"Live and Let Livia": Livia Scott is 365 Characters in 365 Days

Livia Scott is an actor who has grown up loving comedy, and says she knew she wanted to be a character actor since she was six years old. Scott has appeared on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central, College Humor, MTV, AMC, CNN, and The Onion Radio Network. She has also performed with the Atlantic Theater Company, the Roundabout Theater Company, The Culture Project, and MEAT, an all-female sketch comedy group. 

Scott’s formal training includes an undergraduate degree from NYU in acting and training with the Atlantic Program. Scott also created the one-woman show "Goodnight OJ," in which she performed real letters written to OJ Simpson while he was in jail. The Comedy Central Insider has called Scott "a character chameleon extraordinaire” and she was most recently named Drink at Work’s “Comic of the Week.” 

Her passion for the art of comedy and characters radiates in her new project, "Live and Let Livia," in which the actress and comedienne is embarking on a journey to create a new character every day for a year. Now in her third week, Scott has filmed videos based on the Real Housewives of New Jersey, the songs of Michael Jackson, and conspiracy theories. She is challenging herself to ultimately create 365 different characters in 365 days. 

Read the full Q&A with Liva Scott below: 

Where did you get the idea for “Live and Let Livia”? 

A big inspiration for it would be Anya Garrett, who is a very creatively brilliant person in a lot of ways. She is a photographer, among a lot of other talents that she has, and she did a project last year where she did a self-portrait every day for a year. I wasn’t like, "I want to do exactly that." I had this idea, and then I realized, "Of course, you are having this idea because she’s a close friend." It definitely was a big influence. 

What was your ultimate goal when you started this project? 

Well, it’s hard to describe. It was really a very personal thing for me, because I had a really hard year and I started this right after my birthday, sort of like starting fresh with the year. This was kind of an expression for me not only to myself, but to my community, to the industry, to the world. Just an expression of a very declarative statement: "I do characters. This is what I do. This is what I love to do." 

I mean, I definitely want to be on Saturday Night Live. But it isn’t clear that "if I do this, then this will happen." This is just what I do, and I am going to do it every day. It's kind of like reclaiming myself, and in a way sort of celebrating myself and what it is I think I do best. I want to keep moving up in terms of my job – not career ambitions but artistic ambitions, like working with people who are better than you, challenging yourself, and then if it gets the attention of people I want to work with, fucking awesome! 

Why did you decide to start "Live and Let Livia" with the Real Housewives of New Jersey? 

(Laughs) They were really interesting. I didn’t want to just do an impression of them; that wasn’t interesting to me. It’s difficult for me to explain where some of these things come from. Like the name “Live and Let Livia” – I have no idea where that came from. These things just pop in my head. 

And so for Caroline (which is the most popular one that I am getting the most hits for) I just turned on the camera and started talking. And this stuff just comes out. And that is, I guess, one of the reasons why I really love doing characters, and why that is such a big part of who I am, from the time I was a kid. It’s just something that I kind of can’t explain. 

But I looked at the footage and I’m like, "What was I doing? What is this about?" And then it was like, "Ok, this woman is always talking about her family and she is always indicating that she is in the mafia –kind of freaking people out." That’s what was interesting to me about her. But I didn’t know that until after I did it. 

So you just improv, and come up with the character when the camera is on? 

Yeah, and then I watch the takes and then I see something and I am like, “I like that. Ok, I want to make sure I do that," and I bring that in for next time. There are certain beats that you want to make sure you hit, so I just let the camera roll. 

Do you have any other ideas for upcoming characters? Are they planned out ahead of time, or do you just create them each day? 

Again, this is kind of an influence from my friend Anya. The way that she did it is however she felt that day. That’s how I want to keep it too, that sense of purity. Because then when you look back on the project a year later, it is almost like a chronicle of your year, like what was going on with you and what was inspiring you each day. Sort of like a kind of diary. So I have certain ideas for things, but I write them down and then I kind of forget about them, because if they resurface and they come back, then it is what’s interesting to me at the time. 

What are some of the challenges that have come with this project? 

I am just very, very precise… and this project has absolutely forced me to let go. I just have to do something and be like, "It’s good enough." And the words "It’s good enough" used to make me shake (laughs) – used to make me physically ill. [Same with] the words "It’ll be fine." I was like, "It will not be fine!" (laughs) And now I am like, "It’s fine." 

It's an artistic thing, but also really a personal thing. So it’s been a challenge. I don’t know how many characters I have in me. I look back and I see what I am doing, and so far I feel pretty good that I am not repeating mannerisms or vocal stuff or whatever. But shit, 365 different ones? I am sure that there is going to be some overlap, and I guess that is part of the challenge. Can I really make 365 different people? If I do see some overlap, then I guess I will learn some things about myself.

How do you think your previous acting training and experience, like your involvement in the sketch comedy group MEAT, have prepared you for this project? 

Well, when you are doing a sketch comedy show and you are playing all these different characters within a show, you really want to make each one different. You really have to show a range. That definitely prepared me for this. 

Josh Pais [was one of my teachers at NYU and he is] just a brilliant character actor. He taught me pretty much everything I know about transforming myself, and that prepared me a lot. He teaches a class called "Committed Impulse." It’s really about getting rid of any kind of boundaries about who you think you are, so that you are not bound by your perception of yourself. And he really taught us how to be completely in the present, so you are not thinking about the past and you aren’t anticipating the future. You are in the here and now. You can just do so much more when you are not confined by perceptions or your abilities. 

Are you working on any other projects while you are doing "Live and Let Livia"? 

I am going to be appearing in the next National Lampoon film, called National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie. The director, Christopher Meloni, was incredible to work with and I play like nine different characters, so I am starting to really make some ground for myself. In the alternative New York community I have a name for myself, but I want to get more in the mainstream – a name as a character actor. 

I also hope to have my variety show back, called "Castle of Enchantment." It’s a variety show where I host a different dead celebrity every night, brought back to life by magic. I am hoping to do that at UCB in September. 

And I am also working on another adaptation of "Goodnight OJ," which is my solo show adapted from real letters that people wrote to OJ Simpson. It’s a multiple character show, and I am working on updating that because a lot of it was about race, and the cultural climate has drastically changed as a result of the election. I need to kind of think about that and tweak it a little bit to make it relevant to today. 

How do you think "Live and Let Livia" will help you in your other acting endeavors? 

I hadn’t really thought about that. I guess I'll know when I get there. And that’s part of the excitement. I don’t really think about my work so much – I just kind of do it. To look back and think about it and talk about it is very interesting, and I always learn a lot. 

All of Scott's "Live and Livia" videos are posted online on her YouTube channel and Facebook page. Check in daily to see a new character every day!

-- Mallory Morehead

Comments

[Anthony DeVito]

I was already a fan by the time I got to know Livia through mutual friends in the NYC comedy community. She's incredibly gifted, funny as hell and a real pistol (as my grandfather used to say.) This was a great interview and she deserves every ounce of success that comes her way.

[Matthew]

These videos that Livia Scott is posting are absolutely hilarious! I am now a fan and I'll be looking out for her in future. Also, Mallory Morehead, great interview!

[Kambri Crews]

Ditto Anthony. Thanks for the great interview.