Kristen Schaal: Indie comedy goddess

[size=133:epvway92]Kristen Schaal: Indie comedy goddess
by Emma Kat Richardson
January 12, 2009

[size=100:epvway92]New York-based comedian Kristen Schaal has quickly moved from bar room comedy gigs, to the national comedic elite. Starring on Flight of the Conchords and the Daily Show will do that.

It’s not often that a comedian can claim credit for preserving a dying breed of endangered bears (think polar), but Kristen Schaal is just such a lucky jester.

The breakout star of comedic television gems like HBO’s hipster hit Flight of the Conchords (where she plays the musical duo’s number one super fan), Schaal has spent the past few years morphing into a crush-worthy darling for the indie comedy set.

And with a star-making role as the Senior Women’s Issues Commentator on Comedy Central’s little news show that could, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Schaal has burst into the public spotlight by repeatedly lampooning political notables like Sarah Palin with a wry, insightful edge that even Tina Fey must be envious of.

Exactly as sweet and adorable as you’d expect her to be, the curly-coifed comedian checked in with Punchline Magazine just days before the Jan. 19 season premiere of Flight of the Conchords to discuss the nature of alternative comedy, why she’s similar to Andy Kaufman and how making fun of Wasilla, Alaska’s biggest star was actually beneficial to the environment.

What called you into the world of comedy?
I definitely knew I always wanted to perform. I think that comedy called me because people were laughing at me when I was trying to be serious.

So was it a childhood trauma thing that propelled it?
Oh, no, I was, like, pleasantly surprised, and I figured out how to use it to my benefit.

You’ve been associated with the term “alternative comedy” a lot. What, in your words, defines alternative comedy? What differentiates it from “traditional comedy?”
I think alternative comedy just means that there’s more comedy than usual. And I think that that word is probably going to become a mixture again, because alternative comedy was a word that described comedians who weren’t working in the bigger clubs in New York— people who were doing shows for no money, like on the Lower East side and in Brooklyn, so we became the “alternative” to the clubs.

Really, because the work that we produced was more experimental in the fact that the audience wasn’t paying just to see a joke, so we didn’t have to please a booker or an audience. [Laughs]. So it was just a different way to explore all the different ways to make people laugh, other than just telling jokes;
but, they call comedians who just tell jokes “alternative” comedians, too, so I think mainly that word was created because of location, and not because of content.

Do you mean regional location, as in, around the United States?
No, I mean it’s like the difference between performing at a stand-up comedy club and performing in the back of the bar.

Do you prefer improv or stand-up, or is there really no comparison?
I don’t know if I prefer one over the other. I find improv more relaxing, and I look forward to doing it because it’s something that I don’t have to prepare for, so you just go with the flow. With stand-up, it’s the most stressful thing that I do because it all depends on me – whether it goes good or not. So, you know, I’m running the whole show and it takes so much preparation;
but, when you walk away from a stand-up set that goes really well, compared to an improv set, you’re of course going to be more proud of the stand-up set.

Is it better to be the star of a cult genre, or an up-and-comer in the mainstream?
Well, I guess… I hear the word “indie” a lot. Indie, indie! [Laughs]. Yeah, it’s a special treat to get to be in an unusual show, so yeah, I would say the indie, cult comedy over the mainstream comedy.

Is the underground comedy circuit seen as a stepping stone for hitting the mainstream, like signing that sitcom deal, or are people happier, like you said, to be in this niche, creating a unique brand of art?
I think that everybody wants to do work, but traditional sitcoms are kind of a thing of the past now, anyway: different from how it used to be. Now, it’s like, lots of people are writers and just inventing all kinds of different projects, and also, mainly, they do it because they love the comedy – most of them really just love performing, and they can make some money at that, too. I don’t think it’s a stepping stone, but maybe it is!

I’m sure if you got an Adam Sandler-type movie deal…
Well, I don’t know if anyone from my scene is getting movie deals right now, except for Demetri Martin. He’s a hard worker.

