Earth. Like thunderstorm rolling in. Like wolves fucking howling. Like days becoming night. It's a little bit dangerous in the air. It's a little bit horny. It's a little bit like, okay, what are we going to get into? That's my favorite, favorite feeling on earth. I just don't need to be on a motorcycle to get it.

[B]

The improv artist getting the universal offer of anything could happen next. Yes, I like it. Alan, what's your fear? Do you have a fear? Do you have something that makes you afraid?

[C]

After watching the stuff from Resident Alien, I think mine is heartbreak. I think heartbreak. I've had my heart broken and I. Boy, does that hurt.

[A]

It's awful.

[C]

It is, it is. I feel it very deeply. And so I got to put that into our scenes of that.

[A]

Yeah, that.

[C]

But that's the benefit as a feeling artist type person, as you get to then use it later.

[A]

It's like it can be split you in half into vibes like, you can't

[C]

eat, you can't do anything. Nothing matters.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I read a movie once where there was a heartbroken character and every scene he was crying. I was like. And I, I did not get the job because I met the director and I was like, I think you've written it wrong. Terrible, terrible approach. You didn't get it? Yeah, No, I was like, in every scene he needs to be. He's crying the first scene and next time you see him, he's happy as shit. He's so glad it's over. I didn't want that. Her. Fuck her. I've never been happier. And then crying in the next scene and then can't eat a thing the next scene. And then stuffing your face the next scene. You're just anything, everything happening at once, trying to solve something that's just going to take time to fix. Oh, that's so.

[A]

God. Oh, my God. And then it's. It's so Weird. When you feel the truth of that. When you, like, if everyone around you is like, it's just gonna take time or whatever, and you're like, there's no way that's true. There's no way this visceral feeling is not going to be in my body and soul. And then literally, however much time will pass, and one day to the next, you go, ah, I don't really care anymore. Yeah, it's so weird.

[B]

And with any luck, every time it happens, that time gets shorter. That window gets a little shorter for me, I'm down to, like, 26 minutes, really. Listen, we'll talk about that later. Edie, you're a connoisseur. What is it that draws us to reality television?

[A]

I think we like watching the inside of people's brains. I think I do. At least. I, I.

[C]

You watch that stuff?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

What this is. I said, yeah, like, oh, all. All that.

[A]

I mean, my only two right now that I would say I actively watch are like, Love is Blind and Love on the Spectrum.

[C]

Love on the Spectrum. That's. That's just.

[A]

That's just the most beautiful, joyful, hilarious. It'. Greatest.

[C]

Yeah, that's. That's real. That seems. That's real. That a lot of reality TV doesn't.

[A]

Yeah, I can't hang with a lot of it anymore.

[B]

And do you watch Love is. Love Is On. Love on the Spectrum. And think about all your friends who have those qualities. Like, my God, they're on the spectrum.

[A]

Clearly, 100%. Literally. I have watched it. The very first season. I was watching it. I w. I was watching James, you know, the. The one constant Huff. Yes. Very good, Very good. Wait, what does he say? He's not very good. Do you guys know what he says? Oh, not bad, not bad, not bad. Yes. There was a point in the first season where he's, like, looking for his wallet, and he's so frustrated, and he's, like, in the other room, and he's like, mom, where's my wallet? And I was happy to be watching it with my mom, Jeannie Patterson, and I went, hey, did you ever wonder, like, if I had a touch? Like, she was like, no, not that. We wondered about other things, but not that, but 1,000%. I kind of now think through watching Love on the Spectrum and just reading a thousand things, I think the majority of improvisers have a touch at least.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, sure.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

Just. Just pop cultural references alone. I feel like a lot of improvisers are kind of savantish.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Edie.

[B]

Your. Your resume reads like success after success after success. Clearly, you are well liked.

[A]

Clearly.

[B]

Listen, this is just. I'm looking on paper, you're perfection. What wisdom would you give to someone, a young lady who's starting out, who's considered pretty clever in her small town in Texas? And what do you send her off with? Hey, kid, here's what you're gonna need to know.

[A]

I would say the sooner you can lean into, and I'm not saying this is easy to do, and it might just take some time, like we were talking about with heartbreak, but it might just take figuring it out. But the sooner you can lean into knowing that all you've got is that you're you. And don't try to be anyone else and don't try to be what they want or. Or what works right now or what's what they're looking for. The sooner you're gonna find, like a groove. And then when you find the groove of what you bring to something, just keep doing it until you get. Till you get some money from it.

[B]

Was there some kind of like an audition experience or that made you realize, oh, wait a second, this is. This is what I gotta do? Do you have, like, a terrible audition story? Do you have a.

