From FYP to SNL
FYP has a long line of successful, creative alumni representing a diversity of talents and interests. Two of the most well-known of our alumni, Tina Fey and Sasheer Zamata, are best known for their work on Saturday Night Live, which has been on the air for more than 40 years. A little more about each:
Tina Fey attended UVa from 1988-1992. A resident of Metcalf her first year, she instantly became very involved with drama. Tina's first involvement with drama at UVa was with FYP where she served on tech and also performed in Godspell, before getting more deeply involved wih UVa's Drama program, which became her primary focus. She took almost every drama course she could, including many graduate ones when she ran out. In fact, she claims she "spent every waking moment" in Culbreth.
This interest has obviously carried over to her professional career. She had wild success on Saturday Night Live, especially due to her role on the Weekend Update, which catapulted her to national fame. She subsequently has been involved in many beloved shows movies since, most notably ones like Mean Girls, Baby Momma, and 30 Rock, which she created. She now is a writer for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Fun Tina Fey facts:
Tina lived on the end of Brandon Avenue (close to where the Burrow currently is!) with her friend Cady Garey, the namesake for Cady Heron of Mean Girls.
In her fourth hear, Tina and friend Jenny Bennet disrupted the final moments of an audition for a show which was about World War II and had no female parts. As a form of humorous social protest, they marched on stage in military helmets, army boots, and rifles, and performed a skit before wordlessly leaving stage, showing females could play those parts as well!
Sasheer Zamata graduated from the Drama department in 2008. When describing Sasheer at UVa, people her as "being energetic, bright, determined, and passionate about her vision. During her time in the drama department at UVa, she developed her talents as an actor, improv artist, and director. Sasheer was always committed to putting work on the stage that presented a variety of cultural experiences."
Sasheer first got involved with theater at UVa with her roled in FYP's productions of Sugar and Godspell her first year. This led to a litany of roles in a variety of shows making her very well known in the arts community. Additionally, after rejection from the Whethermen, she and several others who were not accepted founded the wildly popular improv group Amuse Bouche, helping further develop the arts community at UVa.
Since graduation, Sasheer has had great success through her involvements in Sketches for College Himor and her co-starring role in ABC's show Would You Fall for That? She perhaps first gained widespread notoriety due to her internet presence, such as in the webseries Pursuit of Sexiness. She also has a flair for impersonations, and has many YouTube videos where she impersonates female celebrities such as Michelle Obama, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and Beyoncé. Sasheer is the first black woman on SNL's permanent cast since Maya Rudolph's departure in 2007.
Interesting Sasheer UVa facts:
Once while jogging on Emmet Street, Sasheet was hit by a car. When reflecting on her time in the emergency room, she notes: "This show of love made me realize how I underestimated the value of other people. The kindness in others surpassed the drama that was depressing me. I found happiness from this event, and I plan to spread it to others." She gives this event credit for much of the work she does, and was actually able to use the money from her lawsuit to start her career in New York.
Sasheer helped to restart the Paul Robeson Players, an African-American theatre ensemble, to try to increase African-American interest in theatre. She directed the play in that first season, Whoopin' Momma and Dookie Braids. In addition to her appearances in FYP productions, she was very involved in our sister organization, Spectrum Theatre. There, she directed A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer and also appeared in the well-appreciated Vagina Monologues.