You won the Second Annual Andy Kaufman award in 2006. Do you think the comparison is apt?
Yes? I mean, I think so: nobody’s going to be like Andy Kaufman in any way, and I’ve never really offended as many people as he has. But I think that contest was one of the first times when I felt like I was doing everything right in a row, and it was like, anything goes;
compared to before, when it was like, people were doing stuff that was weird, and I’m not sure what they felt about it.

I felt right at home with [the contest], and I kept thinking, ‘God, I hope I don’t win, because I want to come back next year and try out this other thing.’ But yeah, I think [the comparison is apt]. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say “yes.”

What can we expect to see on the new season of Flight of the Conchords?
I think, definitely more of the same things that people love, like the guys are going to be prophetic in some ways, and enduring in most. They’ll be working for love and fame. All the characters come back, and there’s music, which makes it an unusual TV show.

I think that they’ve got more money this year: I’ve read the scripts and I’ve only gotten to see a few things that are on it, and some of the music videos they’ve cut were gorgeous. It’s exciting, because it seems like every creative whim that the guys had this year got to be played out. It’s very surreal, too: it’s a surreal season, in my opinion, in all the best ways.

Is the humor on the show self-reflexive, in the sense that the fictionalized versions of the characters are in on the musical jokes, like their real-life counterparts?
Oh no, no, no. They’re not winking at the audience in the songs. I think that [the songs] are completely behind them, like with the Spinal Tap guys.

If you could relentlessly stalk any band (like your show’s character), who would it be and why?
Um… I don’t think any band is as good as Flight of the Conchords.

Since you also double as The Daily Show’s Senior Women’s Issues Commentator, are you excited about Hillary’s appointment as Secretary of State?
Yeah, I am excited! I’ve already sent her a gift basket, with a little cushion for her chair.

Really?
No. [Laughs]. But yeah, I think it’s great.

Do you think it’s going to change the tone of the material on The Daily Show?
Oh, yeah. I’ve constantly got my ear to the news, looking for key words about women that could get me back on the show. We’ll see what stunts she does… in Morocco.

Do you see the whole Sarah Palin/Hillary Clinton dichotomy as helping or hurting female comics in the long run?
Hmmm, that’s interesting. Helping or hurting? I guess helping. Now is such a unique, exciting time and situation for female comics, because Tina Fey and Sarah Palin looked so much alike, and it was one of the first times that a woman was taking the spotlight in a political stage like that. If we could get more women up there doing that, there would be more female comedians to make fun of them.

Do you think you’ll be able to parlay that into your stand-up, having seen you lampoon Palin on The Daily Show?
Sure. Sure!

2008 was obviously a year ripe with comedic material, given all the political activity. If you could pinpoint the year’s greatest moment, from a comedian’s perspective, what would it be?
Sarah Palin. Yeah, hands down. There was so much material that she provided and it was like, every time you made fun of her, you were saving the world a little bit, taking her down a notch. Every time a comedian makes fun of Sarah Palin, a polar bear gets to live one extra day.

What does the future hold for Kristen Schaal?
Well, this just came up recently, but me and my friend Kurt Braunohler made this web series called Penelope: Princess of Pets, and it looks like we’re going to turn it into a pilot for Channel 4 in London. So yeah: this year, it’s going to be me trying to figure out how to make a pilot in London.

Are you moving to the U.K., then?
No, no, I can’t afford it there. The flats are so expensive;
I’d be living on the street, so no, I’ll just go over there for a few weeks to do it. It’s all a little bit hazy, but that’s what I see myself doing— and more comedy, too. I definitely need to do more comedy material, which is horrible. [Laughs]. Sometimes, it gets so frustrating.

Are you planning to tour, at any point?
Maybe, yeah. I should tour;
that would be fun. Yeah, tour;
I need to do that!

For more info on Kristen check her out on MySpace at myspace.com/kristenschaal.