Episode 179: Kourtney Kardashian, Sophia Vergara, and Jennifer Coolidge Walk into a Podcast...A Conversation with Comedian Impressionist Andrea Lopez
If you weren’t looking for exclusive clips of Kourt’s favorite tv show, Sophia’s must-have self-care products, and Jennifer’s favorite comedian on the rise – now you are.
In this episode, Erin and comedian impressionist Andrea Lopez talk about what it means to release, make fun of yourself in a health way, and reconnect to your inner child.
Press play to make your cheeks hurt from laughing too much, which is just the right amount.
About Andrea Lopez: “Comedian Impressionist, Actress, Sketch performer and former radio personality, Andrea Lopez embraces all areas of entertainment. She participated in CBS's 2021 Comedy Showcase with other rising comedians and is currently a writer and actress for Comedy Central Digital. She is the Friday Co-host on The Taylor Strecker Streaming Radio Show and oversees the show's social channels.
In 2019, Andrea competed on NBC's comedy series 'Bring The Funny' with judges Chrissy Teigen, Kenan Thompson and Jeff Foxworthy. She's featured on E! News 'Pop Of The Morning,' FOX LA's segment 'Tik Tok Tuesday's and BuzzFeed's Digital Show 'Did You See This.' She's found success for her impressions on Tik Tok where she's garnered over 600K followers.
Her viral Kourtney Kardashian Tik Tok viewed over 13 million times captured the attention of multiple media outlets and inspires Lopez to continue growing her voice repertoire.”
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Erin Diehl is the founder and Chief “Yes, And” officer of improve it! and host of the improve it! Podcast. She’s a performer, facilitator and professional risk-taker who lives by the mantra, “get comfortable with the uncomfortable.” Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin has created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn and grow. Her work with clients such as United Airlines, PepsiCo, Groupon, Deloitte, Motorola, Walgreens, and The Obama Foundation earned her the 2014 Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award and has nominated her for the 2015-2019 Chicago Innovations Award.
This graduate from Clemson University is a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater, and The Annoyance Theatre.
When she is not playing pretend or facilitating, she enjoys running and beach dates with her husband and son, and their eight-pound toy poodle, BIGG Diehl.
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Episode 179 Transcription
Erin (00:00):
Welcome to the Improve It Podcast.
Erin (00:11):
Improve It Peeps. Oh my God. I am so excited to bring you today's episode with Andrea Lopez. The theme of this month's show is all about developing our inner child, and we have comedian, impressionist, actress, sketch performer, and former radio personality, Andrea Lopez on this show now. She participated in CBS's 2021 Comedy Showcase with other rising comedians, and it's currently a writer and actress for Comedy Central Dig. She's the Friday co-host on the Taylor Strecker streaming radio show and oversees the, so the show shows the social channels. Now, I gotta tell you, this conversation blew my mind. We're gonna get into today's episode. We're gonna meet some special friends, as you may tell from the title of this show. So let's get to improving it with my new friend, Andrea Lopez. I am so excited to have you on this show. I feel like, I don't know, do people come in with this expectation? Like they're, they're just gonna laugh because I already just seeing you brings the smile to my face. So thank you for being here,
Andrea (01:27):
Erin <laugh>. I am so happy to be here. I'm gonna, I'm gonna say it like an Erin. I'm gonna address you as your first name. I'm so excited to be here. And your beautiful smile also makes me smile. Aw.
Erin (01:39):
Well, I, I love, I like the air red that reminds me sort of, of like when I was in trouble with my mom, like Air Red <laugh>. But I love this, and I wanna start off, we're having you in this show. The intention of the month is, is all about just developing your inner child. And I gotta tell you, you have made me laugh so many times. I bet you, you don't like, oh, that's probably such a cool feeling because people, you bring joy to so many people's lives without even knowing it because of the work that you're doing, which is just revolutionary. So what is one word, if you could set an intention for today's show that you would want to give our audience, what would it be?
Andrea (02:23):
One word. Oh Lord. Oh Lord. I would say, how do I encompass, like, making fun of yourself, but it in health in a healthy way? Well, it's two words. It's kind of just letting go. It's, um release, maybe release.
