Giggle Goddess: Teal Sherer
Connect with Teal online on twitter, Facebook, and Google +. Follow My Gimpy Life on twitter, Facebook, and Google +, too! Be sure to subscribe on YouTube!
What’s your favorite cupcake flavor?
Chocolate with vanilla icing.
What or whom inspired you to pursue a career in acting?
When I was in college at Oglethorpe University (Atlanta), I had to take a theatre class as part of my Communications major and fell in love. My professor, Troy Dwyer, didn’t treat me differently because of my disability and cast me in my first play “The House of Bernarda Alba” — playing a character that wasn’t specified as being disabled. For the first time since my accident, I truly felt that someone understood me and that I belonged.
What draws you to comedy specifically?
Laughter is what got me through my surgeries and hospital stays. It’s healing and is a great reminder not to always take things so seriously.
If Chuck Norris were to corner you in an alley and challenge you to a duel, what would be your weapon of choice?
A gunblade. (The thought of me rolling around with one cracks me up).
What are some challenges you’ve faced since going down the comedy track and what, in your experience, has made those obstacles worth overcoming?
My biggest challenge has been learning to be patient. I had the idea for My Gimpy Life almost two years, and there’s a part of me that feels like I’ve been working on it forever. It took that long though to produce a pilot, get funding, and then to produce a season 1. We’re not a TV show and don’t have the budget and full time staff to turn things around quickly, and I have to remind myself of that. I also have to remind myself to enjoy the journey and not to be so obsessed with getting to the finished project so quickly. This is all worth overcoming because the ultimate payoff for me is getting to share our show with everyone. I can’t wait.
What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever heard/seen?
An improv show at The Groundlings called “The Black Version.” The audience suggests the title of popular film and a cast of all black comedy actors improvise the black version of it. Last time I saw it, they did “Oliver!”
What’s your favorite comedy movie or T.V. show of all time?
FX’s Louie.
Which comedienne, dead or alive, would you love to work with/meet?
Louis C.K.
What was the best part about playing Venom on The Guild?
Crap, are you going to make me pick only one thing??? Well, then I have to say getting to make sweet face love to Michele Boyd.
[sz-youtube url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgK2EaPOfzI” /]
What made you decide to create My Gimpy Life? Have you been wanting to tell your story for a long time?
I became a paraplegic when I was 14 years old after breaking my back in a car accident. I quickly realized that people like me were pretty much invisible in the media — well, besides the lame inspirational stories where the disabled girl miraculously walks because she prayed real hard. So, yes, I’ve wanted to give a voice to my perspective for a long time. And the web is the perfect platform for me to do it.
Are there any stories in My Gimpy Life that have actually happened to you??
Yes, most of the stories have happened to me in some form. For example, the cold open in episode 1, that ends with my wheelchair rolling down the hill, has happened to me a couple of times. And the audition story in that episode happened to me as well — though the commercial obviously wasn’t for “Hope Soap,” and there wasn’t a homeless guy spouting commercial slogans in the alley I had to roll though (which I’m kinda bummed about).
When you’re not producing/performing, you’re…
Drinking red wine and playing with Bre, my German Shepherd puppy.
The title of your autobiography?
Punching Ass and Taking Names: The Teal Sherer Story
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And now an excerpt from that biography:
Teal Sherer is an actor, producer and a rolling person. She is best known for her role as “Venom” in Felicia Day’s hit web series The Guild. Some other highlights include performing alongside Dustin Hoffman and Annette Bening in American Voices at The Broad Stage, producing and starring in the Pulitzer Prize winning play Proof, and singing and dancing in an antique wheelchair in HBO’s Emmy Award winning film Warm Springs, where she also served as an advisor to Kenneth Branagh. Teal can currently be seen riding the Tow Mater in Disney’s new Cars Land Commercial, which she describes as a dream come true.
