Collaborations

As I've reflected on the notion of "collaboration" in storytelling, one of the first things that popped into my mind occurred when I had the good fortune to see Saturday Night Live in person. For me, that was more than half a lifetime ago, in 1987, but the memories of that experience are still vivid.

I was in town–New York City–for work. My job at the time was public relations director on the Virginia Sims women's tennis tour. (For more on that, read my story "Turning Pro.") The tour year was ending the week before Thanksgiving with the Virginia Slims Championships at Madison Square Garden. That same event the year before had served as my introduction to the world of top-flight professional tennis, During that week-long tournament, I had made the acquaintance of actor Judd Hirsch and fielded a phone call from Mick Jagger's wife at the time, Bianca. Somehow, she had the press-room phone number and when I answered, the voice on the other end of the line was unmistakable, low and sultry. "Yes, this is Bianca Jagger, and I'm calling about my tickets to tomorrow night's session.”

As I recall, I was able to help her, but sadly, I did not meet her.

That same week, I had my first experience with paparazzi when, waiting inside a courtesy limo a ride from the Garden back to the tournament hotel, the back door unexpectedly burst open to an explosion of camera bulbs. The light show trailed star player Martina Navratilova and her girlfriend at the time, Judy Nelson, who were looking for an escape route from the unwanted attention. As they got into my limo, I had the good sense to get out and wait for another ride.

At the U.S. Open that September, I had gotten acquainted with a woman who turned out to be an assistant producer for Saturday Night Live. While I had told her I thought I had the best job on the planet, I remember thinking her job was pretty cool, too. Over the course of conversation, she offered that the next time I was in town I should let her know and she would get me tickets to her show. When I rolled back into town two and a half months later, I took her up on the invite…which is how I wound at 30 Rockefeller Center for SNL Episode 5 of Season 13 on the night of November 21, 1987.

As I learned from my SNL friend, the show–at least back in the '80s–has a full-blown dress rehearsal in front of a live audience on Fridays. Bits and skits are tested there and adjustments made for the broadcast version which airs the next night. As for the show I saw live, I won't bore you with the details, other than the one which involved a humorous and entertaining form of spoken “storytelling collaboration.” (If you're interested in seeing the show, click here.)

Frequently at comedy events there's a "warm-up" act to get the audience in the mood for hilarity. This is particularly important when the event is being aired live to a nationwide television audience. As I recall, there was no flashing "LAUGH" sign in Studio 8H to help attendees know when their off-camera contribution bolstered the broadcast. Instead, SNL had Kevin Nealon as part of its comedic ensemble.

On the night I attended the show, Nealon was in his second season at SNL and served as the warm-up for the live audience. Four years later, he began a three-year stint hosting the show's “Weekend Update” segment, from 1991 to 1994, regularly launching into his trademark "Mr. Subliminal" news commentary.

During the warm-up I saw, Nealon pulled off a bit of improv that was new to me. Others on hand were familiar with what was unfolding, because after launching into a story of one thing or another, Nealon would pause as if losing his train of thought. Someone in the audience familiar with what was unfolding would then shout out something completely random and disassociated from the storyline he had been pursuing. And, following the prompt, Nealon would take his story into a completely new direction. It was hilarious, as funny as almost anything else that made it onto the air live that night, which also included Nealon and Dana Carvey as “Hanz and Franz,” Carvey as then Vice President George Bush, and guest-host Candace Bergen as Anne Boleyn, the second of King Henry VIII’s six wives, and the first to be beheaded.

The most surprising moment on the show that night came during Dennis Miller’s “Weekend Update” faux news report when the guest commentator he introduced never appeared. At that point, Miller broke from character to explain to the audience that the bit must have been taken out of the script as a result of a weak performance on Friday, but the producers obviously had failed to remove it from the script he had in hand.

In creating the “Collaboration” page for this website, it wasn’t my intent to spend a thousand words on Saturday Night Live, but that’s how writing works. You never know where the words will take you, which is less a skill and more an understanding that has served me well in my storytelling existence.

And, I’d be delighted to put that experience and whatever words come from it to work for you, your business or your organization. (Forgive any inconsistencies you may have found on this site regarding use of the “Oxford comma.” That’s the comma that sometimes precedes the word “and” in a list of three or more things, ideas or concepts. In the case of the phrase just passed, the Oxford comma is missing before the word, “or.” In newspaper and magazine writing, Oxford commas are omitted to shorten the type. In books, they are required. An understanding of writing “do’s and don’t’s” might make me the ideal person to collaborate on your next project.)

If you have a story idea that has failed to take flight or feel your life is one good story needing to be told, let me know, and let’s talk about collaboration.