Photo by Herring & Herring
Ellie Kemper, photographed in New York City in an Arch Apparel shirt ahead of her book release.
In one of the most recent episodes of Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Ellie Kemper’s titular character, a happy-go-lucky Midwesterner turned New Yorker rescued from an underground bunker/doomsday cult, pitches a children’s book. “I was working all night on it with only two Designing Women breaks!” she justifies after the editor says he’ll pass. One book we’re not passing on: Kemper’s new collection of essays, My Squirrel Days. In it, the St. Louis native recounts her life growing up here—i.e., communing with an overweight squirrel outside her tree house, hence the title—as well as how she came to play Erin Hannon on NBC’s hit The Office and then Kimmy. Ahead of her (sadly sold-out) visit to the St. Louis County Library on Saturday to read from the new book, St. Louis Magazine talked to Kemper about a favorite childhood memory, a writer she loves, and what surprised her as she was working on her own book.
My Squirrel Days is peppered with many sweet moments of life growing up in St. Louis. Do you have a favorite memory of growing up here?
It’s tough to name one favorite. I do remember getting beyond excited about the end-of-year Conway School Picnic. I loved picking out my outfit for this wild early-evening celebration. I specifically remember wearing a pair of olive green shorts and a white mock-neck tank top with a turquoise necklace in fifth grade and feeling like I was completely crushing life.
There are also a lot of cute moments showing life as a Midwestern kid: playing in your tree house, putting on shows with your sister Carrie and friend Emily. You have a 2-year-old, James. How do you think raising a child on the coast is going to be different than your own upbringing in the Midwest?
For a 2-year-old, New York is amazing. We live on the Upper West Side, and I can’t walk five blocks without stumbling into a playground. I think in any big city, kids might grow up a little faster. I keep trying to find a way to get back to St. Louis so we can raise our family there. I think St. Louis is ideal for families. First, the people are friendly. Second, there are so many activities for kids—the zoo has free admission, and the city parks are fabulous. I think St. Louisans' devotion to sports plays a huge part in city spirit. And I think that going to sports games and rooting for home teams together helps to bond a family. I loved growing up there.
How does James like St. Louis?
Whenever we go home to visit my parents, James’ eyes light up. He loves St. Louis. He weirdly didn’t love Ted Drewes when he tried it on his first birthday, but by his second birthday, he was all in.
Do you have a favorite memory from going to John Burroughs?
I loved so many things about Burroughs. First, the teachers: Alice Snodgrass, who taught me geometry and calculus; Madelyn Gray, who taught my junior year of English; and Latin teacher James Lowe. Weird to call them by their first names here, by the way. One of my favorite memories was being in Godspell my freshman year. I got to tell the Parable of the Sower, which is a story about what happens when a seed falls on rocky ground versus when it falls on good soil. I really hammed it up with the line "and it yielded a hundredfold!" I thought I was the coolest person on the planet. Maybe I was? I think the thrill of that has never left me.
Jon Hamm, who was in Bridesmaids and Kimmy Schmidt with you, was a teacher when you went there.
Jon taught the improv section of my theater class when I was in ninth grade. He has a gift for teaching. On top of that, he’s not too shabby an actor. I know I’m biased, but I think St. Louis turns out good people.
Speaking of, if you could create, hypothetically, a St. Louis–set TV show or movie, which other St. Louis favorites are you tapping to star, and what’s the plot?
Maybe a group of siblings coming home for a happy event—a wedding. Jon Hamm, John Goodman, and Sarah Clarke are all starring. Beyond that, I can’t say. I don’t want to give all my amazing ideas away!
What does your perfect St. Louis day look like?
I would wake up early, like 5:30 a.m., and go for a run. I would come home and make—actually, ask my dad to make—waffles for our family. Then we would take James somewhere—the zoo, the Science Center, the Magic House. At some point, I’m making a stop at the T.J.Maxx in Kirkwood, and also Target. For lunch, I would get sandwiches from Companion Bakery and have a picnic in Forest Park. Afterward, we dip into the art museum because I really enjoy their Hudson River School landscapes and works by Bingham. In the afternoon…let’s be honest, a nap. I’m old now. And for dinner, we’re getting takeout from House of India on Delmar, and I’m ordering their vegetable korma and sharing it with no one else.
