South Beach Sessions - Edi Patterson

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show – South Beach Sessions: Edi Patterson

Date: July 2, 2026
Guest: Edi Patterson
Host: Dan Le Batard
Location: Live from the Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

---

Episode Overview

In this engaging and thoughtful conversation, Dan Le Batard sits down with Edi Patterson—writer and star of HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones”—to explore her creative soul, her roots in improv, the risks and rewards of live performance, and the personal journey that informs her work. They delve deeply into the artistic process, the challenge of vulnerability on stage, the joy of creative collaboration, and the formative influences of childhood and family. Patterson discusses her new one-woman improvised play “Playgirl,” reflects on her career trajectory, and provides an open, intimate look at what drives her as an artist.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Art of the One-Person Improv Play ("Playgirl")

• Genesis of "Playgirl": Edi reveals that “Playgirl” is a fully improvised, solo theatrical performance rooted in her long history with improv. (01:38)
  • “Playgirl is all improvised. And so it, for the most part, comes out of my improv background.” (Edie Patterson, 01:38)
• Improv as Magic: She recalls watching fellow improvisers at The Groundlings and the realization that improv is unpredictable and collaborative—even in solo performances. (02:15)
• Creating Characters on Stage: Edi finds the exhilaration in inventing multiple characters, holding conversations with herself, and trusting spontaneous decisions. (04:10)
  • “I can count on them and mess with them the way that I would do other improvisers, and they’re all me.” (Edie Patterson, 03:43)
• Breaking Through Fear: Edi acknowledges the nerves before "Playgirl," but embraces the challenge for growth. She thrives when reaching a “full fuck it” mentality, allowing her most authentic self and characters to come through. (08:41 & 09:44)
  • “If I can get to a place of full fuck it...I know there are a lot of true, true characters inside of me.” (Edie Patterson, 09:44)

Facing the Creative Abyss & Trusting Instincts

• Creativity and Fear: The recurring challenge is to suppress self-doubt and fear, to ignore imagined pressures and judgments—something Edi mitigates by focusing on the fleeting nature of life. (13:56–14:29)
  • “The one thing I’ve figured out for making that all go away...is I truly remind myself that we’re all gonna die. And...I might as well have a blast.” (Edie Patterson, 14:27)
• Improv as Spiritual Practice: For Edi, great improv—and great acting—requires presence akin to a spiritual experience, channeling something greater. (16:00)
  • “Improv for me, is very spiritual...For it to be good, it has to be so present. Because if I start to try or think too much, something’s off.” (Edie Patterson, 16:03)

Life-Changing Roles, Creative Collaboration, and Writing

• The Gift of Judy Gemstone: Edi discusses the joy and gratitude she feels for landing a defining character in “The Righteous Gemstones.” She expresses confidence that other “big” characters still live inside her. (07:52)
• Collaborating with Danny McBride: Their symbiotic writing partnership is built on mutual trust, a shared comedic sensibility, and the intuition that “if we both think something is good and funny, it’s good.” (12:36)
• The Writing Process: Edi is candid about the vulnerability and uncertainty in creation—writing scripts, waiting for green lights, and navigating industry ambiguity. Yet, she’s guided by personal fulfillment and authentic expression. (12:05, 13:13)

Personal Growth, Groundlings, and the Power of Specificity

• The Groundlings Influence: The legendary improv/sketch theater shaped her ethos—encouraging specificity in character, “leaning into the weird,” and embracing both comedic failure and risk. (34:12–35:43)
  • “The more specific I can be with a character...the more funny and true it is.” (Edie Patterson, 34:27)
• Resilience Through Reps: Years of improvisation taught Edi to trust her comedic instincts. Continuous practice, failure, and vulnerability are key to breaking through self-consciousness. (31:32, 31:59)
  • “Keep learning and keep knowing you can get better and...be more present...That makes us both look great.” (Edie Patterson, 31:59, paraphrased)

Childhood, Family, and Artistic Formation

• Growing up in Texas: Edi credits her childhood in a “rich” tapestry of southern characters, surrounded by “delicious weirdos,” for training her eye and fueling her creative well. (53:42, 54:32)
  • “Growing up in Texas and there just being a large number of characters around me...I really did [notice and love it].” (Edie Patterson, 53:42)
• Family as the First Audience: Early performances for her family and impersonations of colorful local figures gave her permission to be “weird” and showed her the joy of making others laugh. (54:52–57:58)
• Parental Support: Her parents gave her implicit permission to be herself—a foundation that paved the way for her artistic honesty and confidence. (64:35, 66:24)
  • “I always felt like being true to yourself was the main thing to go for, which is kind of wild.” (Edie Patterson, 64:35)

Inside “The Righteous Gemstones”

• Culture of Collaboration: The set is a place of mutual respect and creativity. Cast and writers share a genuine affection, leading to productive improvisation and true camaraderie. (38:23–39:07)
• Favorite On-set Moments: Church lunch scenes offered freedom to riff and improvise, leading to some of the most joyous and memorable moments for the cast. (39:07)
• Improvising in Character: All ad-libs, Edi emphasizes, are rooted in character’s truth—not just “trying to be funny for funny’s sake.” (41:27)

---

Memorable Quotes (with Timestamps & Attribution)

• “If I let it happen, it can be a lot of people on stage with me.”
  — Edi Patterson, 03:39
• “If I can get to a place of no self-consciousness, then I know, like, oh, now I can find something real.”
  — Edi Patterson, 30:49
• “The only way path that works for me is me letting it rip...whether that’s a very subdued person or a very...just letting it rip emotionally...”
  — Edi Patterson, 08:41
• “My creative talent is enough. And the deeper I dig into the fear reservoir and past all of it, I’m gonna find the greatest versions of me.”
  — Dan Le Batard, 09:44
• “I truly remind myself that we’re all gonna die...if I only have tonight...I might as well have a blast.”
  — Edi Patterson, 14:27
• “Improv for me, is very spiritual.”
  — Edi Patterson, 16:00
• “It was awesome to just be able to unleash female rage and frustration in general and...just make it true with no filter on it and just to express...all of it.”
  — Edi Patterson on Judy Gemstone, 26:51
• “Funny is funny.”
  — Edi Patterson on self-consciousness, 52:02
• “I’m never going to stop doing this.”
  — Edi Patterson on acting, 60:28
• “I always felt like being true to yourself was the main thing to go for, which is kind of wild.”
  — Edi Patterson, 64:35