Erin (02:42):
Ooh, I love that so much. Okay. I'm here for that. I needed that today. I feel like a lot of people listening needed that snack. <Laugh>,
Andrea (02:49):
That does sound a little rah rah. I'm not trying to be like, release all of your inhibitions. I'm just saying let go and be able to laugh at yourself is kind of where the release is coming from.
Erin (02:58):
No, I'm here for that and I'm here for the rah rah. Let's do it. I'm here for both of those things because Okay. You have become this incredible content creator. You've worked in radio and news podcasting. Comedy, and I love this question. You actually, you actually gave me this question, so I'm gonna ask it to you because I'm so here for it. If you could do the last eight years of your career over, would you still take those jobs that you did?
Andrea (03:29):
I asked this question because it's a two-parter. So I would still take the jobs because they've all led me to have all the skills that I ultimately needed to get where I am today. But I would've taken a lot more risks with myself. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, I, I struggle so hard with knowing that I'm ready for something. Like, oh, do I have enough background? Did I do enough work? Have I have I, you know, proven to myself that I'm ready for this. And the answer is always gonna be, who knows? You don't like, you just gotta go for it. So sometimes I, I hesitate on making big decisions, like taking the, taking the improv class you know, hiring the, the voiceover coach. What are you gonna lose doing the standup? Just, just go out there and do it. So I think my timeline is just would've been a little bit shorter of an amount if I had just taken those risks.
Andrea (04:16):
But I always said yes to certain jobs, whether it was an intern or working for radio. I actually moved back home for my family and I ended up meeting this incredible mentor who I ended up working for. She was a, i, I live in, born and raised in DC And I thought, okay, I'm gonna find somebody who I love. I grew up listening to Sarah Frazier. She was a radio personality, turned podcaster. I started working for her in the beginning of her podcast. This was like five years ago. And it led to one of the greatest mentors and friend relationships I have to date. I still call her all the time now. She's a new mom and she's just going through so many different new experiences in her life and we still stay in touch. But that would've never happened if I didn't take a second fail and then try something new, go into the podcast industry, be an intern, and all that leads to something even greater.
Erin (05:06):
Yeah. Okay. And I love this because it's just, isn't it funny how you can look back at the course of your career and there's all these little puzzle pieces, but then they all come together to this beautiful puzzle. Absolutely. Which is who we see today. Would you say that that job, the, with Sarah mm-hmm. <Affirmative> would be, where would that, would that be the job that you had, that g that got you where you are today? Or what would that job be?
Andrea (05:34):
It was definitely a humongous part that got me there, because she was the one along with some of my friends that didn't care. You know, social media was just like this outlet. She's like, just put anything up there. You wanna do impressions, do impressions. And I had friends in college that said, start an Instagram just for your impressions. Cuz I, I wanna go back and I wanna listen to, you know, your, your this funny moment with Courtney or whatever, whatever, some of your impressions and, and you only did it one time for me in person. I want you to record it and put it on online. So Sarah was a huge, a conducive part of like, getting there. And it wouldn't have been with Sarah that I had the option when I got picked up like a, a casting director hit, you know, contacted me and Sarah was the, the main person that was like, you have to do this. Like, take the chance, go to la see what they have to do. If nothing comes of it, who cares? But turns out, you know, something did happen. I got on a national televised show, I got an agent. So like, all these little things lead to the big thing. And if you don't have supported people in your life, it's, it's gonna be really hard.
Erin (06:35):
Yeah. Okay. Is Sarah one of, is she still, would you say one of your biggest cheerleaders? Like she is, she's the rah rah.
Andrea (06:43):
She is the rah rah behind Vire. Yeah. Yeah. <Laugh>. So she, yeah. Oh my gosh. I can call her for pretty much any question, whether it's personal or professional. But she has always been there. And even if we're working on different projects, you know, she's still very much in the podcasting world and po you know, even she does news spots. She's a pop culture, you know, personality through and through and yeah. But I feel like she definitely has always been in my circle and I can call her for pretty much anything, even if it, I, you know, I have a question on a, a different project. She would still have some really good advice to offer.
Erin (07:19):
I freaking love it. I love it so much. And I was the show. So, so you put these impressions on Instagram? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, a casting director finds it. Was that for the show? Bring the Funny
Andrea (07:31):
That was, yes.
