She currently hosts the podcastInBox, where she and co-host Matt Stroup dig through their guests email and chats.
I graduated from a womens college with a degree in English Literature and Medieval History.
Take us through a recent workday.
Ill wake up and maybe spend a half-hour doing a lackluster stationary bike ride at the gym.
In addition to your writing and performing career, youre a well-known teacher and coach at UCB.
How has each informed the other?
That approach gets flak from tougher coaches, but I think the work is better in those conditions.
Room-reading is equally valuable on a set and in a writers room.
Does working in comedy ruin watching comedy?
Yes, it does.
If something is really good I think Christ, why bother?
And if something isnt good I think Christ, this whole system is rigged.
Or Ill worry that Im not working hard enough, fast enough, or enough enough.
What apps, gadgets, or tools cant you live without?
Pocketis the most wonderful app ever invented.
Its makes it easy to keep track of articles I want to read.
And it syncs across all your devices.
When Im writing, Ill useDipticto create collages to capture the essence of a script or story.
I also swear by Google Docs, especially spreadsheets.
We have a meticulously maintained shared doc tracking every upcoming InBox guest and every ask we have out.
Then Instagram for fun and Starbucks for necessity.
Whats your workspace setup like?
MacBook, headphones, notebook.
Also, I love coffee and treats.
Whats your best time-saving shortcut or life hack?
But it calms my other heart because of the time it saves.
I have two hearts.
Im a Time Lady.
How do you keep track of what you have to do?
I have a lovely little Moleskine notebook where I write my daily to-do list.
When Im at work Ill very leave concise post-its all over my desk.
They get tossed as I complete tasks.
A cluttered inbox leads me to make some very quick assumptions about our podcast guests.
What everyday thing are you better at than everyone else?
Or at least I try.
How do you recharge?
What do you do when you want to forget about work?
To recharge, I clean my apartment.
I will re-watch episodes of Once Upon A Time for the tenth or eleventh time.
I also love, love, love watching YouTubeGet Unready With Mevideos.
I cant believe this is a genre of video and I love every one of them.
Whats your favorite side project?
Fill in the blank: Id love to see _________ answer these same questions.
Zadie Smith, Emma Thompson, Lin-Manuel Miranda
Whats the best advice youve ever received?
I have to work to keep that in check.
What are you currently reading, or whats something youd recommend?
Currently readingCreativity, Inc.by Ed Catmull (with Amy Wallace) andThe Lifted Veilby George Eliot.
Ive been recommendingEverything I Never Told Youby Celeste Ng for the last year.
Its heartbreaking and exquisite.
Also anything by Helen Oyeyemi but especiallyWhite is for Witching.
And finally, anything by Joseph Ellis for non-fiction.
But not finally because alsoBartleby the Scrivenerby Herman Melville and the seriesThe Once And Future Kingby T.H.
White which both jumped to my list of all-time favorites as soon as I read them.
AndThe Selloutby Paul Beatty.
AndPale Fireby Vladimir Nabokov.
This interview has been lightly edited.
Have someone you want to see featured, or questions you think we should ask?