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction to Playgirl: 01:35–06:35
• Improv Philosophy & Conquering Fear: 06:35–10:48
• Collaborating with Danny McBride & Writing Process: 11:50–13:02
• Working Through Anxiety, Spirituality of Improv: 13:13–16:41
• The Hotel Years: Creating Gemstones: 17:59–20:40
• On-Set Chemistry in Vice Principals & Gemstones: 20:53–22:49
• Improvisation On Set: 23:45–24:27; 39:07–41:27
• Pouring Yourself Into a Role: 29:31–31:59
• Groundlings and Specificity: 34:12–35:43
• Texas Roots & Family Influence: 53:04–57:58
• Childhood Acceptance & Parental Support: 64:35–66:24

---

Notable Moments

• Improvised Door Moment: Edi describes a surreal moment, during a solo improv, when she spontaneously asked an “imaginary” character for help with an improvised door—and her own mind answered, reinforcing just how real her creations feel in the moment. (04:10)
• Navigating Industry Doubt: Sincerity about the insecurity and ambition that still accompany even a successful creative life. (12:05)
• Childhood Existentialism: Candid discussion of Edi’s childhood existential depression and how concrete things (like a beloved bike) helped ground her. (61:15–62:41)

---

Tone & Style

The conversation is open, self-reflective, and bursting with creative enthusiasm. There’s humor, vulnerability, and an undercurrent of gratitude running throughout the discussion. Patterson’s love for her craft, her deep self-knowledge, and her capacity for self-acceptance are clearly evident, as is Dan’s admiration for her approach and work.

---

This episode offers a rare, deep dive into the mind of a dynamic performer and creator. Edi Patterson’s story is both specific and universal—a portrait of persistence, creativity, and the vital power of authenticity.

Transcript

[Dan]

You're listening to DraftKings Network.

[Home Depot Announcer]

Heat up your fourth of July at the Home Depot with our wide variety of grills under $300 and make every gathering one to remember. Give your outdoor space a glow up, whatever your budget is. With savings on seasonal plants starting at $5. With the grill fired up and your backyard set to perfection, you'll be able to invite friends and family. Kick off the party, start celebrating. With low prices guaranteed at the Home Depot, prices may vary by store. Exclusions apply. Seehomedepot.com Pricematch for details.

[Dan]

This is a bit surreal for me. Thank you for being with us. Edie Patterson is obviously the writer and one of the stars of the Righteous Gemstones, one of the best comedies done in 10 years, but her whole career has been interesting to watch, and so I'm really interested in delving into your creative soul. So thank you for being with us.

[Edie Patterson]

Thanks for having me. Seriously.

[Dan]

She's got a new movie out, Brian, with William H. Macy and others. You're traveling in a very rarefied air now, and she's got a one person play, Playgirl. So let's start just there. How do you arrive at a place where you want one light on you and you're gonna do. It's gonna be all you, nobody else?

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah.

[DraftKings Announcer]

Well,

[Edie Patterson]

Playgirl is all improvised. And so it, for the most part, comes out of my improv background. That's a huge part of my background. I've been improvising for a long, long time. And I had done some solo stuff. A woman, Deanna Oliver at the Groundlings, had conceived of this really cool thing called One, where she would have her. Her favorite improvisers improvise a one person show. And she had certain things that were a part of it. Like she would have the audience build three sets on the stage and she would ask the audience, what's the name of this person doing this one person show? And you kind of always knew because it was a one person show, you'll be breaking the fourth wall, you'll be talking in the audience sometimes. And anyway, I'd had a little experience with that and it was sort of mind bending and thrilling to improvise by myself, which I had never done before. And the first time I did it, right before I did it, I had done the regular improv show at the Groundlings. And I remember watching two of my friends do a scene and I was laughing so hard and just feeling the magic of improv and the thing of seeing in real time, oh, this person's idea isn't what's happening, and this person's idea isn't what's happening. Their ideas met in the air and squished up, and now this magic is happening. And it hit me like a cold chill. And I thought, what did I agree to do tonight? Why am I. Why would I do this by myself? That's not what this is. What is this going to be? And I've quickly realized through doing that show with her. Oh, if I let it. If I let it happen, it can be a lot of people on stage with me.

[Dan]

Right. You're creating all of them.

[DraftKings Announcer]

Right.

[Dan]

Let your creativity run amok.

[Edie Patterson]

Totally. And I can count on them and mess with them the way that I would do other improvisers, and they're all me. But I remember that became super, super clear. One of the early ones I did with her, I had improvised a dorm room. There were like six or seven kids in a dorm room, and I was one of them, and I was all of them, but I was. The main character was in there, correct?

[DraftKings Announcer]

You.

[Edie Patterson]

Yes, yes, I was all of them. But I had. I had improvised a door coming onto the stage, and there's two practical doors there, but I didn't use either one of those. I had improvised a door, and then when I went to leave as the main character, I couldn't remember which way the door went and where the knob was. And in a split second in my head, I thought, ask that guy. And so I asked that guy who's me, and he knew. And I was like, oh, okay, so I can just let myself go crazy.

[Dan]

All right, so this is a weird question, but have you all always had an assortment of voices in your head, and now this allows you to bring some of them to life?

[Edie Patterson]

You know, I've always liked. I've always loved characters and gravitating toward characters and creating characters and staring at people and wanting to do them for my family. And. Yeah, I don't know if it was ever a collection before this, but it's a very interesting and weird sensation. And then especially with Playgirl, which I started doing, which has no format on it, it's just a completely improvised play by myself. And I talk to the audience for a while and I get some notions. I tell them. I get them to talk to me a little. They name the play, they tell me some other stuff, and then I just start. And the thing that's been interesting is it's always. Every time I've done it, I've done it probably nine or ten times now. Every time I've done it, it's the length of a real play. And I think probably that comes from the experiences I've had with Impro Theater, which is a group I'm part of here in la, and we improvise full length plays, usually in styles and genres, usually with people.

[Dan]

This helps. It gives you a minute to think.

[Edie Patterson]

Impro is always with people.

[Dan]

Gather yourself with real people, not conjured people.

[Edie Patterson]

But I think because we improvise plays, that's given me a sense of how long a play is and what it feels like. Those we do in costume, with sets, and we have an intermission, like it's fully, fully a theater experience.

[Dan]

This is the most challenging thing you've ever done. Yes.

[Edie Patterson]

Playgirl. Play Girl. Yes.

[Dan]

And that's why you chose it.

[Edie Patterson]

Yes. I wanted it to be more challenging and more Wild West.

[Dan]

Okay. But you're coming off creating a seminal character. I talked. We talked a little bit with Ted Danson about this. The idea that you work all your life to have a character that is memorable for everyone, and then you immediately start wondering, well, will I ever have another one of those?