[A]

There was this pilot I ended up doing. This is a long time ago. And the night before. The night before the audition came in or something, I was very. It was definitely during a point where there was like a pilot season, and I was feeling like, oh, well, I guess I didn't get one. And I was feeling like in a. Not a. Not a sad place of fuck it, but like in a full fuck it. I don't know. And so I. I managed to keep that feeling and that confidence, if you will, going into this audition. And I think it's kind of like I had the feeling of, well, this is what I would bring to this, and you can have this or not. This is what I bring to this. Take it or leave it. And I feel like that was like, maybe the first point that I went, oh, right, That's. That's all I've got. That's all any of us have is like, here's how I do this. Here's how I feel. Like, this is true. And this either works for what you're gonna make or it's not. And it's not about, can I be really, really good today? And can I be a really good girl today? And like, can I do it right and be like the best auditioner? And it's like, it's never, ever going to be about that. I just think it takes a. A little too long sometimes to learn that. Of like, oh, yeah, I just need to let it rip. So I. I would say the sooner you figure out that you is all you have and you're not going to get anything by copying anyone else.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And a really fun version of it in your head and in your soul of like, yeah, let's see. Let's see what happens if I just, like, leave it all out there.

[B]

It makes a lot of sense.

[C]

Yeah. And I think, and. And for any job, if anybody's out there and they're like, but I am a truck driver. Leave it all out on the road. Truck drivers leave it all out on the road.

[A]

I feel like you're telling them to open the back of their truck and,

[C]

like, dump and leave it all on the road. And screw those guys for making you drag this around the country. We love you, our truck drivers.

[A]

What's. What's. You guys's. Have you. Have you answered this question of, like, what would you tell someone?

[C]

Yeah, mine's the same as yours. It's just. You can't. You can't judge what you're doing by. It's all the things I do. Don't judge things that I. I've. I've done. I should say I don't do them as much anymore. Where you judge your success by others. Where somebody's doing something and you're like, they're. Oh, I'm bad because they're doing well. Like, that is. That is such a. There's no positive in that. There's no way to enjoy your life that way. Like, everybody has their own different. As Edie said, groove and your own different, you know, arc through this life. And I think that's it. Yeah.

[B]

Just.

[C]

Just in your own time. I used to have a friend who used to always say that to me. She's like, Susan Krebs, who's an actress I worked with on 28 days. And she was like, tutti, you're right on time. I'd always go to her like, I'm worried about this. And they have this. She's like, tudy, you're right on time. And it always would make me feel so good because no matter what was happening, it was like, no, you're right on time, man. You seem like you're rushing to get someplace. You're right on time.

[A]

That's great.

[C]

Yeah. Thank you. Susan Krebs.

[A]

Yeah. I feel like she just gave me a gift, too.

[B]

I like, I Like the, the idea of you can't. If you start chasing what other people want, you're never going to stop chasing it. There's too many other people. But if you lock it down to this is what I bring to the table. And I love that. I've always said, if it's in your control, control it. I've always looked at auditions saying, I know what everyone else is going to do with this. I know exactly what they're going to do. But I'm going to do this. I'm going to do something that makes sense. It's great, but it's just maybe not what they're doing, but I'm going to. To make this more real or more what have you. But I love those bits. Edie, do you collect anything?

[A]

You know what? Not actively now. I'm sort of looking over here into my office. Not really actively now. But I will say in that box that I mentioned earlier of things that got sent from the house I grew up in, I had a lot of baseball cards. Wrestling cards.

[C]

Wrestling cards.

[A]

Football cards. Yeah. And one I sent off to get graded. I'm sure you guys know a lot more about this than I do.

[B]

No, A little bit. I've dabbled.

[A]

But it's this, it's this really, I guess, very sought after card. It's a Hulk Hogan card. But when I was little, I was very into wrestling. Not necessarily wwf, but I was very into. The closest thing to Texas City was called Mid South Wrestling and it was at the Sam Houston Coliseum. And when I was a very little girl, every time I could ask for something specific of like, what do you want to do for your birthday? That is what I wanted to do. I don't want to really take me to the Sam Houston Coliseum and we would watch, watch the wrestling matches. So I also have a scrapbook, I guess I'm leading back to this of like all the programs and like pictures because I would wait and watch them come out and take pictures of them with a real camera.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Yeah. So I have the programs and the, I mean, I guess collection. But I loved the good guy, bad guy of it all. And I loved. It's so funny when I look back at like the, the tag teams that I thought were cute guys

[C]

because they're

[A]

just like these like odd older men. But I think because they had a gimmick, I thought like, oh yeah, they're cute, you know, because like, you know, the Rock and Roll Express had bandanas tied everywhere and they were like cool guys. Like, oh my God, all Cool guys

[C]

have bandanas, is tied everywhere. I've got three, four on right now. You can't see him in the, in

[B]

the zoom where he's.

[C]

Those are all. Wherever I tied them, but yeah, that's dumb.

[B]

I'm curious though. How did that. How did that card do? Did they say some 11 year old girl was fingering all this with greasy little hands or.

[A]

Yeah, here's, here's the hilarious thing is when you send it off. The woman at the card shop was so, so mean and weird. I mean, it was laugh out loud funny because I had a big box of things that I put in plastic sleeves and I was like, can you kind of tell me what I need to get graded of these? And she was like, have you done your research? Like, I don't kind of, but I've narrowed this down. There's hundreds of other ones. I'm wondering if you could tell me like the 10 to get graded. And she was like, there's a line behind you. We don't do that. I'm like, okay. So I ended up just sending one anyway. That Hulk Hogan card that's sent off is gonna take 75 days to come back.

