Editor's Note: This is the fifth in a series of articles profiling alums on the big and small screens. Aisha Tyler '92 has recently co-starred in several episodes of NBC's hit show "Friends"
The Dartmouth: We spoke with you when you first began working with the "Friends" cast. How has your relationship with the cast/comfort on set progressed? Do you feel like a member of the gang?
Aisha Tyler: I think the biggest takeaway for me from my Friends experience is that I learned so much as an actor. The Friends cast are all so incredible at what they do -- at finding great moments, at delivering great physical comedy while still maintaining the truth of their character -- that I really learned a lot. I definitely feel like I made some good friends on the show -- everyone made me feel right at home, down to giving me a hard time once when I was late to set!
The D: What projects (besides "Friends") are you currently working on? Do you have exciting anything lined up in the near future?
AT: I have a book coming out at the end of January 2004 called Swerve: Reckless Observations of a Postmodern Girl. It's a collection of comedic essays about, essentially, what it feels like to be a girl. It's very edgy, very much in the tradition of David Sedaris (Naked; Me Talk Pretty One Day) or Chuck Klosterman (Fargo Rock City; Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs). And it's definitely not just for women -- a bunch of my guy friends have read it and laughed out loud. In fact, the attorney for my publisher read it (typical literary attorney, tweedy, rash-inducing suit, neck-throttling tie, turkey sandwich-no mayo for lunch every day) and said he loved it.
I'll be going on a book tour in February to promote it -- I'll be signing books at bookstores in major cities and at several colleges -- hopefully we'll get up towards Hanover! I'm also working on a new film and a new television project, as well as traveling around the country doing standup. I'll be doing a special run of shows at Caroline's on Broadway in Manhattan the week between Christmas and New Year's.
The D: How has your time at Dartmouth influenced your career?
AT: I think the two things that Dartmouth did most for me as an artist was allow me to perform in front of people. I was in the Rockapellas and sang in several bands. I got to perform quite a bit and it really made it easy for me when I finally decided to become a comedian -- I had absolutely no fear of the stage. I'm telling you, after some of the sketches we did my Freshman year in the Rocks, there was no way I could ever be any more embarrassed.
The other thing is that the culture at Dartmouth is one of assertion. Students are encouraged to do whatever they want. If they think they can do something -- start a club, a publication, a charity organization, whatever -- they are encouraged to do it. That spirit of self-startership and independence really helped me at times when I felt like things were getting too challenging. I have always been driven by the belief that focus and persistence were all I needed to get where I wanted to go. That and a head like a block. I don't give up.
The D: What do you remember most about Dartmouth?
AT: Slipping on the ice on the Green in February, spilling my large cup of burning hot Collis coffee all over myself and my half-written thesis disk (we had disks in those days!), and getting a bruise the size of the Yucatan on my butt. I also look back quite fondly on Tubestock, my time singing with the Rockapellas, having cocktails on the terrace at the Hanover Inn, and having to lie down for a short nap in the grass in front of Dartmouth Hall the morning after Gods and Goddesses. (This may all be a bunch of gibberish to you, as I attended Dartmouth at a time when the Greeks still ruled all, and the only time people spent time in their cluster was when they were doing laundry or asleep.)Oh, and my academic experience kicked ass. My Kenya FSP was the experience of a lifetime, one that has stayed with me until this day.
