Nicol Paone
Nicol Paone stars on cable's, The Big Gay Sketch Show, which airs on LOGO. With a successful first season, and already in the midst of a second one, we talked to Nicol about the show, the comedy, and more.
The Star Scoop:
Tell us about The Big Gay Sketch Show for those who aren't familiar with it.
Nicol Paone :
It's basically an SNL type sketch comedy show, but with a gay point of view. Season one was a little bit more gay in terms of a lot of the issues, the ideas, the characters were gay, but season two has kind of lightened up. Season two has more of a gay sensibility. They're basically characters that a lot of the actors come up with, and parodies we do, parodies of the old TV shows as if they were gay. We've recreated Dynasty, Three's Company, and a lot of the older sitcoms, the 80s sitcoms, what they would be like if they were gay...Season one was very safe, and it didn't push the limits. Our wigs were awful. Season two, we heard from the gay community. They hated our wigs, and they hated our makeup. Season two, we got the new wig master, the new makeup person, and we all look fabulous, so we look a lot better this time!
The Star Scoop:
You're the only straight female on the show. What dynamic does that bring to the show?
Paone:
It was interesting because I had been doing sketch comedy in Los Angeles, with, I don't want to call it a gay group, but all of the guys were gay, and the girls were straight. There's just something about that relationship between a gay man and a straight woman that seems to sit, it's like yin and yang. So when the audition for The Big Gay Sketch Show came up, I didn't really think of auditioning for it, and a bunch of my friends encouraged me to, and I was recommended to the producers. It just seemed like a perfect fit. My comedy isn't gay, but gays thankfully like my comedy. I play a lot o older, tragic women and gays love tragic women.
The Star Scoop:
Why do you think this show is so important right now? What impact have you seen?
Paone:
I've seen a tremendous impact. I literally get 10-15 emails a day from people in the Midwest thanking me for doing what I do on the show, because they don't live in the major cities, and there's not so much tolerance around them in their daily lives. Some of them that emailed me, and said, I had to sneak up upstairs in the attic to watch the show, and it just makes me so happy and, honestly, I never thought I would have that much of an impact doing sketch comedy. If I was doing just regular straight sketch comedy, I don't know that I would have an impact on someone like that. We have a premiere in New York, and this one girl who had been emailing, she's driving from Boston to New York to come and meet us.
Never did I think putting on a wig, and jumping around like a funny person would have that big of an impact. I think people need to watch the show for that reason. Because people are laughing at the funny things; they don't necessarily realize that there are issues ensconced in the sketches as well. Some people realize it, and some people don't. I think that's important. I think the days of doing funny characters are kind of over. I like that our show has something to say.
The Star Scoop:
Do you feel like the form of sketch comedy lends itself to a subject like this?
Paone:
Absolutely, because when you get people laughing, they're not judging. Literally, the moment when somebody is laughing, there is a common bond between people, and there's no gay, there's no straight, there's no republican, there's no democrat, there's no American, Canadian, nothing, It's just people are laughing at the same thing, and your guard is down, obviously.
The Star Scoop:
Why should people watchThe Big Gay Sketch Show, if they've never seen it?
Paone:
It's just funny. It's hilarious, it's important, and it's pure. It really is, I think, a stepping stone for where we want to be in terms of acceptance, and it's a funny stepping stone.
The Star Scoop:
What is something your fans don't know about you that you want to share with them?
Paone:
Good question. I'm single. That's a good question. I would have to say that I'm single. That's the most important thing that I would like people to know at this point in my life. In addition to that...I like to play sports, hike, do yoga, love to laugh, and I hate people that judge.
The Star Scoop:
Do you have other projects in the works?
Paone:
I do. I just did a film with Michelle Monaghan and Shia LeBeouf. I didn't have any scenes with Shia, but it's just a fun, fun little scene in the movie called, Eagle Eye, starring Michelle Monaghan, Shia LeBeouf, Rosario Dawson, and then Billy Bob Thornton. That's coming out in August. I'm working on a television pilot of my own, so hopefully people will see that soon.
The Star Scoop:
To learn more about Nicol, visit www.myspace.com/nicolpaone.