Erin (07:33):
I see. Okay. That's so amazing. That's the power of social media right there, like I'm telling you. That's crazy. That's crazy. And so fantastic.
Andrea (07:42):
Yeah. And it, it was as crazy as hashtag sounds. I was using hashtag hashtag female impressionist hashtag comedian impressionist hashtag celeb impressionist. And he said that he was, the show was specifically looking for female impressionists. And this is back when hashtags were still a thing. I think today they still work, but not as widely used as they were back then. So he had literally put in female impressionists and I was the one person, because, you know, I was hashtagging female impressionist for every single one of my videos as the thirsty little Sni. I Am <laugh>. And he said, that's how he found me, which is crazy. And I was like, wait a minute, you really found me from a hashtag. Wow. These, these things actually work. Okay. Okay. Who knew? Who knew? I
Erin (08:22):
Love it. You know. Okay. And I feel like you might know her. Sam Ramsell. Do you know Sam Ramsell? Who is a TikTok? Oh my gosh,
Andrea (08:31):
Yes. We have, we have met in person. We are friends. Okay. We deal all the time because she's so ridiculous and in the, in the best way possible. And I yelled James all the time. Oh my
Erin (08:39):
God. James <laugh>. So Sam came on this show and right when we started, okay. So, and this was like at the height of her coming into TikTok and her growing her platform. And she's hilarious. And I've, and she also mentioned that she was found through hashtags and people found her through hashtags. And she's, she's just created, I mean, both of you have done fantastic work in the digital space and I'm super here for it because that is how we are getting our content now. So let me ask you this, just on a, on a quick basis. We talk about developing your inner child. You talk about this release. What would you say helps you connect to this inner child on a daily basis? How do you like, wake up and say, I'm gonna do these impressions, I'm gonna create content. How, what makes you get there and connect?
Andrea (09:34):
Well, I do have the mindset of a four-year-old <laugh>. Just in general. I never grew up, no. It, it is really easy for me. I, I don't always say this, but I, it was a really big part of my childhood is my mom had a in-house daycare my whole life. It was a great business and it just was such a great reminder that at the end of the day, we're all children and there's something that you can learn from a child every single day because they have this really young naive, but in the best way. I say that as in to say, you know, you don't have to take things too seriously. At the end of the day, we were first children. And I laugh at myself so much because I think that's the best way to stay relevant. A lot of comedy is comes from those real life moments when you split your pants open you open the door and it, you know, breaks off buttons. You know, I just recently went to go see Paris Hilton for her book signing, and I had bought this cheap shirt from shean.com and by the time I got, it was an old shirt, but it was pink. And I was like, this is one of the pink blouses I have. I'm gonna wear it. By the time I met Paris, I had three buttons that popped off
Erin (10:41):
<Laugh>.
Andrea (10:42):
The thread, the thread had broken around my shoulders. Cause I got these broad shoulders and I was like, you know what, you know what? Paris doesn't care. You just act like you know what you're doing. And it was just a moment of like super clarity. Like, just have fun with it. Who cares if your buttons popped off? It, it's just, you have to laugh at yourself, <laugh>. So I think the first thing I do when I wake up is I just, I think about all the crazy things that are happening in the world and how my voice can bring some sort of levity to everyone else's lives. And, and it, it is hard. I don't wake up happy every day. It's truly like, I don't, I don't know who does. Especially in the world we live in today, which is so hard and filled with all these crazy things happening. But I just think that if we're not laughing, we're crying. So <laugh>, I'll like try to find something that's funny in the day and boost up my confidence, which is just, I have a million wigs, I put one on, I look up what's happening in the news with my impression, my, the people that I impersonate and I find something funny and I'll, I'll post about it.
Erin (11:42):
Oh my God. I love that. Okay. And also you, I love that you said Shean, cuz I've always called that company Shine Sheen, but it's, or Sheen. Me too. Okay. Well,
Andrea (11:52):
I I, I have no, honestly, I've heard so many ren renditions of this website, whatever it is, it's probably not the best. I don't actually know where the clothes are manufactured. <Laugh>.
Erin (12:00):
No, it's not, it's not a, it's not high quality. It's the, it's the 2020 wet seal. Okay. That's what it's <laugh>.
