Taking week off from writing; will be returning 02/17/25)
One of the best parts of the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live is whenever its cast members break character — when they’re so amused by the contents of their skit that they drop the act and start smiling or laughing.
I’m particularly fond of the skit The Californians featuring Bill Hader, Kristin Wiig, and Fred Armisen. Thoroughly amused by Wiig’s and Armisen’s comically exaggerated impersonation of a southern Californian accent, Hader begins to toggle back and forth between being in character and briefly stepping out of it to smile and laugh uncontrollably.
In these moments, Hader so clearly transitions from being the subject of the audience to becoming an audience member himself, laughing alongside you.
There’s something distinctly human, honest, unfiltered, and disarming about when Hader and other members of the cast break character that I think just about anyone can appreciate and find relatable.
It reminds me of some of the best managers and teammates I’ve ever worked with. Instead of trying to project confidence in all circumstances, they were willing to acknowledge their concerns or struggles when they had them, which made them exceptionally relatable. And this level of relatability somehow made the team…
