Sarah Silverman
You don’t have to be very familiar with comedy to know who Sarah Silverman is. Since she first garnered attention as a writer and performer on Saturday Night Live in the early ’90s, Silverman has secured her status as an alternative-comedy legend through myriad writing, acting and stand-up gigs. In 2020, she started The Sarah Silverman Podcast, and in February she joined the pantheon of rotating guest hosts for The Daily Show. Earlier this month she kicked off her Grow Some Lips Tour, which stops in at the Ryman on March 22. She caught up with the Scene to talk comedy, politics and Dolly Parton.
Your tour is called Grow Some Lips — where did that name come from, and who is someone who you think really needs to grow a pair (of lips)?
I just got it from the show, because I may mention that at some point. And just the idea of language and how we never question it when it’s just the stuff we’ve known our whole lives. And of course, when we’re asked to change it, it’s terrifying. Our instinct is — we don’t like change. So it’s just interesting. This is not a very funny answer, but anyway. Who needs to grow some lips? A lot of people. All of us.
You’re performing at the Ryman. How would you compare playing a bigger, legacy venue like that to a more divey comedy club, and how does that affect your chemistry with the audience?
The Ryman is perfect because it’s big, but it feels intimate. It doesn’t feel like you don’t have a grasp on the audience. … It’s kind of built for sound, so it feels more intimate than it is. And that’s really the greatest version. Because a nice, small, low-ceiling kind of seedy club is ideal for comedy because the sound bounces off — but a place like the Ryman is equally as good, but of course it’s beautiful as well.
You started The Sarah Silverman Podcast in 2020. Has that served as an arena for you to practice stand-up material, or do you try to limit crossover?
A little bit, yeah. There’s some stuff that I just said organically on the show, and then I was like, “Oh, I bet there’s something.” But not much. But definitely, there’s a little crossover in the Venn diagram between the podcast and stand-up. But the podcast has become way more serious. They don’t share a lot of DNA — I’m a lot more earnest on the podcast.
You give a lot of advice on the podcast. Has that helped you improve at giving advice to people in your own life or has that always been a strength of yours?
I think it has. Also just because, obnoxiously, I think so many people who really do therapy become therapists in their own mind — I’m no exception. But you learn so many lessons that are so easy to pass on. And it’s interesting. I mean, as a comedian, most comics are interested in what makes a dynamic between people, and that’s what therapy is. It’s just various dynamics between humans and understanding them and being able to kind of — manipulate them? I suppose that’s not a very good way to say it, but probably accurate.
It’s interesting that you compare your podcast to therapy. Not to say you pretend to be a therapist in this show, but is that a direction you ever imagined it would go toward?
No, not at all. I mean, I am interested in that stuff. And I knew that I wanted the audience’s questions to kind of dictate the trajectory of the episodes. But it really became an advice show. And I mostly will preface things with, “I am completely talking out of my ass here,” or, “I don’t know shit, but.” I mean, it’s a pretty good exchange of ideas. And you know, I might give someone advice, and then somebody else calls in and says, “Actually, you know, XYZ,” and it becomes this kind of interesting community.
How would you describe the experience of guest-hosting The Daily Show? Were there any surprises or challenges from that that you weren’t expecting?
Not really, but it’s a completely different skill set. … I had experienced things like that before, I’ve hosted shows and stuff. But the immediacy of it being daily was an incredible experience. Just how jokes can’t be precious. You can’t spend too much time — the producer Jen Flanz is there while you’re working on the content for the show. And if we spend too much time on a joke, she’s like, “Keep it, leave it, move on,” to keep us on track. And it was so cool. I really loved the feeling of immediacy. You know, it’s a completely different approach to the material, because you want it to be as good as it can be. But you also have to just move on, keep going.
Who’s someone you’d love to see guest host?
Oh my gosh, I don’t know, so many people. I think a Tig Notaro guest host would be hilarious. I mean, really anyone. I’d like to see what Zach Galifianakis [does] with it. I mean, there’s so many people, so many comics that’d be fun. I know Al Franken is coming up. And Chelsea Handler did a phenomenal job the week before me. She can do that in her sleep, and it’s just so fun to watch.
Do you find that your jokes hit differently in red states or blue states? Or do you craft any specific material for different states based on their local politics? For example, here in Tennessee, Republicans are attacking queer people pretty heavily right now despite Nashville being a mostly progressive city. How do you kind of factor all that into your performances?
I mean yeah, sometimes. I know about this [drag bill] that just passed that’s fucking gross. And obviously I’ve got a lot of abortion material, and it’s wild to go to states where it’s illegal. But I think all the more reason to be talking about it. It’s just so bizarre. Every state is both, really. I mean, people think of California as so blue, but there’s so much red in California if you go to Orange County and Sacramento and all these places. But that’s why I love doing those states, because people are psyched to come out for it. It doesn’t represent everyone in every state. And I like to think that I can be entertaining to everybody, but I’m not for everyone. I’m far less political in my stand-up, but I still am. I talk about abortion, gay rights, gay stuff — gay stuff! So yeah, it’s always interesting, but I feel like in red states, it’s even more appreciated, to be honest. But yeah, Tennessee, man. I love it, love-hate. I mean, I’m from New Hampshire, which is the same kind of, like, blue and red, but like lots of red, but loud, proud blue, too. … Not to be so partisan, by the way. I mean, I’m not like — well, yeah, I’m as left as you can be, but I get annoyed with others on the left as well.
You mentioned the drag show bill.
Yeah. … Like are we gonna stop car shows? Because that would be fair as well. It’s just so bizarre. DeSantis in Florida too, this kind of like, anything that is anti-woke, it doesn’t matter if it hurts people, helps people, it’s just vindictive. It’s purely ego-based stuff, and they’re hurting people. It’s just gross. I mean, and this is the party of “less government” telling us what shows we can put on. Fuck you.
I bet Dolly Parton will speak out, because she’s Tennessee royalty and no one supports drag more than her. She considers herself as drag. … She’s putting on a face, a mask and a wig and she puts on this outer shell that she thinks of as drag. And also there are so many drag Dollies, and she loves them, she supports them. I hope she’s outspoken about this. I bet she will be. I love her so much. She’s one of the few things the right and the left can agree on — that Dolly Parton’s the shit.
What would you say to a young comic who worries about how their jokes might age in this ever-evolving culture where the target of fair game always seems to be moving?
It’s a really tough one, because I think the enemy of comedy is second-guessing your audience. But the good news is — go with your gut, go with your heart. If you feel a weird tinge inside when you say things, maybe you don’t want to say it somewhere in there, you know? But you have to be free. That said, you should be really equipped to be able to use all sorts of language, and if you find out a word bums out a whole bunch of people — you’re a person of words, you’ve got a million new words you can use. Maybe you want to piss people off, maybe you don’t. But I don’t think fear is the right reaction. There’s so many ways we can express ourselves in comedy. Just listen to your gut. Listen to, like, if there’s a physical tinge when you talk about something or say a certain word, then maybe rethink it. But you have to go with what you think is funny, number one. And just get stage time to get your 10,000 hours in.