[Edie Patterson]

Sure, sure. I. You know, I. Maybe I'm like. Is the word hope or. I feel like I just. I know, I know they're in me. I. So I was gonna say, yeah, I hope I can, but I know I can. I just. It'll be figuring out where that happens

[Dan]

or what, you know, they're in you, though. You know what Judy Gemstone is in you. I've heard you describe it as uncaging the bitch and letting her run free is ugly. Ge. You think there are multiple ones of these existing in there?

[Edie Patterson]

For sure.

[Dan]

Wow. So you have a great deal more confidence than the neurotic Ted Danson that you know that these characters exist for you and, you know you're gonna. You now have the chance to birth all of them.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, I just. I don't know exactly who it's gonna be or what the. What it's gonna be, but, yeah, in Playgirl, I never know who's gonna come out, but I know, I know somebody's going to. And usually every play has, I don't know, 10 or 11 people in it, so I end up, yeah, I end up liking a lot of them.

[Dan]

But the reason I asked the question is what an interesting challenge for you to choose after whatever is seminal arriving of. I've created a character in a show that everyone loves. You're choosing a path that is an alternate path. You could do anything and you're Choosing to invest in improv, it seems like the scary. It seems like the scariest thing where it's not even a skeleton. You're just up there with your talent and your vulnerability.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, it is scary until it starts. It's very. A weird kind of nerve wracking. I love performing live, but I do have to sort of fight through some stuff before this show. But if I, If I can get to a place of. With. With Playgirl and with. If I'm filming something, if I can get to a place of full fuck it and if I can get to a place of knowing that the only way, that the only way path, etc. That works for me is me letting it rip. Whether that's a very subdued person or a very. I don't even mean like the person has to be wild and screamy, but if I, I have to get to a place where I can let it rip emotionally and then I know it will be true, then I guess that's what I mean. I know there are a lot of true, true characters inside of me.

[Dan]

Yeah, well, but if you arrived at real and honest and authentic, fuck it. Because if you've arrived at real and honest, authentic, fuck it, you have conquered Hollywood. Like you've conque. Conquered all of the demons that plague the creative people. If you can actually do just it, I'm gonna. My creative talent is enough. And the deeper I dig into the fear reservoir and past all of it, I'm gonna find the greatest versions of me.

[Edie Patterson]

It's. I can get there it is. It's definitely an ebb and flow. And I'm not saying, oh, I constantly have that feeling or I constantly know that of course there's worry of like, yeah, but what is the next major thing I'm going to do? Because, because gemstones and being Judy was the best gift of my life up to that point. So yeah, if you, if I focus too hard on like what could be as good, it can feel terrifying. But I know it's all going to work out nice.

[Dan]

I usually do not find that in actors. Usually that is not something. But you've had a lot of success and you've learned a great deal. You've been doing all of this a long time. You've worked, you know what good, what working with good people feels like. And now you're tackling endeavors that are just the ones you want to tackle.

[DraftKings Announcer]

Right.

[Dan]

You get to make your own choices now.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, no, well, I mean, I'm still, still trying to get things, you know, like, I still, I still am striving to make a movie I want to make, and I'm still putting myself on tape sometimes for things. And it's not that there's no confusion or struggle in the mix. I just know that the other place is the place that creatively works for me. So if I can just keep bringing my brain back to that.

[Dan]

The movie you wrote, you wrote one with Danny McBride. Right. And so where is that? Like, do you know, are you certain that if that gets made, you have the confidence, like, there's no way that this isn't the best representation of what it is that we do?

[Edie Patterson]

Well, I have no idea if anyone will like it or how it will land on people, but I know that I love it and we love it, and I know I'll put my whole heart and soul into it, and that's all I can do.

[Dan]

It is all you can do about success. But you've got to feel at this point that you and Danny have good governors, that if you think something's good, it's good.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, I think so. But I do also know all of that's subjective. But, yeah, I. I do think if we both think something is good and funny, for me, definitely, I think it's good. I think he's got such a sharp and astute and funny brain that, yeah, I feel like it'll be great.

[Dan]

You skipped past a couple of things when you said, I work through some stuff, but I have to work through some stuff sometimes before getting out there. Are you skipping past some stuff that has some details in it that are panicky?

[Edie Patterson]

Oh, yeah, for sure. And I would say it's because all of the things can come in of the sort of paradigms that I don't know, that we're taught to think about of, like, oh, if this goes well, then this, or if this doesn't go well, then this. Or if this person is out there and they think this or I really have to get to a place of truly forgetting who's coming.

[Dan]

That's just all fear you're talking about. Like, that's all of that fear is just anxiety. Fear based doesn't help at all.

[Edie Patterson]

Totally. And sometimes those sirens or alarm bells can be so loud that I've. The one thing I've figured out for making that all go away, whether I'm about to shoot a scene for a movie or a show or whether I'm about to do Playgirl, is I truly remind myself that we're all gonna die. And I don't. And none of us knows when That's

[Dan]

a great way to do it.

[Edie Patterson]

If I only have tonight, which I very well might, because there's no telling, I might as well have a blast. And then what's the worst that could happen? You could make a list of horrible things that could happen, but, oh, well, at least I let it rip.

[Dan]

All right, give me an example, though. Give me the name that set off the sirens the most. Where you most had to say to yourself, well, we're all gonna die. The one where you're like, I don't. Am I performing for this person? This is a little scarier than the average person. It could be someone you respect, someone who. I don't even know who. What gets conjured when I ask you that question.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah. You know, with this show in particular, it's more like the sirens and the bells are just the more almost esoteric notion of, oh, I agreed to do this by myself. I'm gonna get out there and improvise by myself. What the hell? So it's mostly. That's the big beast.

[Dan]

Right. And then what have I chose? What have I done? I made all of this. Now I have to go do it.

[Edie Patterson]

Totally.

[Dan]

Damn it.

[Edie Patterson]

And it's almost like I just have to. Yeah. Give everything permission. I have to remember that we're all gonna die and say a prayer and literally just ask. Just ask and remind God to come through me. I'm hoping to channel every time I do that.

[DraftKings Announcer]

So.

[DraftKings Gambling Disclaimer Announcer]

Really.

[Dan]

So it's a spiritual. So it's a.

[Edie Patterson]

It's improv for me, is very spiritual, but, I mean.

[Dan]

And God's there.

[Edie Patterson]

Oh, yeah.

[Dan]

Oh, it's the most.

[Edie Patterson]

Whatever you call God, it's the most

[Dan]

present you can be. Right. It's the most.

[Edie Patterson]

It's. For me. For it to be good, it has to be. It has to be so present. Because if I start to. Yeah. If I start to try or if I start to think too much, it's. Something's off. It's not.

