DRAFTING W/ WALLY BARAM

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Wally Baram came to Overcompensating first as a writer. Then she became Carmen — the chaotic, hyper-observant college freshman at the center of Benito Skinner’s A24-produced comedy about identity and the performance of belonging.

A stand-up comedian turned television writer, Baram has also contributed to series including Shrinking and What We Do in the Shadows, bringing a voice that pairs emotional honesty with the awkward absurdity of the internet age.

For DRAFTING, Baram opens up her Notes app, full of rants, hot takes and a strangely comprehensive list of all her friends’ names.

Incipient Stand Up Bit: My Notes app is filled with hardly legible rants that I write on the train. Most of the time they are so disjointed, they don’t make any sense to me when I reread them later. Here seems to be some garble about my boyfriend (who dresses better than I give him credit) and being home for the holidays.

Another Stand Up Bit: Yes, I have a pet snake. But I swear I’m not the type of person that would have a pet snake. I’m not a snake person. (I always feel like I’m battling tons of stereotypes suddenly when I share that: Snake people = bad hair dye, Halloween-themed tattoos, good at sex. I swear I’m none of those things). Anyway, I’ve been trying to figure out how to talk about them onstage without triggering the audience. One day it’ll happen.

Often I will think of a bit in the middle of the night and write it down. My wisdom never quite penetrates the Gabapentin I took to sleep and I’m usually just left with gibberish. What a shame.

As a comedian, it feels like at any given time you could be asked for some version of a hot take, idiotic opinion or subway take. Untethered strong opinions that somehow manage to offend no one. I try to keep a stock of them, but they are usually too dumb to return to.

I’m intimidated by most communication in almost any context. This is me practicing and workshopping a text to someone important who worked on Overcompensating. He was just checking in to make sure everything was going okay with press.

Before I go onstage, I compulsively write my set list in a Notes app, text my boyfriend my great fear that the show is going to be bad and text my mom that I love her.

The most boring part of my personality is my deep love for trying new restaurants (alone). I keep a Notes app dedicated to my restauranting exploits.

I keep a Notes app with all of my friends (listed in no particular order). Yes, this is a psycho thing to do. It’s a helpful reminder when I need to make a guest list, or I am feeling lonely and am not sure who to call.