As classes moved online due to the novel coronavirus, the Student Government Association and Student Activities and Organizations organized something new for students to attend in place of the scheduled X Ambassadors spring concert. This resulted in the creation of the “ETSU Laughing Alone Together Comedy Series Featuring ‘SNL’ Cast.” Mikey Day headlined the first live Q&A. Chloe Fineman and Kenan Thompson will follow on May 3 and 7, respectively.
On April 30, “Saturday Night Live” cast member Mikey Day joined ETSU for a live Zoom Q&A, co-hosted by Carter Warden, the director of student activities, and Raina Wiseman, the executive editor of the East Tennessean. The co-hosts posed questions from students, staff and faculty to Day as they received them before and during the session.
Decked out in ETSU gear and holding a flat Bucky, he started by sharing what his life in quarantine has been like. With a seven-year-old son at home learning remotely, while also doing “SNL” at home, he explained that he is staying busy.
“For now, the ‘SNL’ at home shows, you have to be like, ‘What can I shoot on my phone in my house,’” said Day. “If you want other cast in it, they have to join by Zoom or something at their house and combine it. They sent us lighting kits and microphones, so we are kind of learning the production side of it, too.”
He described some of the favorite sketches he wrote or performed in, including “David S. Pumpkins” and “Star Wars Undercover Boss: Starkiller Base.” Working alongside people like Tom Hanks, Adam Driver and David Harbour for these sketches were a memorable experience according to Day.
“I am a big ‘Star Wars’ fan,” he said. “It was fun to kind of have Adam be so willing to have fun with the character. Sometimes people can be a little protective of their characters. I know he is clearly protective of that role, but it is cool that he was down to make fun of it a little bit.”
Per the questions, Day went into detail about what life is like on set and the rehearsal and writing process.
“The way [Lorne Micheals] has structured the show is if you write a piece, you produce it to the end, and you meet with costumes, props,” said Day. “You really have the final say, and you’re truly involved. It is so much fun to be out there and perform as well. Both jobs are very creative, which is great as a writer; you have so much control over your piece.”
Throughout the webinar, Day shared exclusive, behind-the-scenes photos and videos and gave light to some of their backstories. One included a picture from a Christmas episode.
“Every few years during the Christmas episode, they go down and do goodnights from the ice skating rink from 30 Rock,” Day said. “It was a lot of fun to run down and put on ice skates real quick during the show for goodnights.”
He concluded the Zoom congratulating 2020 graduates and sharing part of his own post-graduation experience.
“I am only giving advice from my experience in this field, but I think in general for those in the arts and entertainment side, being able to write your own stuff is a great asset to be able to generate material,” Day said. “It is important. Obviously there are some just actors who just prefer that, but if you wanna do both, being able to write your way into stuff is a great skill.”