[Dan]

You're not just letting it fly. You have to. You're going to your creative epicenter, trusting that whatever's going to come out of there is going to be funny.

[Edie Patterson]

Totally.

[Dan]

And it's. And you have to be relaxed.

[Edie Patterson]

Totally. So it's. Yeah. It's a limp jump off a cliff and just. Just really, really just trusting. Oh, the wind. You know what? The wind is strong enough that you're not going to fall.

[DraftKings Announcer]

The cup knockout round is here, and DraftKings Sports has you covered for every single match. The DraftKings app is now available in all 50 states and includes all markets, bringing the action straight to your fingertips wherever you are. New DraftKings customers sign up with Code beach, spend five bucks and get $200 in rewards within 21 days. That's Code beach in partnership with DraftKings. The crown is yours.

[DraftKings Gambling Disclaimer Announcer]

Bet with DK Sportsbook gambling problem call 1-800- gambler-1-800, my reset Connecticut call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org on Behal Hill Casino in Kansas. Vet taxpay may apply in Illinois 21 and over. Void in Canada. Event contract trading with DraftKings predictions involves risk of loss availability varies. Bet to get bonus bets that expire in seven days. Trade to get $50 in predictions dollars that expire in one year issued every seven days via click to claim for 21 days. One non withdrawable reward Redeemable predictions offer Void in New York ends July 19 terms at DKNG Co Audio can you

[Dan]

take me back to 2018? The Hyatt House you're living for six months during the pilot of the Gemstones at a place that felt like you were gonna birth something special or.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, well the six months proper was when I was writing on the first season of the Gemstones and then. Oh, maybe that was after. So okay, the chunk of six months was when I was writing and we lived there doing the pilot for mmm, six weeks maybe. But the whole place changed for me once other cast members were there and doing that by the way, that was a mistake to live in a hotel for six months while writing.

[Dan]

It became the Shining. It became the Shining.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah. It just becomes so weird and then like I don't know, day four or whatever you go huh, that fan in the bathroom never turns off and huh. I think I made the alarms of the entire building go off trying to make a Beyond Burger. Like just you just start to feel weird and there were enough four days

[Dan]

in four days into six months you start to feel weird.

[Edie Patterson]

I would say two weeks into six months. But I was so stoked to be in on the creation of all of it that those. Those feelings and almost. Almost psychosis creepings of being in that hotel room for so long didn't they got smushed down because I was so excited to be creating this show and helping create the show. It was one of those where after. I don't know if you've ever had this but the times in my life that I've had like you know, depressed periods or it's almost like I see it after and I go, oh. You know, And I was pretty. I was pretty fucked up then, or I was pretty down. That was one of those after where I was so happy with everything that was happening. It was almost like I could look at a sliver of it after and go, ooh, I was not doing great living in that hotel room.

[Dan]

Oh, wow. Okay. So it was almost like a. It was dark, but you were buoyed by what it is you were doing and so focused on it, you almost didn't even notice. Totally.

[Edie Patterson]

And then in retrospect, I would go like, oh, I should never do that again. I should never live in a hotel for that long. I should live somewhere different. That feels more like a. A person would live there.

[Dan]

You knew while you were doing that you'd done vice principals, so you knew the people that you're working with, you trust, they're funny, and, you know, you have chemistry. And I imagine that was also fun. Vice principals was fun to do.

[Edie Patterson]

Off the charts, it was. Vice principals was the first time in my life I had done some very cool things, but that was the first time in my life that I thought, oh, this. This show at this time with these people is exactly where I'm supposed to be. And this is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. And it morphed, and I was supposed to do, I think, four episodes in the first season, and then that completely morphed, and I became kind of the Fatal Attraction bad guy. And then was in all of the second season, and it was. Yeah, it was magical.

[Dan]

Did you fit in right away writing wise, or were you intimidated in any way?

[Edie Patterson]

I didn't write on that show.

[Dan]

Oh, okay.

[Edie Patterson]

So, yeah, I just was on that show. And then we. I think through Danny and I improvising together, we kind of discovered, like, oh, I think we could probably write well together. And so then me, Danny, and our friend Jeff Bradley, who's also a writer on Gemstones and Vice Principals, we wrote the movie that we were talking about

[Dan]

earlier, and you feel like you belong instantaneously. There's no.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, we wrote that movie initially so easily and so with such an interesting flow, and it was so fun. And then from the jump with Gemstones, he asked me to come be a writer as well as being Judy. So, yeah, it was always just a cool meeting of the mind.

[Dan]

Who is the person most likely to break on the set of Righteous Gemstones and ruin a scene?

[Edie Patterson]

Hmm. You know what? No one will ruin a scene. That is pretty. Pretty rare.

[Dan]

Gosh,

[Edie Patterson]

I would almost say maybe this is Just because he's who I like to make laugh. I would almost say Danny would be the most likely to laugh, but that may just be something inside me going, like, that's who I. He's. He's. Who can wake up, like, the shark in me, who's, like, smelling blood in the water. If I, like, sense him going. Everything in me wants to, like, really make him really kill him.

[Dan]

Is there someone more likely to be able to get others to break than the other characters?

[Edie Patterson]

That's interesting. I mean, for me, sometimes the littlest things that either Danny or Tim Baltz would do would annihilate me. Like, just a little. A little lip movement or a little. Just anything with either of them where I can tell, like, oh, they're. They're totally gone. And I'm fully looking at Jesse or BJ every now and then. That would really take me. Take me to another place. I'm pretty good, though. About as I say this, it's making me laugh because I'm like, well, I have had some. Sometimes when I bust up, I'm pretty good about not breaking and staying in it.

[Dan]

Is your character your favorite character on the show, or do you like another character better?

[Edie Patterson]

Judy's my favorite.

[Dan]

I mean, it's a pretty great character.

[Edie Patterson]

She's my favorite. Yeah, she has my whole heart and soul inside of her. I feel so much for her.

[Dan]

You pour all of yourself into your work, but when you say you feel. Feel all of that for her, are you saying you're bringing 30 years of the industry into that? Just, like, where it is that. Where it is that the boys are in charge and the boys don't know anything, but the boys get to have all of the power all the time in comedy that you had to come in through there.

[Edie Patterson]

Interesting. Well, she definitely was a cool place to channel unfiltered frustration and rage. I never really thought about, oh, is this at, like, the struggle of what it takes to become an actor or a performer or writer in our industry? But I'm sure it's in the mix. I mean, anything that I've ever felt like isn't fair. I'm sure is in her.

