Here, she discusses the joys of playing the elementary school teacher and her own educational upbringing.
How has it been going back on stage versus being behind the camera onAbbott Elementary?
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LISA ANN WALTER:I was a stage actress first in musicals and plays.
Lisa Ann Walter on ‘Abbott Elementary.‘Gilles Mingasson/Disney
Id always been sort of extemporaneously funny.
So, comedy was a very purposeful thing that I did coming up.
I started writing, and right after my son was born, I got up and started doing stand-up.
Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti onAbbott ElementaryABC/Gilles Mingasson
I very purposefully talked about things that I had only seen male comics talk about at that time.
Because I was telling the truth, and thats what Ive done my whole career.
Im with these phenomenal actors week after week, episode after episode, learning more and developing the characters.
DEADLINE: After Season 3 ofAbbott, are you still learning from your coworkers?
Or is it a pretty well-oiled machine at this point?
Its not just the mockumentary style that informs how were set apart.
It might not be what you expect, but its Quinta and the writers.
They are selling a story that we dont see coming.
Sheryl [Lee Ralph] is hilarious because she doesnt read the script before we do the table.
She likes it to be fresh, so she responds in real time like shes the audience.
Whats your take on her journey so far?
WALTER:Whats wild is that the women on our show are all alpha.
They take turns, but none of us are like, Heres the shy one.
And thats not what Quinta wrote.
Quinta wrote the broads I know in my family.
But as we all know, tough people are tough to cover the other stuff.
She can also help Barbara when she needs it, and thats rare for Barbara to need from anybody.
Last season, Melissa helped a little girl who has dyslexia, and she cried through a breakup.
There are these soft moments in looks and little tiny beats.
Shes not just one thing.
Were family to people now.
DEADLINE: Your mom was a teacher.
How did you lean on those experiences with your mom to help develop Melissa?
WALTER:She had a lot of different teaching experiences.
She started in a one-room schoolhouse in Pennsylvania where they had an outhouse.
They didnt even have a bathroom.
Kids came in from the fields, and during harvest, they didnt come to school.
She was always teaching.
There was never a time when she wasnt.
It could even be math.
Because that will tell you whether or not thats a better buy than this one.
Theyre doing stuff about spelling or parsing sentences.
Thats what Im teaching them.
DEADLINE: What scenario would you like for Melissa in Season 4?
WALTER:I let the writers come up with the story.
So, I think there could be a future where we discover Melissa gave a baby up for adoption.
You never know, and I dont know what Quinta has in mind for Melissa.
Im sure its going to be interesting.
Or at least a hoagie shop.
