Tina Fey swooped into Philly last week, where she was honored with Temple University’s 2016 Lew Klein Excellence in the Media Award. We were lucky enough to snag a coveted seat in the audience, and Fey’s humor didn’t disappoint.
Photo by Temple School of Media and Communication
To kick off the festivities, the university held a Q&A with the comedian, and dozens of students lined up to ask their questions. Some students asked for career advice, while others asked about the new Mean Girls musical – coming to Washington, D.C., next fall – and Fey delivered with wit and insight.
Fey passed on her advice about everything from nailing an SNL audition to succeeding as a woman in a male-dominated field. She even gave some tips for becoming Liz Lemon.
“Get some boot-cut jeans,” Fey joked. “Start writing, and get your writing in front of some kind of audience because if you’re trying to write comedy. That’s the only way it will be tested.”
She kept the audience laughing with stories from her 30 Rock days, working at the YMCA and her conversation with an 11-year-old audience member.
“Are you a Doogie Howser?” Fey asked abruptly before the young girl asked which comedy training practices Fey disliked but found useful. “Writing. Sometimes…it’s hard. But you have to push through.”
Her reveal of the text chain between her and fellow female SNL cast members (including Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch and Maya Rudolph) had the audience in awe. “At least once a week, we’re all checking, ‘No one’s getting Botox this week, right?’”
She also gave fellow actress Margot Robbie a shout-out for starting her own production company. “She’s a beautiful 26-year-old Australian actress who could easily just be a beautiful actress, but she’s very smart and knows, ‘I want to make the movies I want to make.’” Fey said. “The more female producers, directors and showrunners there are, the better these situations will be.”
And of course, Dean of Temple’s School of Media and Communication, David Boardman, couldn’t resist asking, “Cheesesteaks, wit or witout?”
Fey’s answer? “I’m provolone.”
For more Tina Fey comedy, check out our April feature!
You can watch the full conversation at Temple University here.
