On lucky episode #13, host Hollis dives deep with very special guest and funny woman Lauren Weedman, into the highs and lows of her being a working actor in Los Angeles and simultaneously a single mother, dedicated to creating stability and pathways forward for herself and her son while remaining steadfast to the art-making she was born to do.
Lauren has been called the funniest woman alive for a reason — her sharp, incisive humor juggles pathos and the human struggle with physical comedy that hearkens back to The Carol Burnett Show or Three's Company.
In this candid episode, Lauren shows why her comedy is so exacting; it's her willingness to go deep with Hollis about her own struggles with loneliness, paying the bills, and parenting while feeling on the fringe of her wealthy Santa Monica neighborhood that shows her true genius at play: to absorb and respond to life as it comes at her without missing a beat — all while being able to pivot in real time and with genuine humor to the interruptions from Hollis' teen daughter showing up in the middle of the conversation and Lauren's openness to take on coaching around being deserving.
Lauren's honesty is refreshing, and a reminder to all of us that no one, no matter how successful they may appear on the outside, is free from struggle, self-doubt, loneliness, and anxiety about the future. It's our willingness to redefine what success really means to each of us, and our capacity to ask ourselves, "am I OK right now, in this moment?" that can get us through times of deep discomfort. And sticky notes that remind us that we are deserving can help, too.
Give yourself an hour this week to listen to the brilliant, very funny, and refreshingly unguarded Lauren Weedman on the Open That Door podcast.
Lauren Weedman is an award-winning comedic actress, playwright, and author who works extensively in theater, film, and television. She has written and performed over 14 full-length, multi-character, solo award-winning plays, and her essays and stories have been published in New York Magazine, Jezebel, Glamour, The Stranger, and aired on the Dinner Party Download and Unfictional. She's written two books, A Woman Trapped in a Woman’s Body: (Tales from a Life of Cringe), a collection of comedic essays and was named by Kirkus Review as a top ten Indie book for 2007, and Miss Fortune: Fresh Perspectives on Having it All from Someone Who is NOT OKAY, a LA Times Bestseller, published by Random House.
Among her many television roles, Lauren played Doris on HBO’s Looking, and appeared as Horny Patty on HBO’s Hung. She was a correspondent on The Daily Show, and also appeared in Will and Grace, True Blood, United States of Tara, Reno 911!, Curb Your Enthusiasm, New Girl, 2 Broke Girls, and Arrested Development. Film credits include Looking:The Movie, Joshy, The Little Hours, Wilson, Imagine That, Date Night, and Judd Apatow’s The Five Year Engagement. Currently she’s working on Abbott Elementary and Hacks as Mayor Jo.
This episode is R-rated.
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