[Dan]

You hadn't considered that before now. It's funny to think that your entire life experience and uncaging, whatever it is, you've had to hide down there because the boys are still in charge and they shouldn't be. And look at them. They're idiots like that. All of that would get unleashed. That seemed obvious.

[Edie Patterson]

You know, maybe the thing is it felt. It felt Maybe bigger than that. It felt maybe, Maybe less specific than. Yeah. The times the boys get things. If that's in the mix for sure. Because, you know, we've all seen that in different places in our lives.

[Dan]

We haven't all seen it. Men have the privilege of usually not having to see it.

[Edie Patterson]

Well, I guess when I say we all, I mean women. But it more, more than just the specificity of that. It was awesome to just be able to unleash. Female rage and frustration in general and

[Dan]

funny and make it uproariously funny. Like that's.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, just make it true with no filter on it and just to express like int. Name an emotion. Like intense anger, intense horniness, intense insecurity, intense overconfidence. All of it. That's in every woman. Yeah, just. It felt like awesome. Permission to just go like, let it all out.

[Dan]

I couldn't believe as soon as I saw that show. I like, how did you, someone not think of doing this before now and then the writing grace in being able to somehow make a lot of fun of religion without necessarily insulting the people who are religious because you're just focused on how weird the family is and greed and wrong and how hard a needle that is to thread. But the moment the show appears is such a cartoon. And my first thought was, how has someone not thought to do this before?

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, well, we talked a lot about that. And most of us who wrote on the show had grown up. Not all, but most of us had grown up in the south and most of us had grown up in a church life in some way. And we definitely wanted to make the show about these specific people, literally the gemstones, and not ever make fun of belief in general or believers. Like everyone should believe exactly what they want to. We weren't trying to come for anyone in that way. We were trying to come for these maniacs who steal from people. Yeah. And at the same time show that these ones that we're highlighting, they really do believe. It's maybe a fucked up version of it. And they do think they're the chosen ones and that they deserve all these things that they have, but that they, they also are they truly, they truly think what they think. And, and for Judy, I have to say I'm not really sure what anyone else thought all the time of their character. I think she is always doing her best, even when she is really doing really bad things.

[Dan]

When you say, or I've heard you say that you pour all of yourself into your work, what does that mean? Like, what are the. What are the details on pouring all of yourself into something.

[Edie Patterson]

Well, I think, I think part of it is. Part of it is what we were talking about earlier of just making sure that I can get to a place of letting it rip and making sure I can get to a place of

[DraftKings Announcer]

almost.

[Edie Patterson]

I've described it like this before and I don't know if this even is articulate or makes sense, but almost trying to get to a place of when I'm performing to forget that I have a body and just really try to be in the essence of something and not worry about the technicalities of that. Of what do I. How am I, how am I coming off and just trust that the true essence is going to.

[Dan]

Well, the first thing I thought of when you said letting it rip is that letting it rip is not self conscious.

[Edie Patterson]

Totally. That's the perfect way to say it. If I can get to a place of no self consciousness, then I know, like, oh, now I can find something real.

[Dan]

And it's not only that. You must trust by now that. And I can find something that I know is funny like because I have full confidence in my funny, that that's a wisdom that takes elders lifetimes to achieve but has a lot of failure along the path. Totally. So when did you get there? Like when along the path were you able to trust that doubt should be ignored and that at the core of you just not thinking about anything? No, I'm funny.

[Edie Patterson]

You know, I think I started getting there through. Through the Groundlings for sure. Through being in the main company at Groundlings and doing many, many sketch shows and many, many improv shows.

[Dan]

Just reps, reps, Reps on failure. Right, Reps. There's success there too, but just reps on. Keep doing it, keep doing it, keep improving, keep failing.

[Edie Patterson]

Especially with improv. I mean, there's gonna be nights that aren't as raucous as other nights. And yeah, the thing is to just keep, keep learning and keep knowing you can get better and keep knowing you could listen better and keep knowing you could be more present and oh, if I am more present and if I'm totally focused on the other person, then that, oh, that gives me everything. That gives. That makes us both look great. And really learning and feeling in your body, the thing of. And believing. High tide raises all boats. And if your focus is outward of oh, let's just enhance this moment. Let's just be in this true moment. It really makes everyone look great.

[Dan]

Well, you do realize that what you're discussing is the place that people seek, you know, when they pray to Mecca and when they become Buddhist or wherever God is. Just wherever God is. On the things that you care about and the things that you love, you're describing, like the most sacred space there is for someone who makes things.

[Edie Patterson]

That's what. Look, not to get too woo. But that's what I'm trying to get to all the time. Yeah. And there are times when I forget and I go, oh, right, this isn't the most important thing. But, yeah, I would say through Groundlings and through Improv and through doing stuff with Impro Theater, and then I have to say, probably, probably with vice principals, I had a little bit of a convergence as far as for TV and film, of going, okay, great, because I felt like they really saw me. And so having them see me and then knowing, like, oh, just keep trusting what you do. There was a cool convergence in them moment. And like we were saying, sometimes that's going to all come together in the Venn diagram. Sometimes it's not, but it's the only way. Yeah. Trusting it is the only way to get to a good part of the Venn diagram.

[Dan]

What did the Groundlings teach you? It's a broad question.

[Edie Patterson]

Beyond the reps. Well, that's definitely where I first started writing my own sketches and writing characters and I think seeing shows there and seeing that, oh, they lean toward character and specificity. That was a biggie to learn there. It's like, oh, the more specific I can be with a character that I'm being, the more funny and true it is. So there are a lot of versions of character that are, you know, not specific enough to feel. To feel real or to hit. I don't know. I feel like ultimately we're all primates and we. Yeah, if something walks like a joke and talks like a joke, maybe you'll laugh, but only when it's super specific does it hit that, like, monkey part of us where we're like, oh, yes, true. So I think I started learning that there for sure of like, oh, the more real I can make something and the more just exactly dialed in and possibly weird. People are so weird. I feel like we forget that when we. I feel like movies that are completely dramatic totally forget the fact that even the most serious creep on the earth is having some moments in their life where they're laughing or they're embarrassing themselves or something. Yeah. Something cringe is happening to them or something made them laugh. I. Yeah, I just. I can't believe we still make things that attempt to be all one thing

[Dan]

or the Other you've got me thinking of, like Manson at the Comedy Store, just that he used, you know, I don't know if it was back then or if it was around, but just in the audience, there had to be something that made even the craziest of persons laugh. There's no non laughers. Except maybe Vladimir Putin is the only one, right? Like, everyone else laughs.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah. But, yeah, even him. Something's making him laugh.

[Dan]

Yeah. How did the Righteous Gemstones change your life? Has it for sure. Wow.

