Inside the challenges and realities of becoming a cast member on SNL

Gilda Radner. Hi, this is Dana Carvey. Cheri Oteri. Bill Hader. Taran Killam. Jason Sudeikis. Kristen Wiig. Cecily Strong. I'm Andy Samberg. No matter how talented you are or how iconic you might become, if you want to be part of the cast of Saturday Night Live, you're going to have to audition first. These are a few of the things I'd like to do on Saturday Night Live. But while it goes without saying that landing a spot on the most iconic sketch comedy show in history won't be easy, most people don't realize exactly how awkward and tense the process really is. I'm not sure. I'm Amy Poehler, and I'm here today to talk about something I know quite a bit about. I'm so nervous. So whether you're just curious to know, or you think your destiny is on the stage of Studio 8H, you might want to pay attention. I'm so nervous. So nervous. My first audition, I threw up. Saturday Night Live debuted on NBC in 1975 and quickly made icons out of its original cast, which included folks like Chevy Chase, John Belushi, and Gilda Radner. Live! And for SNL's first five seasons, their faces and personalities would greatly define the show. In fact, while it's weird to think about now, at the time, it wasn't entirely clear that SNL would be able to continue once the original cast was all gone. The world would find out after season five when both the last of the Not Ready for Primetime Players and executive producer Lorne Michaels departed. And if you've ever seen our video about how one failed season almost canceled Saturday Night Live, you know things didn't go so hot. And also know that in 1986, Michaels returned and rebuilt the cast pretty much from scratch. It's a quality that kept the show fresh and made it a launch pad for many of the most iconic comic performers of the past 50 years. SNL has minted movie stars like Bill Murray and Will Ferrell, TV stars like Amy Poehler and Bill Hader, and even late night hosts like Jimmy Falun and Seth Meyers. So as you might imagine, at one point or another, pretty much everyone in comedy dreams about getting to work on the series. To do that, though, you need to audition. And to audition, you have to be invited, which means that first, you have to get them to notice you. And getting noticed isn't easy. But there are a number of ways you might come to the attention of the Saturday Night Live producers, for example, through one of the show's talent scouts. According to Marcy Klein, who worked as a talent scout for the series, I got to kind of know the stand-ups and go to comedy clubs. I was in the scene. But the competition isn't by any means limited to stand-ups. Comedy improv troupes like the Groundlings have famously served as stepping stones to the SNL cast as well. At the same time, you should never underestimate the power of a good old-fashioned celebrity endorsement. Lorne always said, let's get people through recommendations of cast members and writers. Andy Samberg on the show because Jimmy Falun recommended him. George Wendt called me about Jason Sudeikis. I mean, when it comes down to it, I think Tina got me the job. Invites are usually issued prior to the start of a new season, But if the producers think the show is missing something, they can go out during a season as well. Kate McKinnon, for example, was brought in to audition fairly late to the show's 38th season. But regardless of when you get the call, the process always works pretty much the same. Auditions take place at NBC's headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. And when you arrive, you'll be taken to a dressing room where you get yourself ready. That dressing room is within earshot of the stage. If that sounds like it might be intimidating, well, it is. They put you in the dressing rooms, and I could hear them their auditions. And I was going, oh, you know? And they were really good. Then, when they're ready to see you, you're sent out onto the real-life set of the show, the exact same one you've seen on TV for decades. And then we turned the corner, and I saw the set, and I was just like, holy ----. But unlike on TV, the show won't be filled with a live audience who showed up to laugh and enjoy the show. On the contrary, there are usually just two or three people out there watching you. One of those people is almost always SNL overlord Lorne Michaels. But of course, you won't know exactly who's watching because during auditions, the audience is completely blacked out. That means the auditionee can't see the judges at all and has absolutely no way to gauge how they're doing by reading their expressions or body language. Those judges are also notorious for staying silent during auditions, so even if they think you're hilarious, there's a good chance you won't hear so much as a chortle from them. I remember starting off a character, and the audience was not laughing. It was like crickets, and I was like, oh, God, I'm tanking. Nonetheless, you have to go out there and give it your all. The typical audition lasts for just five minutes, and in that time, you can do whatever you want. That includes doing impressions, performing original characters, or even doing stand-up material. But whatever you do, if you want to make the show, you have to be funny. Obviously, there's no formula for doing that, but according to people who have been a part of the process… What does well in our show is somebody that's really funny in a way that you haven't seen, or that you have seen, but they do it differently. When you see it, you know it." If you can do that, you just might find yourself being invited to join the cast. In fact, you might even find some of your audition material going out on the air. Will Ferrell, for example, performed an early version of his now-famous Get Off the Shed sketch for his audition. ...who wants a burger? These are just about, just about done here. GET OFF SHED! and it went over so well it became the first sketch he appeared in during his debut performance. "- Put you in the face if you don't get off the shed! Now get off the shed!" Similarly, Kristen Wiig auditioned for a slew of original characters, and every single one of which was eventually used on the show. "- Right now we're having a sale on all of our holiday candles. God, I hope someone walks up soon so I can say welcome to Target. I just want to say welcome to Target to somebody. Welcome to Target!" Of course, not everyone does quite so well. In fact, some of the most talented comedic performers in history never even made it past the audition phase. It's a sobering reminder of how tough the process is, but also a reassuring sign that just because you aren't picked by the SNL judges, that doesn't mean your career is over. Those that wash out may even be invited to re-audition. Current SNL superstar Bowen Yang, for example, had to audition four times before he made the cut. My fourth screen test, I was like, I've done this enough times now. I don't think I'm that nervous anymore. By the fourth time, I was just like, oh, this is just another day at the office. Many hopefuls have also found themselves initially being offered positions as writers rather than performers. Those writers might someday make their way over to the performing side of things, as was the case with Jason Sudeikis. And if you saw our video about how Tim Robinson failed forward after SNL, you already know that on very rare occasions, the reverse can happen as well. I cannot believe this! It's been a big mistake! You guys stink, and this network is a dump! If they do like your audition, however, the next thing that happens is that you get a meeting with Lorne. That meeting might be brief, and it could even be over the phone, but it's important because if you don't get that meeting, it means you're not getting hired. And once you are hired, you'll undergo an orientation and be assigned an office, which will probably make it feel like you've made it. After all, you've been admitted into one of the most exclusive clubs in comedy, which is why SNL cast members tend to share a mutual, we all went through this kind of attitude about the auditioning process. Seth Meyers said, congratulations. You'll never talk about anything else for the rest of your life. It's completely true. But in reality, it's just the beginning of a new audition process, during which you'll find yourself fighting to get your material on the air. There's a little bit of a feeling of, like, I know what you're going through and what it's like to have to reinvent yourself every Monday. Auditioning for Saturday Night Live is a high-stress, high-stakes experience. But of course, so is creating and performing on the world's most watched sketch comedy show every week. That's why no other show that we know of finds its cast in such a fashion and why the audition process is such a big part of the legacy that Lorne has established for the show. Its unforgiving nature churns out the funniest of the funniest and goes a long way toward explaining why Lorne seems to have an eye for comedic talent unlike any other TV producer. You just have to trust it at this point that it will all come together.