Andrea (12:07):
It is it? Oh my god, you named that perfectly. Yeah. Seriously. Yeah. I wouldn't really recommend it. Okay. Because at the end of the day, just spend money on the quality. Okay.
Erin (12:16):
Spend money on quality. But also it led to this fantastic story with Paris and laughing at ourselves, which I'm super here for. And I <laugh>, I'm just, I think that the, the mind of a content creator, I mean, and that's what I do too, a little bit here. You know what I mean? Right. But like, it's, it's a fascinating world. You have to constantly be in the know. You constantly have to be thinking one step ahead. And I, I wanna get to these impressions because I, I wanna ask, how did you know that you could do these voices? Is it just trial and error? Like what, what led you to Courtney? Let's start with Courtney Kardashian. What led you to that voice?
Andrea (13:00):
I loved watching the show in the early days before all the craziness in their lives. They were just a regular family that had all these crazy family things happening. And I loved Courtney's deadpan humor. I usually pick people that have you write like, just you're gross. Like just,
Andrea (13:16):
And it's totally different from my personality. So I loved taking on that kind of snarky. Like literally, you're so dumb, you're bothering me. Shut up, stop talking. All that stuff that I never would say normally, I got to say with Courtney. So I loved her that high pitched Calabasas draw and I thought it was so fun. So I started doing it and I've been doing it for 10 years now, that specific impression. And it's only gotten better and better, but I will tell you, it didn't sound like that. My friends thought I was amazing. They were like, oh my God, that is spot on. And I think that's why I kept going cause I was like, really? And I go back and I watch it and it was absolute dog poop. But yeah, I mean, it, it started with just watching the show and loving her one liners and thinking I could take this into building it out into even a bigger character.
Erin (14:04):
Yes. Okay. And now what's evolved? And you have a Chris Jenner with you, your friend, who I'm super here for. I love those. I love those reels and the sketches. <Laugh>. Okay. So this is what I wanna do. I wanna do a lightning round series of questions. Okay. Okay. Could you answer? You can answer it as Courtney or as Andrea, whatever feels right. Like maybe you're in character and you're like, no, I'm Courtney now I'm answering it as Courtney. So love it. Okay. Are you ready? I have three questions for Courtney. Are you ready?
Andrea (14:30):
Ready.
Erin (14:31):
Okay. What is your favorite podcast?
Andrea (14:34):
My favorite podcast it's probably anything related to Goop cuz it's like closely linked to my company, poosh. And honestly, a lot of people's voices just like gets on my nerves. So I listen to like meditation, not podcasts.
Erin (14:55):
I totally understand Corey. I totally get it. I would get, I would get annoyed with this as well. This nasal twang. What's your favorite food to order off a menu?
Andrea (15:05):
Anything with avocado? I just love it. It's a lot of vegan products, like one slice of cucumber and a really small part of a celery is just like, so filling and yummy.
Erin (15:23):
<Laugh>. I love it. And what's your, what's your favorite TV show? If you could name your favorite TV show.
Andrea (15:29):
Okay, I'm gonna go rogue with this one and say The Brady Bunch. Cuz I feel like that was like my age keeping up with the Kardashians. Like my mom would always have that show on and I was like, this show sucks. But like, I love the family <laugh>, so we just like created a way better version.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
<Laugh>.
Erin (15:51):
Oh my God. Yes. That was brilliant. <Laugh> <laugh>. I was trying like, not to laugh in the microphone. Okay. Wait, I wanna do Sophia. Can we do Sophia, I got, I got three questions for Sophia Vara. Okay. All right.
Andrea (16:05):
You
Erin (16:05):
Ready? Quick Switch. What's the best book you've read lately? Sophia?
Andrea (16:11):
The best book is I, I love the Giving Tree because I, I don't know, but I just always giving, giving, giving. And I feel like that is me with all of my jobs. I'm always giving. So I felt that I was very close with that book.
Erin (16:29):
I love it. Okay. What, what is what's your favorite self-care product? Sophia?