[Edie Patterson]

We. Well, I mean, it was. I would say it deepened and enhanced my creative collaboration with Danny and some of those guys. Brandon, who runs Roughhouse, and like I said, Jeff Bradley, who I wrote with. I feel like it was an expansion on Cool Things. We were thinking into. I got a Bestie for life out of it in Cassidy Freeman. I every. I love everyone on it, which is wild. That's wild to be on a show where you're like, oh, I really love everyone I work with. I don't think that's the norm. And so I feel like it really gave me the wherewithal to appreciate that in the moment and to just savor every delicious, fun moment of that. Of like, oh, my God. To realize, like, this is so lucky. I think. Yeah, I think maybe that it gave me so much gratitude.

[Dan]

What an interesting answer to how your life was changed. Because you're talking about in all the meaningful ways, not any of the silly ones like you're talking about. No, I made a friend for life. I'm working with people I love. I see what it is. Exactly. I want how it needs to feel when it's the best and it doesn't get Hollywood corrupted. Because everyone who works with that group of people say that it's fun to do what you guys are doing every day. It's got its disciplines, but you get to be a child.

[Edie Patterson]

Well, totally. And it's totally. It has its disciplines. I mean, we were doing very, very long days and it was a constant, constant handling things and doing things and writing. It is long and can be confusing. But, yeah, none of that ever beat the fact that this is the greatest. I mean, to be able to help create the show and to embody and help create Judy. I mean, it was just like. Like such a gift.

[Dan]

Do you have your favorite scenes and episodes?

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean, it's almost too many. It's too many to name anytime. We had a church lunch scene that was always very, very fun. And those were. We always got things as written. The scripts were very Written. I've had people ask me before, like, were you guys improvising all the time? And there was improv in the mix, but we always had the scripts as written, filmed. And the church lunches were usually a chance where things would kind of open up because we were all there and we could go on jags that were nowhere in the script. And that was really, really fun.

[Dan]

It sort of reminded me, in seeing Talladega Nights, what it is that Ferrell and John C. Reill doing at the prayer table. I imagine that that scene took. That they enjoyed doing that for about

[Edie Patterson]

a month, I would imagine. I mean, yeah, so you're all at

[Dan]

the table, and now everyone's not just having fun. Not only does everyone love each other and sort of understand and see each other, but now we're a band that's competing on funny. And so that's just a sandbox for what you do.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah. And then you start to feel the little moments of, like, oh, if I lob. If I lobby, lob this fat pitch to him, then he's gonna hit that over here. And then if I get upset at that, then we're gonna go on this Jag. And we would just find crazy things. The whole Tim and I getting married, BJ and Judy getting married at Disney Disney World, that was in the script. But the whole deal about Prince Eric being the one who married us and fuck Mickey Mouse and why didn't you guys have a legacy character? All of that was improvised on the day. And it all just feels so true. That was the other major thing, is none of us were ever coming from a place of. Eh. Let me say this. This will really make them laugh. All of us were improvising from character, which is really the only kind of improvising I believe in for TV and film.

[Dan]

Who was the most generous when you talk about lobs and the selflessness and making sure that you're throwing someone else a fat one.

[Edie Patterson]

Wow. Man. I feel like everyone was so good at it. I would say maybe. Maybe just because I see his. I see his improv background. Because Tim comes from an improv background like I do. I could really see him lobbing me some pitches sometimes.

[Dan]

Oh, wow. So you can see the generosity as it was coming 100%. Nice. Who could make John Goodman crack? I imagine he's pretty tough.

[Edie Patterson]

No, he is pretty tough. He's not a tough person to be around. He's the greatest. I couldn't love that man more. Hmm. I don't know. He just would get tickled. He would get tickled sometimes at weird things that would like tickle me in a script, which gave me no end of joy knowing that John Goodman was maybe laughing at something that either made me laugh or that I wrote or I loved it, if I could get him tickled. But he was pretty good about staying in character. Even if he was putting in a little bit of improv, he was good about staying in it.

[Dan]

You said a friend for life.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, for sure. All those guys did.

[Dan]

But what happened there? What is it that you're thinking of there? Like, is there anything in particular that made the connection?

[Edie Patterson]

I just think maybe because we were the two girls on the show. I don't know. We just had an instant. Literally. We met in LA when we were both at our physical for going off to do the show in some weird office building in West Hollywood. And she walked in and I heard someone say her name. We were the only two people in there and we just sort of talked and said, oh yeah, we're going to do the same thing. And I don't know, it was just one of those immediate things. I've had this with a few friends in my life where you just immediately have that thought of like, oh, I know you. Okay, I get this. We're friends.

[Dan]

So do you do that a lot in adulthood? I've made a few friends in adulthood, but your life tends to form gets a little smaller and so has that happened a lot for you? That the people you're working with on instantaneous, sort of. Okay, we're always gonna be friends because we've got a shortcut. The thing that I'm seeing from where I am is we've got a shortcut on common interests. Like we like this. We're interested in the same spaces on what it is that we do and that just can fast forward a friendship.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, I would say, yeah, it has happened for me sometimes. But the. There are times when you just go like, okay, this is a long term one. I would say I had a similar feeling with Danny. I almost immediately felt like, I don't know what the deal is here. If this guy was my brother in a past life or something. And a similar thing with Cassidy, I was like, okay, well, I can get down. It's a feeling of I can get down with this person.

[Dan]

But what you're saying, you're saying that almost literally cosmically connected. When you go totally. When you go past me.

[Edie Patterson]

Not to take us continuously back to almost spiritual. But yeah, I would say both of those. It was almost like a weird. Almost like A weird memory of like, oh yeah, this is my friend.

[Dan]

Well, but when you say woo or spiritual or all this stuff that we're talking about, you're energetically feeling in places that you don't know, but trust intuitively. A connection that seems not of this world is what you're describing. Like this is for sure like this that I feel I am meant to be next to this person on this portion of the ride.

[Edie Patterson]

Totally.

[Dan]

How many people are that in like that in your life? How many are you working with? All of them.

[Edie Patterson]

No, some of them are like. I would say my friend Kendra, who I knew in Texas is that way. My friend Roberto, who I knew in Texas is that way. And then a couple have happened through work like Cassidy and Danny. I would say some of my friends from the Groundlings are that way. Yeah, I've had it happen a few times. And yeah, it's definitely not an all the time thing. And it's different than wow, I really like this person or wow, I really get along great creatively with this person. Yeah, it's a whole other little weird thing of. Huh? Oh, weird. I know you. Yeah, I had the same thing with my friend Emily from the Groundlings. It's weird.

