No summer vacation for ‘SNL’ comedienne Strong
Impressionist pulls on whistle for summer film
Traditionally, a vacation is the opportunity to get away from the job and the people who sit next to you in a cubicle. “Saturday Night Live” star Cecily Strong spent last year’s break from the NBC comedy working with people from the show.
She’s one of the stars of “Staten Island Summer,” the story of a group of Great Kills Swim Club lifeguards who want to throw one last big party to mark the end of summer.
Strong not only shares the screen with fellow “SNL” performers Kate McKinnon, Will Forte, Fred Armisen and Bobby Moynihan, but the film was written by “SNL’s” Colin Jost. If that wasn’t enough, “SNL” boss Lorne Michaels is the executive producer.
Despite being surrounded by the people she works with, Strong loved being part of the film, which debuted Friday on Netflix.
“I am close to everyone I work with. That includes the behind-thescenes people — hair and makeup — from ‘Saturday Night Live’ who worked on the film,” Strong said. “There’s a mutual trust with the actors that made it easy when we got to improvise.”
The fact that the Illinois native can improvise so well helped her become one of the key members of the “SNL” ensemble since joining the show in 2012. She has not created her own recurring characters, but she has done a host of impersonations: Ariana Grande, Sofia Vegara, Rachel Maddow, Khloe Kardashian and Fran Drescher.
Whenever she’s asked to take on an impersonation challenge, she’s ready to give it a shot. The skills started to emerge during her time with The Second City and the all-female improv group Virgin Daiquiri.
“I love doing lots of different characters. I couldn’t imagine being part of something where I didn’t get to try something new all the time. It’s also fun to do recurring characters,” Strong said.
The “Staten Island Summer” experience was different for Strong. She had to make her character — a mother hen for the other lifeguards — come across as real as possible, different from the quick sketches she’s done on stage or as part of the “SNL” team. The film looks at a group of co-workers who have been hired for the summer, and Strong’s character provides the voice of reason when the workers get a little too zealous.
“There’s a lot of me in there. That’s because Colin left it kind of open on the page,” Strong said. “I decided my character was someone that everyone at the pool knew and trusted a lot. I thought my backstory is that she’s a woman who has spent her life raising all her brothers and sisters. She still has fun and will be crazy, but she knows she’s working with a lot of people who are younger than her.”
As if suddenly uncomfortable with talking about age, the 31-yearold Strong stresses her character is older — but not that much older.
Strong never worked as a lifeguard, but she did have an assortment of summer jobs.
“I started working when I was 14 or 15. I washed dishes, was a barista and had a job as a waitress,” Strong said. “I was a terrible waitress because I would be so awkward at my tables. There would be times when I would think, ‘What did I just say?’ ”
The majority of “Staten Island Summer” was shot last summer. While waiting to hear when she’ll be headed back to “Saturday Night Live” and “Staten Island Summer,” Strong used the hiatus to take trips to Paris and Puerto Rico and work on a screenplay.
“I started writing immediately. I also slept a lot,” Strong said.