Andrea (16:36):
Self-Care. <laugh>, I will say my husband's hands. He does this massage that nobody else can do. Like he's very sexy and strong and everything that he does, I love it. And I like when he does it when he had no clothes on. But that is a little, that's X-rated. I don't know. I don't know. <Laugh>,
Erin (16:56):
I'm dying. I'm dying. Okay. Yes. Okay. Now last one. I got two questions for Jennifer Coolidge. And then, and then this is just of course too much. This is amazing. Okay. What's Jennifer? Jennifer, what's the best movie you've ever seen?
Speaker 3 (17:13):
<Laugh>. Oh oh, what, what's that movie? With Tom Hanks and he's a little, he's like a dol. He dates a mermaid. A dolphin? What's that? Wet Splash <laugh>. Oh my God. I love Splash. And also well, you know, secretly American Pie. Yeah. Cause cause it turned me into a mouth. Yeah.
Erin (17:42):
<Laugh>.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
Yeah.
Erin (17:45):
Jennifer, who's, who is your favorite comedian on the Rise?
Speaker 3 (17:51):
Oh, I mean, a lot of people say like I I'm a comedian. Yeah. But I would say you said on the rise. Oh well I love this one. Heather McMahon. She, a lot of people, it's like they say she is me and I, I'm like, oh God. Well, I love her blonde hair. And she's got great, so <laugh>. Yeah. Me, me and her. We're gonna, we're gonna do a movie together someday. Yeah. Yeah.
Erin (18:24):
Oh my God. Yes. Everyone is dying. That is amazing. Oh my God, that was brilliant. You just whipped out these impressions. I'm super here for it. Oh my God. Is that fun? Like, when you do impressions, do you go into a happy place? Is that like, cause I lo I I love character work
Andrea (18:46):
It. Yes. Yeah.
Erin (18:47):
What, like, what comes, how do you quickly jump from character to character?
Andrea (18:52):
Each character usually has a different, like, introduction. Obviously Jennifer. Cool. It is just, you go right to squinting your eyes and you know, you go right into that like breathy
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Ear,
Andrea (19:03):
Just say Yeah, a couple times. And then, you know, Courtney is start with an s That's, so yeah. You just start like saying Yeah. And like, oh, they each have their own words. I always like say to get into them. But then you just get into their mindset. It's like, okay. And once you do them so much, I think they really just become a personality.
Erin (19:26):
Yes.
Andrea (19:27):
So you can easily just think of like three things that remind you of them. But it's not like I'm doing like voice exercises in my room, but I, I do that when I am practicing another character or a new impression. I'm, I'm working on things and I'm writing down like what they say all the time. But but yeah, I mean impressions. I met a lot of impressionists in the Pandemic. We had this big TikTok group and a lot of people have used it as a jumping off point to, you know, go more into standup and, you know, they'll kind of, there's this negative con negative feeling around only doing impressions. But I really have so much fun with it. So for me, it'll always be such a big part of who I am and, and what I do on shows, variety shows and how, what I bring to the table when I'm in a new project.
Andrea (20:08):
Because I've been doing it for so long, it's like truly a part of my identity. I is these like creating, building off these characters. And it's not necessarily that you're just doing the impression, you are putting each character in a different situation. So I love to do like, what would Courtney say in an exaggerated sense about, you know, her wedding special coming out. It's, you know, of course she would say she's excited, but like, what funny thing can you add to it to make it even more funny? And that's what I find really fun.
Erin (20:35):
Oh my God, it's so fun to watch. It's, it truly like my cheeks hurt, <laugh> and I'm like, it just, it's so fun. It's such a good head space to be in.
Andrea (20:45):
So fun.
Erin (20:54):
All right, so we are breaking this show as we do into three separate parts. This episode blew my mind. If your cheeks don't hurt from laughing, I don't know what to tell you. This made me so happy. It actually changed the course of my day, which is just goes to show you how laughter, levity positivity can change us physically, mentally. So stay tuned. We've got two episodes coming Your Way with a one. The only Andrea Lopez. Hey friend, did you enjoy today's show? If so, head on over to iTunes to rate and subscribe. So you never miss an episode. Now, did I mention that when you leave a five star review of the Improve It podcast, an actual team of humans does a happy dance? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. That's right. So leave a review for us on iTunes, screenshot it and send me an email at info learn to improve it.com. I'll send you a personalized video back as a thank you. Thanks so much for listening. Improve It Peeps. I'll see you next Wednesday.