Cecily Strong Spills on Her 'SNL' Audition; Improv Nightmares | Michigan Avenue 

Web Extra: Cecily Strong Spills on Her \'SNL\' Audition; Improv Nightmares

cast member Cecily Strong on everything from her comedic roots in Chicago to "Weekend Update" to...believing in ghosts. Here's what didn't make it into the magazine interview: 

RACHEL DRATCH: You mention that some of your comedy influences were the Marx Brothers, Monty Python, Tracy Ullman…. Who were some others? 

CECILY STRONG: I really loved Upright Citizens Brigade when they had their show; I was like, “Oh Amy Poehler is just my god; she’s so good.” But truly, pretty much everyone who’s been on

I’ve genuinely had a hero moment of watching them.

RD: Do you have any nightmare show stories from your improv days?

CS: I mean, so many improv shows are like that. Whenever you’re told not to say something, or if you have a special audience—just trying to improv sometimes, everyone has a horror improv story. It’s like trying to tell someone your dream. Just trying to make someone laugh when they’re staring at you.

RD: I’m sure everyone asks you this, but what of your audition has been on the show, if anything? Did you do “Girl You Don’t Want to Talk to at a Party?”

CS: No, that wasn’t at the audition. I think the only one that got turned into something, was my first week on the show, [when] I did Mimi Morales. That was in my audition, sort of, but I just called her “Girl Who’s Always Being Tickled by Her Boyfriend in Public.”

RD: How did you come up with the “Girl You Don’t Want to Talk to at a Party?” character? Did it just pop into your head?

CS: It was just one of those Thursday shows, and I was in my office with [head writer and new “Weekend Update” co-anchor Colin] Jost just trying to come up with an “Update” feature, trying to go over my audition pieces and I think I made a joke like, [in voice] “That one says a lot about society,” and we just started doing the voice and joking around and he said, “Maybe that’s an ‘Update’ feature.” And I’m always negative first, so then we just tried it and it turned into that.

CS: It felt scary, but it was a really nice group. And people called—we each got a call from Fred; Bill took us all out to dinner; Nathan and Fred texted after the first “Girl at the Party” just to say “Good job.” Everyone was really sweet. It was a good environment, it wasn’t competitive. …[Now,] especially with us girls, we all get along well and genuinely like each other. And I can’t imagine the show surviving if it weren’t that way. We’re so tired all the time anyways.

CS: You know, if I’m out on the street with Michael [Mike O’Brien] or someone from the show I’ll get recognized, but it doesn’t happen too often. I think it’s because I have to wear wigs a lot, except on “Update.” Not too much.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW ECCLES; STYLING BY MICHELLE MCCOOL; MAKEUP BY GLENN MARZIALI; HAIR BY SEIJI AT THE WALL GROUP; MANICURE BY MYRDITH LEON-MCCORMACK USING DIOR VERNIS AT FACTORY DOWNTOWN

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