Quinta Brunson

Becoming a performer, comedian - anything other than a teacher, really - seemed very far-fetched. So I kind of split off into this separate world, where secretly I was doing improv classes.

A lot of us go through tough stuff, but we're not sitting there sad about it all day. We have to get to the next day.

I knew I didn't have the patience to be a teacher.

I was just in school more than normal people were at school, and my mom wasn't just a mom to me - she was a teacher. And she wasn't just a teacher to me, she was a fully-formed person.

Austin Powers in Goldmember' was my favorite movie growing up. My mom wanted to burn the DVD. She hates stupid stuff.

Improv and sketch comedy felt very natural to me, like all the things I loved had come together: my sense of humor, being on stage - I grew up performing in dance troupes - and collaborating with other people.