[B]

An exhaustive process.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We got one guy, he just looks at quarters, just looks at the corners.

[A]

Very low psa because it's. It's a great looking. Guys, it's a great looking card, but it's. It doesn't have the exact things they look for. For mint. Like you can tell not all the corners are exact corners.

[B]

Right. It's been loved is the thing.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

It's been kissed, it's been hugged.

[A]

Yeah. I'm talking like a little kid, like eight, probably like, wow.

[B]

Yeah, wow.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

Yeah, that's a.

[B]

And you. And you still have it. I'm so thrilled that you still have this piece of memorabilia from your childhood.

[A]

Yeah, totally. It was in a. In a chest in my room. And so it wasn't like I would look at the stuff a lot. But yeah, it's. It's awesome to look at it. It's so weird and funny.

[B]

Edie, have you ever seen. I asked this to a lot of people. Have you ever seen or. Do you believe in ghosts?

[A]

I have not seen a ghost, but I do believe something can happen. Ghosty. I would like to not think, like, ooh, something's trapped there where it doesn't want to be. I think every, every soul or whatever you want to call it goes somewhere really cool after this part that we're living. But I do think sometimes weird energy can happen and echoes of stuff that can seem like ghosts. And I lived in a place with two other chicks in Austin that was fully haunted in some way. And something would come through, like, the electric stuff, the lights. And, like, there was a doorbell that had no filter on it, so it didn't go, like, bing bong. It just went. It was just, like, a loud buzzer.

[B]

That's horrifying.

[A]

Yeah. And there were a couple of times where that weird loud buzzer would join in at, like, crazy, crazy moments, like. Of undeniable emotion. Like the two times I remember of, like, extreme, extreme laughter, where it was the kind of thing where you feel like, oh, are we ever gonna come back from this can? Have we gone crazy? Like, where you feel like, I don't know if I know how to stop laughing.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

That's great.

[A]

Yeah, it was. It was so dumb. I'll tell you quickly. Tell you the setup.

[B]

Yeah, please.

[A]

This grown man that we knew, who was an acquaintance of ours from college. This was my friend Roberto and me and. And my friend Roxanne. This grown man we knew had. I don't know, somehow we attended something with him, and it was kind of weird. And he, like, came and didn't have his wedding ring on, and we had gone to see a screening or something. And so we just were laughing so hard after and doing, like, little skits of basically him. Him being. Trying to leave and being at the door. This is so dumb, you guys. But he was such a, like, formal grown man. And we were. We were children. We were, like, right out of college, but we were doing skits of this guy standing there and going, like, what, are you gonna leave me like this? And, like, pretending he was. Was standing there with a boner. I mean, just, like, roasting the guy. And so we. We were laughing and laughing, and one person would do it, and then another person would do it and say something different. Like, it was very wrong and hilarious and therefore making us laugh even harder. And the doorbell at the point where, like I said, where we were, like, almost in psychosis laughing, the doorbell was like. And it so distinctly felt like, I want to laugh, too. It was a crazy feeling. And we quickly went, no one was out there. Blah, blah, blah. And then. Oh, yeah, yeah, no, we immediately ran to the door. There was no one. There was one time in the middle of the day there when I listened to footsteps come up the stairs, and I knew that neither of my roommates were there. And I, out loud, started talking to the ghost, and I said, hey, look, if you're cool, we're gonna be cool. So be cool. Okay? Act right. We're not gonna. We're not gonna hurt you. Don't do anything weird to us. And I feel like we were in a good place. But then one of the girls I was living with, I feel like, got very scared and she literally saw some things. She said she saw, like a little boy outside on her balcony. We all had balconies with sliding glass doors in our bedrooms. And she said she saw, like an old timey boy out there, which we did not enjoy hearing. And everyone got more and more scared. The lights in the kitchen would do more weird things, and it turned into that we wouldn't go. If you pulled up and there was not another car there, you wouldn't go in. It was that we were that scared. And I think our fear made it really weird and bad. So I think we caused some of it, if that makes sense.

[B]

So you don't righteously think that maybe ghosts are doing their thing, but at the same time you're scared of ghosts?

[A]

I think. I think,

[B]

yeah.

[A]

I mean, I guess we can call it ghosts. Yes. I believe in ghosts. I just don't think that. I believe that it's a person's soul trapped right. In a pattern on the earth. Yeah, okay. But, yeah, I do believe weird echoes and frequencies and stuff can happen for sure. And I do believe people who have passed can come through in certain ways.

[B]

Yeah, I don't know what I would do if there was stuff going on in my. Alan, you said you've heard footsteps in your new house.

[C]

House.

[B]

You said you heard the footsteps.

[C]

Yes, and I've. I've. I have an update on the sounds in my house. If we could just, you know, what's going on in Alan's house?

[A]

What's going on in Alan's house?

