By Brooke Lefferts & Kaitlyn Huamani
LOS ANGELES (AP) --To rising comic Hannah Einbinder, her bits are for more than just laughs. She says her jokes are a coping mechanism she uses to process the tough topics she tackles in her material.
Einbinder, known for matching Jean Smart's quick wit and comedic timing in "Hacks," released her debut standup special on Max on Thursday to critical acclaim. Throughout her set, she takes on several difficult subjects, including sexual identity and climate change.
"Climate change is something that I think about every day when I look out the window at the Earth, before my eyes, so that is something that I definitely wanted to hit on," Einbinder tells The Associated Press. "It's just something that overwhelms my consciousness and so I write about it."
Einbinder says she thinks about "pretty much everything through the lens of comedy," adding that the habit is a "classic coping mechanism" or "survival instinct."
The special, "Everything Must Go," was the product of steady touring and workshopping bits as Einbinder took the show across the U.S. and abroad. She says audiences let her know "real quick" if a joke was flat and she constantly refined her comedic bits to figure out "what lines stick."
"My jokes are very long," she adds. "Each joke is very long, and they've been much longer. This is as short as I've made them — they're very long and they're still cut down. I write a lot and then I trim, but yeah, just keeping the stuff that feels high octane and that is good enough to stay in."
In one memorable bit, Einbinder sings a Hebrew song to enhance a story, one she says is genuinely true. She said she knows the moment is unconventional for a standup special, but she enjoys leaning into that.
"That is a choice where I am choosing to build tension and then ultimately build it up to a point and build it up to a point — and then release that," she said.
The "Hacks" star, who is the daughter of "Saturday Night Live" alum Laraine Newman and comedy writer Chad Einbinder, also said she's not afraid to incorporate her more personal stories on stage because she's "kind of an open book."
"All comedians are presenting themselves exactly as they want to be seen, which, I think, is not always even a very vulnerable thing, actually," she said. "It's actually kind of like, 'This is my version of me, this is the heightened version of me. This is the most packaged version of me with a bow.'"
Lefferts reported from New York.
“Scandal” cast will reunite for online script reading for hurricane relief in western North Carolina
The cast of ABC's hit political drama "Scandal" may need to brush up on their snappy, speedy delivery known as "Scandal-pace," because they're reuniting for a good cause. Its stars including Kerry Washington, Tony Goldwyn and Bellamy Young will take part in a live virtual script reading on Nov. 17 to raise money for hurricane relief in western North Carolina.
Beginning Friday, fans can go online and donate to reserve a spot for the online reading. Proceeds will benefit United Way of North Carolina. Everyone who donates will be able to take part in a virtual pre-event with the cast and Shonda Rhimes will give an introduction.
Additional guest stars will also be announced. The online fundraising platform Prizeo is also holding a contest where one person who donates online via their site will be selected to read a role from the script with the actors. The winner should not worry about the "Scandal"-pace, assured Young over Zoom.
"Whomever the lucky reader is can read at whatever pace they want," she said.
Young, who played Mellie Young, the first lady and later Republican presidential nominee on "Scandal," was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. She came up with the idea for the effort with a friend and took it to her fellow "Scandal" actors, who all jumped on board. Young said this is the first script reading the cast has all done together since the show ended after seven seasons in 2018.
Which episode they will be reading has not been announced yet.
Young said it's "been devastating" to see so many parts of her hometown badly damaged by Hurricane Helene, which ravaged western North Carolina one month ago.
To research the best use for donations, Young spoke with numerous political leaders, including North... Read More