Six Degrees: Vanity Fair interviews Allison Silverman

Fans of The Colbert Report know that Stephen is the first one to express gratitude for his amazing team of writers, producers, and everyone who works for him. And we, along with Stephen, are big fans of his Executive Producer (and former co-head writer) Allison Silverman, who is involved in just about every aspect of the show. As Stephen himself has said, “She’s got the cheekbones of Faye Dunaway, the hair of Bathsheba, and the mind of Jonathan Swift had he mated with the Cookie Monster.” (She’s also really nice to show attendees.) Honestly, what’s not to like about that?

So we’re thrilled to be able to bring you this link to a new Vanity Fair Q&A with the incomparable Allison, who tells the tale of how she’s used a “scientific” approach to humor:

Q&A: The Colbert Report’s Allison Silverman
by Mike Sacks June 18, 2009, 1:51 PM

. . .

Did you receive a drama degree from Yale?

I was a humanities major, but it’s been mentioned by a few journalists that I was a molecular-biology major—which I definitely was not.

I read that, too. I was very impressed.

I said at some point that I matriculated as a molecular-biology major, but that just means that I started Yale as one. Once I was there, I got much more into the humanities. I do love science, though. I worked in a lab for several summers and got my name on a paper in the journal Plant Physiology. The paper is called “Association of 70-Kilodalton Heat-Shock Cognate Proteins with Acclimation to Cold.”

I only understood two words: “proteins” and “cold.” … Did you approach humor with a scientific eye?

Actually, I did. When I lived in Chicago after college, I would watch the Second City performances, and I would take notes on the performers and on their individual moves.

What sort of moves?

I’d make notes about how each performer responded to their onstage partner. Status informs all humor. Specifically, a lot of comedy is about status shifts, and I would mark down whenever a shift would occur …

Read the rest of the Q&A here

Thanks for your insights, Allison. And, for what it’s worth, I think that your involvement in this smart, funny, and fantastically satisfying show is a very, very positive thing. The half hour when it’s on is one of the few times of the day when I know I can relax and just enjoy things. It’s a wonderful gift.