[Dan]

You're not talking about just a connection. We like each other. You're saying this feels like it's from a thousand. It could be from a thousand years ago. It's from a place I don't understand.

[Edie Patterson]

Totally. I had a similar thing with my husband when we first met. I didn't. And it wasn't like, oh yeah, we were definitely married. I just. I couldn't. His was so with him though. It was so. I don't know. I want to say front of mind. These other ones are almost like a rumbling in the back of my mind. His was so front of mine. I was like, I know this guy. He's so familiar. What do I know him from? And I didn't know him from anything.

[Dan]

You and he should be embarrassed by how long it took you to mention him when you mentioned all of those things.

[Edie Patterson]

Well, we were talking about friends only.

[Dan]

We're also talking about. You're speaking about something right now that is going to get you us mocked at the idea. What is she talking about? That she can feel the energies of someone intuitively that she was meant to ride with in this lifetime.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, I don't know what it is.

[Dan]

Take us back to Texas and your upbringing. Like none of these things were a dream. Right. Like, what is it that you were searching for when you're around the moat. For example, at Texas State, was it southw then?

[Edie Patterson]

It was Southwest Texas State University, yes. When you say none of these things were a dream, do you mean, like the things that I'm doing now?

[Dan]

I'm saying, what did the biggest dreams look like? Could you have imagined what is presently. Did you dream this up?

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, I wanted all of this and I want. Yeah, I wanted all of this and more. And I. I'm still dreaming up stuff. But, yeah, I don't know even what made me think there, like, oh, yeah, you could do this and this and this and this and this. Because it wasn't like I was from knowing anyone who was even an actor. But, yeah, at Southwest Texas State, you're right. It was a round building in a moat. Still is. I think they have another theater building now. But. I just knew I wanted to be an actor and I didn't quite know how I was gonna do that, but I knew I would just keep doing plays and keep meeting people at one in the morning to rehearse their graduate projects.

[Dan]

But the actor was funny. The actor was gonna be doing comedy.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, I kind of. I was into all of it and still am into all of it. I also enjoy drama. I think doing comedy and drama are almost the same thing. And I think that as long as it's true and you mean it, both can. Both can be delivered from just a place of truth inside of you. But I don't know that I had honed in. I definitely liked being funny, but I don't know that I was leaning so hard that way. Not until I came. Not until I started doing improv did I sort of start to feel like, oh, yeah, that's my way.

[Dan]

Who'd you come up with at the Groundlings? And who awed you?

[Edie Patterson]

Oh, wow. So many people awed me. Well, I came up with. So my sort of senior class when I was in the Sunday Company was me, Mikey Day, who's on SNL now and hosts Is It Cake? And my friend Drew Droege, who's this amazing actor and just had a. A show off Broadway called Messy White Gays. So I was with two really awesome funny guys coming up. And then the people who I really, really looked up to, I mean, the list is so. The list is so long. I was blown away by Jim Rash. I was blown away by Melissa McCarthy. I was blown away by Kevin Kirkpatrick. I was blown away by Mitch Silpa. I was blown away by Wendy McLennan Covey. I would, like, just. I literally could Just keep making a list.

[Dan]

Did it make you doubt at all, the amount of. If you're being awed by everyone around you, did it create doubt or it was just. You weren't doing competition?

[Edie Patterson]

No. It made me feel like from the second I first saw a show there, it made me feel I have to be part of this because it was so leaning into what I already liked from growing up, which is I liked characters and I liked specific characters and the fact that they were so obviously leaning into that and the women I was watching weren't. There was no hesitation to look insane or completely weird or, you know, have some crazy wig on and not look anything like yourself. I just. I liked the. I liked the ballsiness of all of it and the complete, like, yeah, fuck self consciousness. Funny is funny.

[Dan]

What was happening in your childhood, though, that made you gravitate toward these characters? Were you a child that was always impersonating people? What were you doing in terms of how you were honing the child creativity, where you're discovering that this is something that you crave?

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah. I think it's a mix of a couple of things. Part of it was growing up in Texas and there just being a large number of characters around me. And I think part of that is just the south in general is kind of rich that way in that.

[Dan]

So the child you is noticing I'm surrounded by weirdos.

[Home Depot Announcer]

Yeah.

[Edie Patterson]

And loving it. And. Yeah. Knowing I'm surrounded by just delicious weirdos. I don't know how I knew that at a young age, but I really. I really did. Even if I was sort of afraid of something I knew, like, oh, this is good. I've always. And this is probably because I'm from a long line of. On my mom's side of starers. Like, we still have to. We still have to tell my mom, like, jeannie, stop. Because she will just get lost in like. Like wanting to stare at a couple at dinner and, like, hear their whole conversation. I'm like, I have that want, too, but unlock your eyes.

[Dan]

A long line of starers and you're

[Edie Patterson]

realizing, all my aunts, all my cousins,

[Dan]

but you're not thinking as a kid. You don't have an eye also for content, do you? Or do. Or do you Very early on, you're seeing these people are rich. Life is cartoonish. And I want to embody the weirdness.

[Edie Patterson]

I think. I think I wanted to embody the weirdness from very young. Like, I. From first grade, crazily. I had a first grade teacher at my public elementary school who Was from the uk and so she was this older woman with an accent and which. I still don't know why she was there, but I would go do her for my family or we had. We had this wild list of. My dad's father was sick and we would go over there every other night. We would go over there and basically be there from after school until 10 to help take care of him. And during the day though, there was this long, long list of women who would come and be like the day person. And some of them lived there and. Because then they would sort of take over the late night and look, God bless them, but so many of them. And I don't know why, I don't know if it's where we were. I don't know if it's that the, you know, my mom and dad and my uncles and whoever needed to get the most affordable option. I don't know what the deal was, but they were all, all wild, wild. And I used to like to do them for my family. And I think maybe from early on I realized that it can kind of take the pressure off as well. Like if. If we're all feeling stressed out and, or worried or sad, it's a little dangerous to do, you know, this woman who's taking care of my grandfather who, you know, is. Seemed 7ft tall and had enormous boobs and like used to like catch the rainwater coming off the house to wash her hair and like let her dog eat from the inside of her mouth. She'd put ice cream in her mouth and like let the dog lick it out from the inside is all. It all sounds so dark. But something in me from very little knew, like, oh yeah, if I do them or if I do the weird silent one with a braid down past her ass. Something about it like takes some pressure off of my parents and makes us all laugh.