[C]

So I heard footsteps and then I heard. And this isn't. Not in our bedroom, this is in another bedroom where I really hear them. Where I would hear them, because I have been. Anyway, it wasn't. Well, and I was in another room sleeping, snoring away from charisma for a little bit. And it sounded like footsteps again. And this is like the middle of the night. And I listened and it's not the plodding of foots. It's dumb. Dumb. But then there's like this sucking sound and I was like, maybe that's my sump pump, because I have one of those. Whatever the that is. It's what keeps my house from. I know what it does. It sucks the water out if there's ever dry. Like the. In the cellar gets wet and there's too much rain and the sump pump gets it out of there. And then I listened up against the wall and I think it's. My neighbors have a. I don't know what's going on. I don't know what it is. It's not a ghost, though. It sounds sometimes like I'm in a. In like sleeping in a. In a pontoon of a catamaran with water around me. There's a water sound. This is. It's not ghosts. It's some other thing. I thought it was going to be ghost. It's not ghosts. I don't think this place has ghosts.

[A]

I wonder if it's a pipe. Pipe. Banging on another pipe.

[C]

No, it's swoosh. You know, I thought maybe it was like a succubus maybe sucking the blood out of their. Their victim. But it's more like a swoosh. Water, water, water.

[A]

Oh, swoosh.

[C]

Dunk.

[A]

Water, water, water, water.

[C]

I don't know if they're. I know that their. Their cellar for it's flooded. Something backed up. Somebody had to go in here and get stuff out. So maybe that's just part of their. I don't know, getting it. Getting it dry. I should probably knock on their door.

[B]

I would be with an EMF detector. I'd be having like a heat sensor concert thing. I would. Like. I would be investigating if.

[C]

I don't know what I would do

[B]

if there was a. If I thought there was a ghost in the house.

[C]

It doesn't feel like there's a ghost in here, though.

[B]

I don't know.

[C]

There's a lot of ghost.

[B]

I don't care.

[C]

It was built in 1890, so it feels like there could be, but there absolutely doesn't. I think the most dangerous things outside, like here are outside of my house on the street. There's like a lot of Jamaican places near here that serve a neck bone soup that my dog keeps trying to eat these neck bone pieces and I'm. My dog's gonna die choking on the neck bone. I've got. I've. I've got like my entire finger plus past my knuckle into that little dog's mouth, pulling out neck bones. Every walk. Every walk there's a. How many neck bone. How many vertebrae have I removed from my dogs?

[A]

Oh, no.

[C]

Lots of. Lots of bones. Lots of bones.

[B]

Before we run out of time, Alan, should we get to know Edie better?

[C]

Oh, let's do, let's do, let's do. I know you and you know me.

[B]

Let's get to know you better. Edie, this is the segment of the show where we get to know you a little better. You have to tell us something that people don't know about you.

[A]

Okay?

[B]

Do you, do you need a warm up? Do you want Alan to start? Alan, do you have something?

[C]

I have one that's stupid and simple. Let's do that. Okay, we'll do stupid and simple.

[B]

I'm great with stupid simple.

[C]

I used to, I still drop things and run into things and break things a lot. I'm a little clumsy. I'll just say that I'm a little clumsy. I, I get ahead of myself and so things will happen. But you might not know this about me. I used to drop more things, but it was sort of like two years after Firefly, right around like 2007, somewhere in there, when I was still living out in Venice, I was in the bathroom and I knocked a glass off of the sink. And it was about to fall and hit and I grabbed, snatched it out of the air and I went, oh, why don't I just do that? And now I can catch things. I'm good at catching things. I will if I don't. I don't catch things. I slow their fall before they hit. So a lot of phone falls catch legs, needs toe back and then I can catch it. But I, I, I, it becomes a full body, stop the thing from hitting the ground.

[B]

Kind of a hacky sack.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

I'm all, I'm all in. I don't used to be like, oh, I'll watch the thing happen and go, oh, there it goes. No, get involved. Get in there. It's fight to the get it, grab it. And so I grab a lot of, of I, I, I save a lot of stuff. I, I, that's. Bet you didn't know that about me.

[B]

I did not know that. I'm glad that you're getting a little sharper and quicker.

[C]

Thank you. Thank you, Edie.

[A]

I feel like some people know this, but I don't think you guys know it, but I can, I can talk with my mouth closed.

[C]

What,

[B]

what does that sound like? Second question, when do you use that skill?

[A]

Okay. To answer your first question, it sounds like this. Hey, guys. Just, just wanted to say hello. I'm really glad to be doing your podcast today. I gotta say, it's a blast to talk to you too. That's what it sounds like.

[B]

Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness.

[C]

There's a different little lady in there.

[B]

I'm surprised at how eloquent. I mean, I could hear every syllable and every articulation.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And, yeah, it's. I would say I don't have a ton of places to use it other than. It's just a weird thing that makes me laugh. There. There was. Yeah. Growing up, it was like kind of a hit with cousins and people.

[B]

They would say, sounds like you're in the trunk of a car.

[C]

Yeah. Yes.

[A]

Yeah. I would. They would ask to talk to the little woman in my mouth.

[B]

I want that to be my outgoing message on my machine.

[A]

Now, happily, that's.

[B]

That was unexpected. Okay, here's my. Get to know you better. I. I feed birds at my house here.

[A]

Cool.

