USC Comedy at the School of Cinematic Arts,
USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative,
and Hulu, invite you to attend
 

Spotlight on Hulu's SHRILL

A Conversation with Executive Producer/Star Aidy Bryant,
Executive Producer/Showrunner Ali Rushfield,
and Executive Producer/Author Lindy West

Moderated by SCA Professor Mary McNamara,
Pulitzer Prize-winning TV Critic and Cultural Editor for the Los Angeles Times

The event will begin with a screening of the Shrill Season 3 Premiere (24 min.)

11:00 A.M. PDT on Sunday, April 11th, 2021

REGISTER NOW TO PARTICIPATE:
http://cinema.usc.edu/ShrillRSVP

Open to USC Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, and the General Public.

Presented during the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 5,
taking place from April 9th - 11th, 2021.

Visit the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 5 Homepage: http://cinema.usc.edu/ComedyFestival
Follow the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 5 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USCComedy
Follow the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 5 on Instagram: @USCComedy
Follow the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 5 on Twitter: @USCComedy
 

About the Guests

AIDY BRYANT (Executive Producer, Star)

Aidy Bryant is an actress, writer and producer best known for her role on Saturday Night Live. Aidy is the star, writer and executive producer of the critically acclaimed Hulu series Shrill, which was picked up for a third season. Bryant is currently in her ninth season of “SNL”. Since her debut season, Bryant has entertained viewers with her slew of characters, including the recurring “Girlfriends Talk Show” sketch, Carrie Krum on Weekend Update and numerous music videos. Bryant received an Emmy Award nomination for writing the musical digital short “(Do It on My) Twin Bed.” She was nominated in 2018 for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Bryant began studying improv in her hometown of Phoenix. She graduated from Columbia College in Chicago while simultaneously completing the iO improv training program. An ensemble member of the Second City E.T.C. stage, she has also performed at iO Chicago and the Annoyance Theatre. She performed around the world with the musical improv group Baby Wants Candy. Bryant has appeared in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Portlandia, Documentary Now! and Broad City, and had recurring roles on Girls and Horace and Pete. She appeared in Judd Apatow and Kumail Nanjiani’s THE BIG SICK and Amy Schumer’s I FEEL PRETTY. She voiced the character of D.D. Danger in Amazon’s Emmy-winning animated children’s series Danger & Eggs.

She currently resides in New York.

ALI RUSHFIELD (Executive Producer, Showrunner)

Alexandra Rushfield is a producer and writer, who has been working in television since she was first hired as a staff writer on Judd Apatow’s Undeclared in 2001. Since then, she has created and executive produced two ABC comedy series’, Help Me Help You, starring Ted Danson and In the Motherhood, starring Cheryl Hines and Megan Mullaly. Additionally, Rushfield has also been a writer and producer on award-winning comedy Parks and Recreation as well as Netflix series’ Love and Friends From College. A Los Angeles native, she currently serves as the executive producer and showrunner on Hulu’s original comedy series, Shrill, starring Aidy Bryant.

LINDY WEST (Executive Producer, Author)

Lindy West is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and the author of Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema, as well as the New York Times bestselling memoir Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman and the essay collection The Witches Are Coming.

Her work has also appeared in This American Life, The Guardian, Cosmopolitan, GQ, Vulture, Jezebel, and others. She is the co-founder of the reproductive rights destigmatization campaign #ShoutYourAbortion.

Lindy is a writer and executive producer on Shrill, the Hulu comedy adapted from her memoir. She co-wrote and produced the independent feature film Thin Skin.

MARY MCNAMARA (SCA Professor, Moderator)

Mary McNamara is a Pulitzer-prize winning television critic and cultural editor for the Los Angeles Times, where she has worked since 1990. Previously she was an editor at Ms. Magazine and for Whittle Communications. In her 26 years at The Times, McNamara has worked as an assigning editor for the Los Angeles Times Magazine, a feature writer for Life & Style and a reporter and columnist for Calendar. She covered the film industry for four years before becoming a television critic ten years ago. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for criticism in 2013 and 2014 before winning in 2015. She has won numerous other awards for her work as a feature writer and critic. McNamara is also the author of the Hollywood mysteries Oscar Season and The Starlet, both published by Simon & Schuster. A native of Maryland, she attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and holds bachelor’s degrees in journalism and women’s studies. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, three children, two dogs, one hamster and a very large bottle of Advil.

