Set piece
BECKY KRAUSE • The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
WORK • Tuesday Routine
BECKY KRAUSE • sketch writer • The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Neighborhood you work in: Rockefeller Center
Neighborhood you live in: Peter Cooper Village
It’s Tuesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
We have daily morning ideas due at 9a for that day's Tonight Show. The writers submit their idea to a shared Google Doc from home. The head writer culls down the ideas, then we meet with Jimmy at 945a in the office for him to pick which of them he wants to do. Today, he picks a cold open idea that's mine, where he talks to two Super Bowl winners, then we reveal he's wearing long flared jeans, and he dances away.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Today, I'll produce the show's cold open. I write the script in Final Draft and reach out to departments. I let wardrobe know we need long oversized jeans, I have video research pull the music track, and I check in with the editor. I go over the script with the remote director Chris and writer Brooks. I like to go through every word with him to make sure it all sounds and feels good. And we laugh a lot as we do it. Talent confirms for the cold open and we shoot it in the hallway around 440p. The show starts at 5. We edit the video to show to the audience before the show ends, and we have deadlines throughout the day, whether it's jokes for desk pieces like Thank You Notes or comedy for upcoming guests like Chelsea Handler or Paul Rudd.
Being at the show for eight years, I've learned that all you can do is try your best, use your voice (what you think is funny), and a submitted idea — even if it’s not perfect — is better than no idea. Also, pull stuff from your own life. One of my favorite things I've written was a cold open where Larry David accuses Jimmy of doing a "grab and chat." A "grab and chat" is when two people are having a dying conversation, so you grab a third person to help the conversation. That happened to me and my friend the week before, and I wrote it down knowing it could be a funny idea. I like to start my day doing Morning Pages from The Artist's Way book, where you handwrite three stream-of-consciousness pages, first thing in the morning. I like it, because you can literally write, "I have nothing to write. I am sitting in my chair. I am drinking tea. I am writing just to fill the page." But I usually write a bunch more than that, just to get thoughts out.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I have lunch from Puya in Rockefeller Center, two vegetarian tacos. I might go to Divya's Kitchen this weekend or Tacombi — and I have a gift card for Rezdôra to use. I'll go to Henrietta Hudson for a seltzer with lime at my end-of-season Pride Basketball League NYC party. We play basketball every Sunday in Williamsburg. It's great for exercise and community.
How about a little leisure or culture this week?
I saw "Many Happy Returns" by Monica Bill Barnes and Robbie Saenz de Viteri. Monica is an amazing dancer and artist who’s both funny and poignant. She uses great music in her shows like "(Nothing But) Flowers" by Talking Heads. I'm also seeing "Cabaret" on Broadway starring Adam Lambert.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I love going to the Kripalu yoga retreat in the Berkshires or doing a staycation for two nights at Ocean Place Resort and Spa in Long Branch, NJ, with a massage and a walk along the ocean.