[B]

And I like it. I'm into it. And a lot of birds come, and then, you know, you look at a bird and go, oh, my God, what kind of kind of bird is that? Or someone will come to my house and say, what kind of bird is that? And I don't. So I'll start looking it up. And now I'm looking up birds. And now I'm saying, oh, I got that one. I see these four types of birds regularly. Here's the two that I do. Here's the biggest ones I see in the day. And then people will come to my house and they see all the birds because I'm feeding them all, and they'll say, oh, what kind of bird is that? And I'll tell them what kind of bird it is. And now I know what kind of bird it is. What do they eat? How do they behave? And I know all this stuff because I looked it up. And then they look at me and go, oh, man, you're. You're really into birds. And I feel resentful.

[A]

Yeah, I feel a little.

[B]

I feel a little like, hey, what? Oh, you asked me, and wouldn't you know if you had, like a bunch of birds around your house? Wouldn't you know?

[A]

Yeah, it's kind of lame because, like, they did ask you. And then what, they're trying to roast you? It's not exactly.

[B]

It's like a little built in judgment with the Amen. I'm gonna slap you in just a second. And that's kind of what they're saying. I get a little. But I get a little resentful. But I still love my birds. I feed my birds a lot.

[A]

That's awesome.

[C]

We didn't know that. I didn't know that you knew your birds nor that you got resentful. Of people who asked you about your birds when you then that whole thing. I didn't know any of that.

[B]

Here it is. Edie, you were gonna say.

[A]

Well, we just. It's just completed. It was in the process for a long time. But we have a, an ADU in our backyard that is my mom's and I got one of those attached domiciled. ADU stand for Additional Additional Dwelling Unit.

[B]

Dwelling unit.

[A]

And it's really cute and awesome. And my friend Kendra gave us a. One of those little clear houses that you can put the bird seed in that you stick on a window. And it. I put it up and it was like, it. She said, she was like, it's gonna take a second for them to find it. It'll take a few days for them to find it. And then you'll have so many birds. And two birds had found. A couple had found it. Two of these little finches and this one bigger one. And they were coming every day literally for breakfast and lunch at least. And it was so awesome and fun to look at them close up. And then one day, this is like, I don't know, four days ago, five days ago, I was in there talking to my mom. And I looked over and I was like, oh, my God. And underneath the birdhouse seed thing, we see this like, head kind of craning up and a rat was trying to get in it. And a lot of seed was the shells and the husks and whatever were dropping on the ground and onto the. To these rain catch barrels that we have right there. So I had to just take it all out.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

If you feed birds. Yeah, you got to worry about that. You know what I use is, I use like a hot sauce. Oh, you can put hot sauce or a powder like a cayenne pepper on the seed. Birds don't care. But the squirrels and rats don't like it as much. I'm going to tell you, it's not foolproof. It is not foolproof. It is something you have to, to really contend with and control.

[C]

Cajun squirrels love that. They're like, huh? Yeah, get that cayenne pepper.

[B]

It's. It's really wonderful to, to talk to you, Edie, and, and to. To try to glean some. Some things I can steal. I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna tell you right up front. I love meeting talented people and stealing from the them constantly.

[A]

That's great. I love that too.

[B]

What's next for Edie? What's next?

[A]

Well, I. I've got those live shows coming up that I told you about. And then I'll go do it in New York in early June.

[B]

Cool. Allen, if you're interested. Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[C]

I'm here. I live in New York.

[A]

That's right.

[C]

Cool. We'll be here. And then I wrote it down.

[B]

It's Tuesday at dynasty, and then June 3rd at Largo.

[A]

Yeah. And then May 11th in New York. I mean, sorry, June 11th, but yeah, at some point, I think I would like to get a little mini tour of that show in different cities. And I'm in the works on this movie that I co wrote and will be in.

[C]

You badass. And then when you're done with that, we've got that other movie to write that just so just to remind you.

[A]

Yes, we do.

[C]

The. The incredible.

[A]

I'm ready to receive the outline in my.

[B]

Are you guys gonna write a movie and do like a buddy comedy together?

[C]

No, it's not.

[A]

I mean, kind of. We might be the coaches of a very special type of team.

[C]

Yeah. It's a sports. I sent her a. I'll just say this much. I sent her a video of a sport. You know, a lot of these. A lot of these sports comedies are around unexpected sports. So I sent her a video of an unexpected sports. She wrote me back. This is super horny. That's. That's all I'll give you. That's the only taste until I get that outline scent.

[A]

And it's very, like. I don't know, it's a very, like almost ed hardy type of 90s horny. It's a very kind of. It's a disgusting type of horny.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

It's got its own kink. Yeah. I think it's. I think it could be wholesome the way.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

The two of you are married, not to each other, but to other people. How important is it that your significant other be funny?

[A]

To me? To me. Deeply important.

[B]

Is your husband funny?

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, I. To me deeply. But I also know that's not. That's not at the top for everyone's list. To me, it's very. Yeah, I need it.

[B]

Are you guys doing bits constantly?

[C]

No, I think that's good.