You wrote a sweet dedication to your parents in your book. What are their senses of humor like?
They are two of the funniest people I know. My mom’s personality is closer to mine—lively and energetic. My dad is more serious. This makes his sense of humor even funnier because it’s sort of unexpected. Like sometimes I’m not sure when he’s joking. Maybe he’s never joking and I’ve been fooled this whole time.
This book so well captured your voice and tone. Did you face any writing challenges?
Yes, every day was a challenge. Writing, as it turns out, is hard. It’s one thing to have the thoughts in your head and quite another to put them down on paper. I read David Sedaris over and over again. I tried to study his essays to understand how he’s so brilliant. This produced nothing, as I have no idea how he is so brilliant—it’s like a magic trick. I read his New Yorker essays, Barrel Fever, and Me Talk Pretty One Day. "Don's Story" might just be my favorite essay on the planet. It's a fictional story about a deadbeat guy somehow winning an Academy Award. It's Don's acceptance speech. It's side-splitting. But I was also reading Joan Didion as I was writing, just to have a beautiful and genius voice in my head as a soundtrack. My favorite collection of humor essays ever is [former David Letterman writer] Adam Resnick’s Will Not Attend. I have laughed out loud on the subway like a crazy person reading that book.
What are you reading now?
I just finished reading Curtis Sittenfeld’s brilliant You Think It, I’ll Say It, which is incredible, and now I’m reading a collection of John Cheever short stories.
Any favorite St. Louis authors?
Jane Smiley—A Thousand Acres is beautiful. Can I include Mark Twain as being from St. Louis? He is, of course, one of the funniest writers that ever was.
As you were reliving your past while writing the book, did you come across anything that surprised you?
One surprise was how much clutter I hang on to. I had mementos from every corner of my life. It was mildly disturbing. But it made writing and recalling these memories much easier. I was also, frankly, surprised by the confidence I had as a younger person. This was a pleasant surprise. I seem to remember myself as being much more timid, but when I revisited these episodes both in my mind and through old emails, letters, and scrapbooks and such, I found that I had a lot more verve than I remember myself as having. I was much more aggressive about pushing theaters to host my shows than I thought I had been.
On the topic of confidence, you wrote that when Tina Fey and Robert Carlock approached you about Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, you had moments of self-doubt. What advice would you give to someone in a similar situation, about finding confidence and courage?
I think it’s important to identify your strengths. Confidence plays a central role in doing anything well. And if you know your strengths, you know you can feel a sense of security. That’s a lesson I learned through sports, I think. If you know you’re in an area where you don’t feel completely confident, acknowledge that, but then just pretend to be confident. I truly think pretending to feel brave and actually feeling brave produce the same result.
The character of Kimmy feels familiar and Midwestern because not only is she so upbeat but also…you don’t mess with her. You wrote: “One thing I really admire about Kimmy is her tenacity. … I draw strength from that when I am personally in a bad moment.” Do you recall any one moment where you tapped into Kimmy?
Yes, she is the very best of the Midwest. I love that girl. There have been many moments when I have tapped into Kimmy personally. They can be as simple as getting myself through a hard run or workout to some emotionally difficult times in my life. The mantra I recite in my head is: “Just take it 10 seconds at a time.” There’s such wisdom in that. Kimmy came up with that. She’s no joke.
You wrote an essay in My Squirrel Days about how people ask you what makes you angry because of the stereotype of the fiery redhead. I’m not going to ask you what makes you mad because of that essay in your book, and also because I’m a nice human. Instead, what makes you supremely happy?
Thank you, thank you. I whole-heartedly agree—let’s focus on positive. Here is what makes me happy: eating any meal with my family. That is when I am absolutely happiest. Other things that make me happy are a good run, a nice pint of ice cream, shopping for toiletries at drugstores, and the Lady Gaga song “A-Yo.”
You mention The Baby-sitters Club, The Sound of Music, The Secret Garden, Pippi Longstocking, and Troop Beverly Hills in the book. You have to pick only one of those to watch for the rest of your life. Which do you choose?
Sound of Music. Hands down. I could—and did—watch that movie forever. There are no bad parts in that movie.