About Shrill

From Executive Producers Lorne Michaels and Elizabeth Banks comes Shrill, a comedy series starring Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live) as Annie, a fat young woman who wants to change her life — but not her body. Annie is trying to start her career while juggling bad boyfriends, a sick parent, and a perfectionist boss.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shrillhulu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shrillonhulu

About the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 5

The 5th Edition of the USC Comedy Festival comes after a year of unprecedented social isolation and demands for social justice. Staring at screens or out in the streets, we learned why we still needed comedy and discovered new ways to make each other laugh in spite of everything. Affiliated with the USC Comedy track at the School of Cinematic Arts and the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Foundation, the festival will honor legendary performer, impressionist, and character-ologist Bill Hader. Over the course of three days, panels will feature well-known guests such as Aidy Bryant, Demetri Martin, Lisa Kudrow, Lindy West, Matt Besser, Patton Oswalt, and Ramy Youssef; capture new voices exploding onto the scene; and celebrate the work of our newest generation of USC Comedy students.

Visit the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 5 Homepage: http://cinema.usc.edu/ComedyFestival
Follow the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 5 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USCComedy
Follow the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 5 on Instagram: @USCComedy
Follow the USC Comedy Festival, Vol. 5 on Twitter: @USCComedy

About USC Comedy at the School of Cinematic Arts

In 2010 USC became the first university in the nation to offer a program dedicated to training filmmakers in the art of comedy. USC Comedy at the School of Cinematic Arts offers instruction in the writing, directing, production as well as the history and theory of comedy. Students work with a distinguished, award-winning faculty of comedy professionals to discover and develop their comedic voices, while getting unrivaled access to the field through workshops, internships, demonstrations and screenings and festivals.

USC Comedy boasts an award-winning faculty that includes Jack Epps Jr. (The Secret of My Success, Legal Eagles, Top Gun), Barnet Kellman (Murphy Brown, Mad About You, George Lopez), David Isaacs (Cheers, Frasier, M*A*S*H*), Robert Townsend (Diary of A Single Mom, The Parent Hood), Rob Schiller (The King of Queens), Andy Cadiff (Last Man Standing, Spin City) John Bowman (Saturday Night Live, In Living Color), Dave Goetsch (The Big Bang Theory), F J Pratt (Sullivan & Son) and Tim Marx (Young Sheldon), to name just a few.
 
Our students benefit from the expertise and participation of SCA Comedy Alumni such as Jay Roach (Austin Powers, Meet the Parents), Tim Story (Barber Shop, Ride Along), Judd Apatow (Girls, Superbad, Knocked Up),  Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Spy), Peter Segal (Tommy Boy, Get Smart), Gabe Sachs (Freaks and Geeks), Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air), Nahnatchka Khan (Fresh Off The Boat), and Prentice Penny (Insecure), among many other luminaries and industry professionals.

For more information, visit: http://cinema.usc.edu/comedy

About USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative

Visions and Voices is a university-wide arts and humanities initiative that is unparalleled in higher education. The initiative was established by USC President C. L. Max Nikias during his tenure as provost in order to fulfill the goals set forth in USC's strategic plan; to communicate USC's core values to students; and to affirm the human spirit. Emphasizing the university's commitment to interdisciplinary approaches, the initiative features a spectacular array of events conceived and organized by faculty and schools throughout the university. The series includes theatrical productions, music and dance performances, conferences, lectures, film screenings and many other special events both on and off campus. Each program invites students to dialogue and interact with artists, writers, professors and special guests. These interactions provide a dynamic experience of the arts and humanities and encourage active exploration of USC's core values, including freedom of inquiry and expression, team spirit, appreciation of diversity, commitment to serving one's community, entrepreneurial spirit, informed risk-taking, ethical conduct and the search for truth.

Visit the Official Visions and Voices Website: https://visionsandvoices.usc.edu/
Follow Visions and Voices on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VisionsAndVoices
Follow Visions and Voices on Instagram: @visionsandvoices
Follow Visions and Voices on Twitter: @VisionsnVoices

#visionsandvoices

Contact Information

Name: Alessandro Ago
Email: aago@cinema.usc.edu