[A]

Yeah. I would say not at all.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

There's not. There's not a dearth of bids, but for the most part, if. If we're thinking of a dynamic like bits or whatever, it's me trying to do something that. That elicits this response. Ah,

[C]

Carissa. Carissa. And I laugh. I. I laugh at Carissa when she's when she's just her. When she does badass stuff. That just cracks me up. When she's kind of a. I don't know, She's. She was a dancer and they're. They're these, these athletes. They're.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I don't know, they're really tough, tough people. And sometimes she'll just like, she's such a sweet person. And then sometimes she's like, yeah, that guy. Or like something like that will just come out of my mouth. And I love it so much. It makes me laugh. We laugh a lot. We're always laughing. But I don't. I don't know. I used to seek out funny women. I used to date funny women. And it never worked. I could never. It never worked for a lot of different reasons. But yeah, before I met Chrissa, my longest relationship was two years. No, I had a three year relationship, but it didn't really count because the third year I lived in a different city than she did. So that you could easily make that work. And then Charissa and I've been married for 10. Yeah, we've been together for longer. So. But like before. Before that is like two years. And then I met Carissa. I was like, oh, okay, this is gonna work in it. Yeah. But, God, I love funny is really high on my list is something that I, I have to have it in my life.

[B]

I think it's nice, essential for you guys.

[A]

Yeah. I think what you're saying is more to the point though, of like, can you, can you laugh a lot? Kind of, yes. That doesn't mean the person is or isn't funny, but like, yeah, the laughing is. Is higher up than like, are you objectively funny?

[C]

Right, right, right. Like, you notice the same things. Like you can be walking down the street and one of you will go, and you.

[A]

That's awesome.

[C]

Cued in on the same thing. Like,

[B]

it's your, your shorthand. Yeah,

[C]

it's happening right over there. You see what's happening?

[B]

Edie, you have a love of horror movies. You share with your dad and your sister. What are three quintessential horror movies that you think everyone ought to see? Or do you have a favorite?

[A]

The Shining's for sure my favorite.

[B]

Did you see it as a, as a young lady? Did you see that?

[A]

Yeah, yeah. My dad loved horror movies and so we saw all kinds of stuff as probably way too young kids. But I do think it created my love for horror movies and created like the almost the cozy feeling that I get from knowing I'm gonna Watch a good horror movie. It's very like exciting and cozy to me. I saw this thing a couple years ago. There was a minute where there were certain types of therapists, I don't know who exactly prescribing horror movies to patients who were depressed. And I weirdly totally get that because I think that a great horror movie almost hits the same part of your brain as a great comedy.

[B]

Ah.

[A]

There's something in it that like can make you feel alive and in the world and not knowing you're not gonna die from what's happening on screen, but sort of jolting you enough to. To where you kind of can't dissociate from it. And like, I don't know. I think there's a weird magic in the really, really good ones. There's some really bad.

[B]

Being safely scared, being afraid.

[A]

There's something to it.

[C]

Oh, it doesn't feel safe in the moment.

[A]

But something deep inside you knows. Something deep inside you knows, like, okay, there's not really someone inside my house who's chasing me with a gun and is going to try to kill me, but it can come right up there next to it.

[B]

Do we have the Shining on that list?

[A]

I would say this old movie from the 80s, Silver Bullet, which I think is.

[B]

I remember Silver Bullet. I love it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Cool.

[A]

Wheelchair. Yeah.

[B]

Oh my God, I loved that movie. It.

[A]

Dude, it's worth a re. Watch. It's actually so good. Is it about so good?

[C]

Werewolves.

[B]

A werewolf.

[A]

Yeah, a werewolf. The priest in the town is aware werewolf. And it's just like, it's fun. Interesting dynamics. Like the. The drunk uncle is put in charge of taking care of them for the

[C]

weekend and that be Gary Busey's role.

[A]

Yeah, he's kind of down to. Down to go after this thing reluctantly and like it's just Terry Quinn is in that.

[C]

Oh, cool. How cool.

[A]

It's great. It's. It's so worth watching. So I'm going to today I'm going to say the shining silver Bullet. That I wouldn't really call this super horrory. But right now I'm gonna put the substance on there because I just think it's so special.

[C]

The substance. I think you've told me to watch that.

[A]

Oh yeah.

[C]

Oh, please let me watch it. It is.

[A]

I don't know if I've ever said to talked to a screen more in my life. I watched it on my laptop. I was weirdly in Germany watching it on my laptop. And yeah, I don't know if I've ever in my Life paused a movie more. Or said out loud like, oh, don't, please. Or like whole sentences, like going, why would you do that? She's you. You'll know what I'm saying when you watch it. There was one point I. Out loud, when you don't need that earring. Last. I just appreciate when a movie's a blast. I feel like we get so few of those now. Yeah, like sinners, I feel like was a blast. I feel like the substance is a blast. Like weapons is a blast.

[B]

Okay, now here's the thing, though. I. I loved weapons, but it felt to me like some studio exec said, you know what's scary? Clowns. Throw a clown in there. I just don't know how the clown fit into any part of that movie except for to look at him because it's a creepy visual.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Where was the clown?

[A]

I'm laughing so hard. I never would have thought there was a clown in the movie.

[B]

There's a clown that appears a couple times. Once in his dream, once in the woods. You just go, doing what? I don't know about the clown.

