Abby Elliot: Youngest female actress on SNL & 3rd generation…

Abby Elliot was the youngest actress to perform on SNL & a 3rd generation of performers to act on the show- her grandfather, Bob Elliot and her dad Chris Elliot.

When did you realize you wanted to get into acting, and was comedy your first choice?

I always knew that I wanted to get into acting, since as long as I could remember. We would alway put on plays, my sister and I, and my dad would film us. I was always doing musical theater in school. I attended Catholic school, and In 3rd grade, I was told everyone has to be in school plays. I have crippling stage fright anxiety, and I was like there’s no way! They told me it will be ok, you can play a townsperson in the background and you’ll get more used to it. This experience conditioned me to be ok on stage. Then by 8th grade I was starring in the plays. It wasn’t really comedy in particular until I was around 18. I wanted to be a serious actress, and went to college for musical theater. I dropped out after my first semester because I was ready to do it. Then, my dad told me I was really funny and suggested some improv classes, and then I started doing Groundlings and UCB, and found a community of like minded people who wanted to act and be funny.

I got back on a flight as soon as I landed, to move there and start on the show the next day.

What was your audition like on Saturday Night Live, and what is your favorite sketch?

I had been doing comedy in LA, I was in a show called The Midnight Show at UCB, I was their impression girl. I did 3 or 4 live shows with them, my other show experience was doing musicals in high school, I didn’t have 10 years experience with Groundlings, like a lot of people do have when they go on the SNL. I was intimidated, but I knew I was really good at doing impressions, I knew if I focused on that, characters would come later. I think I did around 5 impressions for my audition, and then did some characters or impressions of people who I knew. They flew me to New York, and screen test you on the actual stage, Studio 8H, so that was nerve-racking. Lorne, some producers and head writers are there and they film you with the actual show cameras, it was overwhelming. I got on a flight to go back to LA, and when I landed, I turned my phone on and I had so many congratulatory texts and voice mails - everyone knew before I did, I was in the air, unaware. I got on a flight back as soon as I landed, to move there and start on the show the next day.

My favorite sketch is Meryl Streep on ice, it was a promo for an ice show, at Madison Square Garden, it was Meryl Streep doing triple axels and being very bashful about it in true Meryl form. She would be drinking Sauvignon Blanc after landing a perfect triple axel. I remember that was the first thing that I wrote with a writer that made it on air and I was really proud of it.

Tell us about your Odd Mom Out experience?

Odd Mom Out was a dream experience. Jill Kargman, the writer, creator and star, came to me, we met in LA and instantly fell in love. She has such a unique voice, the story is based on her experience of feeling like the odd mom out in a sea of upper east side bitches, and I play the queen bee, bitch. I got to be back in New York, and to be able to shoot around NY, was really fun. It was a lower budget show, but they made it look incredible. The clothes were awesome, and I got to play this broad character, in a grounded way. It was really fun and challenging - I loved every part of that. During that time I was getting married, living in the village and it was just a magical time.

Tell us about your new show Indebted.

Indebted is about baby boomers, played by Fran Drescher and Steven Weber, who go broke, they lose all their money because they made some bad investments. They have to move in with their son, Dave, played by Adam Pally and his young family, I play his wife, Rebecca. So now, my in-laws are suddenly in my space. My mother-in-law happens to be Fran Drescher, so there is a lot of comedy that comes with that. It’s a really fun show, we did 13 episodes, and shot in front of a live audience here in LA. It’s really nice to be working here at home. It’s a dream to be working with legends like, Fran & Steven, they just know how to work the audience, the audience becomes part of the show. Fran is incredible to work with, she has this timing ingrained in her, she knows how to use her body, and her voice to hit certain jokes and I’m learning so much from her.