When my parents got divorced, I got a few consolation prizes outta the deal:
- Two Christmases for the rest of my life
- Gifts from my parents’ various significant others to win me over (I had a file cabinet with files for each of my dad’s girlfriends, ranking them by how good the gifts were. When my stepmom came along, she bested ‘em ALL. She was a keeper.)
- Getting to watch TV shows with my dad that my mom would NEVER let me watch.
The #1 Mom UNAPPROVED show was Saturday Night Live: “IT’S INAPPROPRIATE!!!” (I bet you can imagine her saying that.)
This was loooong before the days of on demand viewing, so when it wasn’t Saturday night at 10:30 PM central, I watched and rewatched my worn VHS of “The Best of Saturday Night Live 1975.”
This was the GOOD STUFF. John Belushi. Gilda Radner. Jane Curtin. Chevy Chase. Stand up sets by Richard Pryor and Andy Kaufman. (Now that I’m a mother, thinking about Pryor’s bit on what it feels like to trip on acid, I can now understand why my mom was crying “IT’S INAPPROPRIATE!” in the background.)
I grew up on a steady diet of Jaws and Weekend Update.
And this is where my dream of one day taking the SNL stage began.
I created my own sketch shows in the basement.
I played a used car salesman in the 4th grade play, channeling a mean Chris Farley.
Whenever there was a school project that involved some sort of “creative presentation,” you better bet I turned it into an opportunity to do a comedy show. (“AND NOW, A HUMOROUS TAKE ON THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG!”)
But as I grew older, my dreams of being on SNL faded. I went to theater school and became disillusioned by the life of a working actor.
I left SNL behind.
Little did I know, that SNL-loving girl inside of me had NOT given up her dreams of being a comedian, even if BIG RKA had. It was she who gave me the idea for Awkward Marketing as you know it today.
Remember those sketch shows you used to put on in the basement?” she whispered. “Why can’t you do that in your business?”
I bought some wigs and a green screen and just like that, my own SNL was born.
(Only instead of Saturday Night Live, it’s more like Wednesday Morning Prerecorded, but that doesn’t really have the same ring to it.)
I could spend my whole life regretting that I wouldn’t take the stage like Radner and Belushi did.
Orrrrrr I could create my own stage.
And so can you.
Have you ever left a dream behind because SOMEONE ELSE didn’t give you the opportunity to do it?
Give yourself that opportunity.
Create your own stage.
Make your own SNL.
Hire yourself for the job you always wanted.
Then, DO IT UP RIGHT and make Lil’ You proud.
Live from New York…it’s YOU, BABY. It always was!