[A]

Oh, wait, in weapons.

[B]

In weapons.

[C]

I do not remember the clown exactly. Because it's unnecessary with the movie, you see it twice.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Guess what?

[C]

I love that. I love the kid who was on drugs. He was good acting.

[B]

He opens up his. He at one point opens up his tent or something, and he's looking across the bushes and there's a clown standing in the bushes.

[A]

And you go, and it's not Aunt Gladys.

[B]

It's not.

[C]

It's.

[B]

There's. It's not in the movie. It's. It doesn't. Am I sure? I'm obsessed. I'm upset about it.

[C]

Alan.

[B]

I'm sorry.

[C]

I'm so sorry. I'm sorry.

[B]

Yeah, I just watched.

[C]

I thought it was Aunt Gladys. I thought that's. That I was Aunt Glattus.

[B]

I mean, is that what I'm supposed to think? Is that the clown was Aunt Gladys?

[C]

That.

[B]

That someone was seeing her from a. I don't see. It wasn't clear. If it's not clear to me, I'm thinking, why now? I just watch. Do it. I just watched Undertone.

[A]

Oh, really? I knew it.

[B]

Really clever movie. Really clever ideas. Some really great suspense building. Some great shots where you think something's creepy stuff happening? I got all worked up. I'm under a blanket, you know, I have to have the blanket cold under my toes, you know, you under your feet. You can't have your feet on the ground watching horses Horror movie. You have to feed up and surrounded by blanket for protection. And then I got to the end of it and I went, wait a minute. What? I don't. I guess I don't know what this movie is about. It just kind of. The ending just left entirely for me.

[C]

But this is, this is.

[B]

Now I'm talking about undertone, undertone.

[A]

Oh, sorry, P S. That was aunt Gladys in the woods.

[C]

Yeah, that was when Gladys. I looked.

[B]

It was a full on clown. And also in he had a dream.

[C]

That's a.

[A]

I literally typed in clown in the woods.

[C]

Johnny Depp from Alice in Wonderland, I think who was almost cast in weapons, but as a. Gladys was.

[B]

But how about the.

[C]

How about the, the feel bad movie of the year of last year? Send her back or bring her back. Bring her back.

[A]

I still haven't watched that one. You know what? I have a horror movie friend. I'm really, I'm really blowing up. My friend Kendra on this pod. We both love horror movies and she told me that that one like felt yucky. Like that it felt it. The feeling stayed on her and she didn't like it.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Discussed that before about horror books. And I'm like, I just, I don't want to read the ones that I feel like climb inside me.

[C]

This one will do that, I think.

[A]

Yeah. She was like, I don't think you should watch it. It just feels bad and depressing. And I was like, okay, maybe I'll skip it.

[C]

Yeah, the feel bad. The feel Bad movie of the year.

[A]

Their other movie, Talk to Me is wild.

[C]

Oh yeah, Great, great.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

Oh. Oh, you'll love it.

[A]

Yeah, you love it.

[C]

No clowns, buddy. No, no clowns.

[A]

But a dead hand. That's going to bring some scary stuff through.

[C]

Yeah. And like a good thing to collect too. I bet there's a lot of people who get that. You could buy that hand, probably. I bet they make it. They 3d print it like at cons. I bet there's a lot of people with that hand.

[B]

There was a movie a long time ago called the Changeling. This is not the Angel Lee one. Oh yeah, George C. Scott one.

[C]

One.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

On the whole, I don't know how scary the movie was, but there was a scene where they had a seance and they're communicating with this little boy ghost. And George C. Scott is later listening to it on a big reel to reel recorder because he recorded the seance. And when they get to the bit where they ask the medium, you know, the medium asks, is there someone in this house. She's scrawling it out. The messages from the ghost are being. Being written. But you hear a little boy's voice say, yes. And then she says, what is your name? And you hear the little boy's voice say, michael. And he goes, what the. And he rewinds it, plays it again. What is your name? Michael. Rewinds it, plays it again. What is your name? Michael. It just keeps getting louder every time. I'm just going squirrelly, going, stop rewinding.

[A]

Yes. You have enough.

[B]

How many times? It's getting louder. Spooky.

[C]

Don't do this. Yeah, I was the seance. Everything around the sands was so.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

So good.

[B]

Scares the life out of me. Still just about.

[C]

It's a woman scrawling on a big piece of paper while her assistant stands by her. And, like, she just places her hand on one. She goes into a trance, and she places her hand on one side of the paper, and she just starts scribbling. And. And when you ask questions, she'll write the answer. The answer. And then she shouts it out, no, Michael, yes. And she rips the page off, puts her hand back. Rips the page, puts her hand back. It's, like, frantic and crazy.

[B]

This is a worthy, like, portion of the movie as far as how. How the whole movie went down. There's a couple scary things. I just recently visited a castle. There was an event for the weekend held at a castle, and I met the people who lived in the castle. And I said, be honest with me. Is this place haunted? Because I'm imagining some attic room with an antique wheelchair for, like, a little boy of some kind. Thinking of the changeling. Later that night, we had dinner up in the long library. And in the corner is this little weaker wheelchair.

[A]

Oh, God.

