Tina Fey? You mean the comedian who looks like Sarah Palin? Although many people know her for her hilarious-yet-spot on impression of the Alaskan politician, millions of people also know and love Fey for her trailblazing work in the world of entertainment.

On Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 7 PM, 5,000 students, professors, and members of the community had the chance to hear from Fey, the 2019 Sacerdote Great Names speaker. From her humble beginnings writing for her high school newspaper in Pennsylvania, to trying to make it in the Chicago improv scene, Fey gave the audience a glimpse into what it was like writing for

Saturday Night Live

(

SNL

) as the iconic show’s head writer, as well as writing and producing many successful films and television shows.

Fey briefly touched on her discovery of performance. Once she found the Drama Department at the University of Virginia in the late 1980s, she said she realized her passion for acting and playwriting. After graduating, Fey sought out improv and comedy writing in Chicago. To achieve this goal, Fey said she spent many hours working her YMCA front desk job while also touring around the country with her improv group. Eventually, her hard work paid off and she worked her way up the improv ladder to a mainstage company and finally, all the way to

SNL

.

Tuesday evening’s moderator Selena Coppock ’02, a writer, editor, and stand-up comedian, focused much of the discussion on Fey’s time at

SNL

and her experience as a woman making her way in a male-dominated profession. Fey detailed the pressure she felt to make sure her female coworkers got the representation they deserved during her time as head writer on the show.

Despite this responsibility though, Fey said there were many female actors and writers helping each other out at the time. In fact, through her career, Fey said she found that women, specifically her peers, always helped lift each other; she rarely found a woman who was “being a door when they could be a window.” Looking back on

SNL

, she realized how important it is to ensure there is diversity in the room and representation for everyone. On that note, she shared her view that

SNL

keeps improving in terms of its diversity and that the writers continue to adapt their sketches.

Fey not only discussed her experience on

SNL

but also her time at

30 Rock

, the Emmy-winning TV show she wrote and starred in. When asked if she liked being in complete control of the project, Fey answered bluntly that she did and she does.

30 Rock

, she said, was an ideal situation for her as a writer because she had an incredible staff of people and had final say on what jokes made it to the script. The combination of decision-making power and working with a talented group of people was a great time, she said.

Although fiction, the show reflected aspects of Fey’s real life. In fact, she mentioned to the audience that her character, Liz Lemon, mirrored a version of herself “turned down to one.” Specifically, she said her character’s relationship with the character Jack Donaghy, played by Alec Baldwin, reflected similar aspects of her dynamic with Lorne Michaels, executive producer of

SNL

and

30 Rock

. Fey notes that both these relationships show that a male and female can have a successful, platonic mentor-mentee relationship in the workplace.

From these experiences, Fey said she gained confidence and competitiveness. In the writers room at

SNL

, she found times where she had to fight for her sketch to make it to air. If another writer had a similar idea, they would battle it out and see who won. Even with this competitive nature, though, Fey said the

SNL

team maintained a fun environment. She said she reminded herself that at the end of the day, it “wasn’t the military” and constantly reminded herself that she would be okay.

Although

30 Rock

ended up winning multiple awards over its multi-season run, gaining millions of fans in the process, it did not initially have the network support that Fey needed to believe in herself. During that time, however, Fey said she remained competitive “in a healthy-ish way.” So, rather than listen to those who doubted her project, she channeled her experiences from

SNL

into writing a successful show that lasted for seven seasons.

For students pursuing careers in performing arts, Fey advised them to learn everything and decide what you want to do from there. She also encouraged the audience to put everything out there on stage. She said at the end of the day, finding and maintaining a sense of humour in real life is our best hope for reconnecting in the future.

As for the fate of TV versus film, Fey believes that now more than ever, TV tells better stories.

The Sacerdote Series is named in recognition of a significant gift from the family of Alex Sacerdote, a 1994 Hamilton graduate.