Bridget Stokes (‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’ director): ‘The actors got so silly this season’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

Matt Noble
Updated ·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

“I’ve always wanted to be a storyteller,” reveals “A Black Lady Sketch Show” director Bridget Stokes. For our recent webchat she continues, “It’s been so crucial to make sure that there’s representation and diversity on screen. To be gifted with a job where that has already been built in, where Robin Thede had already created this playground where Black women get to be the leading roles in every genre possible, is such a gift.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.

The half hour sketch show, which spoofs a wide range of genres, stars creator and co-producer Thede alongside Gabrielle Dennis and Skye Townsend. The fourth season is now premiering on HBO. Stokes admits, “Every season is full of new challenges because we do 30+ different sketches. For this season, we did a music video. I’ve never done a music video before. We also did a big heist sketch that involved location and lots of movement. It’s important making sure we sell each world we bring you into. That no matter what comedy genre we are doing, we do it well. So it feels authentic and you are free to laugh.”

More from GoldDerby

SEEGabrielle Dennis and Skye Townsend interview: ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’

“A Black Lady Sketch Show” has been nominated in the Best Variety Sketch Series category for all previous seasons. Last year, Stokes won the Variety Series Directing Emmy, ending a five-year winning streak for “Saturday Night Live.” When accepting the award the director said the win, “was made more meaningful because I had the privilege to  work on a show that makes the world a better place. Not just through laughter, but by representing Black women in leading roles”

While culturally important, the show is also downright silly. Stokes explains, “We mine every moment for humor, every department, all with the same goal of how do we sell the jokes? How do we make this funny? How do we not let people breathe because they are crying and rolling on the floor? We’re basically torturing them with humor.”

Looking to the upcoming episodes, the director dishes, “The actors got so silly this season. They would do things that were so unexpected and exciting. Even though you have the training to shut it, I would be surprised into laughter so often. I would be clamping on my mouth not to laugh. That’s what really makes me laugh, the unexpected. After we shoot it scripted, we let people go. We call it a fun run. They are so delightful because you don’t know what’s coming.”

PREDICT the 2023 Emmy nominees through July 12

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

Best of GoldDerby

Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.