[B]

Come on.

[A]

Oh, God. No.

[B]

Little on the nose, guys.

[A]

Yeah, a little on the nose, guys. Not cool. Not cool.

[B]

And with that, Edie, we say thank you very much for doing this. We hope it wasn't so painful in the beginning. Man, that was a lot of technical stuff we went through.

[A]

Yeah, it was not painful at all.

[B]

You handled it very well.

[A]

Well, I also added to it, so.

[C]

I love you. I love Dan.

[A]

I love you. I love Carissa.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. Carissa says hello. She's looking forward. She's been enjoying because watching stuff that I haven't watched Vice Principals yet. So I got to catch up on some stuff. And she was watching these scenes. Can I ask you just real quick, I know we're ending, but was it your lying in Vice Principals. For people who know, they'll know. Was it your line to say when you sneezed inside me?

[A]

That was my line, but I did not.

[C]

You did not write it?

[A]

No, that was David Gordon Green in the moment.

[C]

Oh, wow. All right. David Gordon.

[A]

That wasn't even in the script, but he was directing that episode and he. He said, can you say, when you sneeze inside me?

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

I was like, yeah, of course that.

[C]

Because that is. I mean, you played it wonderfully.

[B]

It's.

[C]

It's the one that always comes. Comes up on socials that'll be like, you know, like funny clips that people will share. Is that one when we sneezed inside? Yeah. Okay. Thank you for clearing that up for me. Thank you.

[A]

I think the lead in is, remember when I leg locked you and you sneezed inside me?

[C]

Yeah. I'm pregnant. He's like, with me. I'm. Can't help. I can't tell you. I'm trying to trust. Trap you. I'm not. I'm not pregnant.

[B]

She's.

[C]

She's so nutty. Come on, let's go. Let's go. Let's go have sex by the dumpster. I got a big hole in my panties. Like, what the jeepers.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

I'm not sense Strangers with Candy. That's like the level of amazing

[B]

crudity. The level of crudeness. The level.

[C]

Yeah, crudity. Well, brilliance, I would say, just like, you know, Jerry Blank could say. I think you just need to. You need a little TLC and some vitamin P. Vitamin P? A moist as snack cake down there. That's very. They're very. There's a kinship between those characters over the years. Yeah, sorry, I'm gonna keep talking. We love you, Edie.

[A]

I love you guys. Thanks for having me.

[B]

We're going to come see this show. Looking forward to the next time we get a chance to see you in June. Talented. Edie Patterson.

[C]

Thank you for.

[A]

Awesome. Thanks for having me, you guys.

[B]

There we are. Alan, another good one. That was. That was lovely.

[C]

Could you tell I love her? Did I say that enough?

[B]

It's apparent. But it's apparent that you. You adore her. You. You respect her talent and that you really enjoy the process of working with her. That. That's apparent.

[C]

I find that in a lot of the artists that I, you know, respect that they. They have that. That I know she's got it in spades, though, the way she talked about acting and, you know, just that she is not trying to make you laugh when she's up on stage improving. She's there pushing herself just to start talking and not judge it and just say whatever comes first. Because that's. That's the process. That's the art. That's how it works. And to trust that to that level, man, that is. That's a special skill. That's the hardest thing for me.

[B]

This is the first time I had a chance to kind of sit with her and chat with her and get to know her. What a pleasant human being. And I love that she is at, you know, at the core of everything. Fundamentally grateful.

[C]

And. Yeah, she's. She's great. She's got good family. She's.

[B]

I was gonna say it just makes it very easy to be happy for her success.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So watch for Edie. Either a live show. You're. You're. She's. She's not gonna. She's not gonna sugarcoat it for you.

[B]

I feel like this is the.

[C]

She's gonna.

[B]

This is the time to get in when. When she's still doing one woman shows at the Largo. Yeah. This is the time to come see her before she. There's just no way you're gonna be able to get a ticket for something like that. That later on.

[C]

Yeah. Spend $30 and go see somebody create some art and have. What did she say? There were 10 people on stage. There was some really gross sex. And she was. She's having. She's having gross sex with herself on stage and her husband is doing the. The lighting booth. So, I mean, there's a whole lot of. Maybe no creepers. We should say hashtag no creepers. But I mean, that is a. That's a bold woman right there.

[B]

Lovely episode. So glad to have a chance to sit and chat with Edie.

[C]

Yes. Take care, everybody.

[B]

Have a good one.

[C]

Thank you for listening to Once We Were Spaceman. If you haven't yet, head over to our Patreon to get bonus content. Longer episodes, and the chance to take home some incredible craft. The most amazing crap. The kind that does not smell. And if you love this show, please leave us a review and tell your friends. One swimwear spaceman is a Collision 33 production. Whatever the hell that is. This show is produced by Michelle Chapman, Siobhan Holman and Josh Levy of Collision 33. There that is again. I'm sick of it. Production. Production services are done by Rabbit Grin Productions. Why is the rabbit grinning? I don't like it. Our theme music is from the minds of Carlos Sosa and Joshua Moore and the playing of Fernie and El Sorallo. And the artwork is created by Louis Jensen. Until next time,

[A]

Your late clown.