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.” Kenan Thompson headlined the final live Q&A. Mikey Day and Chloe Fineman were also part of the line-up.
On May 7, “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kenan Thompson virtually returned to ETSU’s campus for the first time since his appearance at the university in 2013.
Co-hosts Carter Warden, director of Student Activities, and Raina Wiseman, executive editor of the East Tennessean, posed questions from students, staff and faculty to Thompson, in addition to letting some students ask their questions live.
Thompson started by explaining that during quarantine he has remained busy with “SNL” and personal projects, as well as bonding with his wife and children.
“I have been shooting a lot of sketches myself, like how I’m doing with my ring light right now,” said Thompson. “I have had tons of Zoom meetings and stuff like that, but [I’m] also spending a lot of family quality time. The babies have been getting swimming lessons, so we have been barbecuing and hopping in the pool as much as we can.”
During his 13 year tenure on the show, Thompson has encountered numerous musical guests. He listed some such as Prince, Beyonce, Jay-Z and Paul McCartney. Among these many guests in his “SNL” career, one of the first guests he remembers is OutKast.
“In my first season around the third show, we had OutKast, and it was when they were at the pinnacle with ‘Hey Ya!’” Thompson said. “It was brand-new, fresh, and that was as big as OutKast had ever been, but I had been a fan of them since the very beginning being from Atlanta. It was just like the universe is just telling me I am beyond blessed, and I have got to stay focused and humble because I’m definitely on the right track.”
He explained that some of his favorite hosts included Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, David Chapelle and Tom Hanks.
Thompson found it difficult to pick a favorite character he portrayed on “SNL,” but mentioned that he always loved “What Up With That,” which was recently revisited on an edition of “SNL: At Home.”
“It was a beautiful team getting that [sketch] up and running,” said Thompson. “We were able to do it several, several times, and that last go was just crazy how it all came together. We figured out how to sing and dance to write an entire sketch and stay on beat and stay on pitch.”
The most stressful part of the job for Thompson is writing and getting it right on live television. Even despite the dress rehearsals, doing it correctly when it matters most is what really counts.
“You really have to be very delicate with the [writing] process in the beginning and make sure that the more times you read it to yourself it is still making you laugh the same kind of way because you are presenting the humor in the correct pattern,” Thompson said. “When you are telling the story, the way that you unveil things at different points in the sketch hoping to get reactions is the great chemistry of it all.”
In light of the novel coronavirus, Thompson reflected that we need comedy now more than ever to help us get through the rough days.
“Comedy is one of those security blanket, comfort food type things that you just need to make you feel like everything is going to be either okay or it will eventually get back to normal,” Thompson said. “It is just brightening up your day when you cannot do it yourself. Everybody wants to be happy anyway, so laughter is a way to help us feel like we are getting to that goal.”