[Dan]

You have to do more with those characters. It seems like this is after Playgirl because it seems like you've been doing a one woman show since whatever this age was. Maybe kind of like this is just what you're doing now in adulthood is just recreating whatever it is you were as a kid. That's why it's the playground. It is for you. So you have all of these characters and you're instantaneously getting affection, applause, affirmation because they're all funny. And so you're allowed from very early on to embody the weird. Like you're. You're allowed to get comfortable with weird.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, for sure, for sure.

[Dan]

That's not normal in childhood. I think most kids are trying to fit in.

[Edie Patterson]

Right, Totally. Which I, I definitely, that I was the weird was embraced early on from my family. And definitely I had like phases at school where I was like, oh, God, I'm very different than, than everyone else here. But I feel like performing for them and then doing certain things and then performing at school, like, literally doing a performance at school helped me to go like, okay, that, that's where I. That's who I am. And definitely I felt like, oh, being funny is part of who I am at school.

[Dan]

And what age was that? Because there's real confidence in however it is you. There could be doubts in all sorts of other places, but to know who you are, what you want at an early is like a great deal of the pie chart on how you get to happy.

[Edie Patterson]

Huge. Yeah, I would say seventh grade, we had a thing called Class day that was basically a talent show. And me and some other girls that I knew wrote a dating game parody. And we were playing the guys and one of the girls was playing the girl voting on us, and I was playing a nerd and we had written the thing and we were going to perform it. And I just remember the feeling of the auditorium full of kids dying, laughing every time I would say a word or do something. And I remember thinking like, okay, well this is it for me. So I have to figure out how to. To make this a job. And I had no idea. And so then when I could, I did plays at school and. But those were. Doing plays at school was the only outlet to figure out what I was doing.

[Dan]

Yeah, but that's what school's for right there, everyone. No one gets that feeling in college, in seventh grade or anywhere else. The feeling where you get lightning struck on, this is what I must be doing. I have no other choices. Yeah, seventh grade, that's crazy to know

[Edie Patterson]

that it's crazy because then you can

[Dan]

just start chasing it right then.

[Edie Patterson]

Totally. I can just keep going toward it and just knowing like, well, I'm just going to keep going toward this. I'm not. This is. I'm never going to stop doing this.

[Dan]

So when you think with that far away look on the phases of childhood where you realize, oh, I'm not like these people at all. What are you thinking of there? Like, what are the.

[Edie Patterson]

Well, definitely when I was really little, I had a phase where I was very shy, except with my family. And then later, like around fifth grade or something, I feel like I went through like an existential depression that I didn't. I didn't even understand. I didn't even want to say out loud.

[Dan]

Fifth grade, fifth grade, fifth grade. Existential depression. What is that?

[Edie Patterson]

Like, fully. What is this? Am I a person? I remember I used to look at kids in my neighborhood playing and doing stuff in the street or whatever, and I used to think, what are they doing? How do they know how to do that? How can. What. What is that? It was very existential. What is. What is all of this? What is. God? What is. What is time like? And then there would be weird. Fifth grade, fifth grade. I told my mom way later, and she was like, what?

[Dan]

Yeah. I'm still like, what?

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah. Very, very weird. And. And it had. Yeah. And I used to. God, this is way tmi. I used to, like, say tangible things in my head to bring me back to Earth. Like, I had this bike that I had won for a long time. I had this. This really cool. Like, it was like a BMX and freestyle bike. I didn't know how to do either of those things. I just liked the aesthetic of the bike.

[Dan]

They were good bikes.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah. And I'd saved up and gotten it, and it was a white Kuwahara. I don't know if you remember that.

[Dan]

Well, the BMXs were the golden bicycle

[Edie Patterson]

of childhood, but I had pegs on it and all these things to do tricks. I didn't know how to do any of that. I loved the aesthetic of skateboarding and BMX and just thought all the boys who did it were really cute and. But I didn't. Couldn't really do either thing. But I had this Kuhara, and that was part of when I would start to feel, like, super floaty. I would say that in my head because it was a real thing in the world. Or sometimes I could, like, listening to the radio or the TV would make me feel like, okay, that. Okay, I'm in the world. It was truly an existential depression.

[Dan]

You're articulating in some ways that you might think you're an alien or somewhere in the realm of how do these humans learn how to do these human things? And you're trying to figure out if you fit with them and then realize quite quickly no one else is thinking about this. So I don't.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, kind of. I don't know if I had the thought of alien, but definitely I thought, like, who? They all know something. I don't for sure.

[Dan]

But you're embracing that as well, though, right? Like, you're. You're at seventh grade. It's. So if you're saying existential depression in fifth grade, right? No, in fifth grade. But if you're spending that time in fifth grade and then in seventh grade, realizing what you want to do with your life because your lightning struck, whatever's been happening in your life to that point doesn't have meaning. But now, now it does. If you know what you want, if you're being told in seventh grade that you know exactly what you want.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, for sure. And thankfully, my parents were always. God, I don't even know the wording, but I always felt like. I always felt like being true to yourself was the main thing to go for, which is kind of wild. So I knew, even when it was hard, that that's the main thing I should.

[Dan]

But how'd you know that?

[Edie Patterson]

I think they taught me it, but.

[Dan]

You think they taught you it or what? Like what?

[Edie Patterson]

Well, I know they did. I just don't know how they did.

[Dan]

I mean, it seems like a wonderful gift for parents to give a child,

[Edie Patterson]

but even when there were certain, like, you know, trends going on or if, like, the. If the people I was around at school seemed like they were being mean or, like, you know, there's phases, especially as a girl, certain phases where, like, other girls can be so mean and weird.

[Dan]

But what you're describing is acceptance and belief, right? It's not even just support. It's really many of the ingredients you'll find in love.

[Edie Patterson]

Like, yeah, but it's like, God, what am I trying to say? I just knew. Like, oh, just. Even if this. Even if this feeling sucks, just keep thinking what you think, which is cr. It's crazy that they imbued that.

[Dan]

Well, that it's okay to be you. Correct. Like, as long as, you know, even

[Edie Patterson]

when no one is making you feel like it's okay to be you.

[Dan]

I mean, but that explains a lot, right? If these things are supposed to be biographical and people are wondering, well, how did she become Judi Jem? So. Well, it was allowed. It was allowed.

[Edie Patterson]

Yeah, it was allowed in my house, for sure.

[Dan]

I mean, that's parents doing a good job on getting. I don't know that there is any sort of lottery that someone could win than parents being able to give them something that gives them their own keys to happiness. Totally lovely talking to you, man.

[Edie Patterson]

You too, Dan.

[Dan]

Playgirl is the play. It is a brave choice by her. I love that she made it. Thank you for the time. Time. I do appreciate it.

[Edie Patterson]

Thanks, Dan.