And thats like a lot of the people I like to play outside of the movie.
So, it kind of works.
Meanwhile, Cora has to reckon with her past mistakes and the person she wants to be.
Megan Stalter in ‘Cora Bora’ (2023).Brainstorm Media/Courtesy Everett Collection
I took an improv class in Ohio and was like, I really want to perform.
And then when I was in New York, I was performing every other night.
And I think thats around the time I started doing the front-facing videos.
Megan Stalter inCora Bora(2023). (Brainstorm Media/Courtesy Everett Collection)
And everyone was doing that and then the pandemic [happened].
And then I actually did audition forHacks, I think it was pre-pandemic.
It was in New York, it was a self-tape.
It was really badly shot.
Like, it was really blurry, bad video.
Im not good at audition videos.
I could perform the performance but Im not good at filming them.
I think Ive gotten better now but I was bad at the time of filming the video.
My brother was filming it, dogs were barking, I had a weird outfit on.
I think she just saw my stuff online and fromHacksand I just fell so in love with her.
How did you translate your form of comedy to this character?
I think Ive been really lucky to be able to improv in a lot of my jobs.
I dont think Ive been in anything where they were, like, kindly dont at all!
I think before I was like, Oh, I love to improv.
I wonder if they do this when they film.
I always wondered if this is improv when Im watching TV.
… And I just got lucky being able to do that on my first job.
So now Im confident to go into a job.
… And Im lucky to get such amazing scripts that I dont need to improvise.
And thats like a lot of the people I like to play outside of the movie.
So, it kind of works.
And you also get to do some drama.
What was that like for you to get to explore that kind of performance?
I always wanted to be an actor when I was little.
So, it was really cool to be able to do something more serious combined with the comedy.
I also loved the Riot Grrrl inspo.
What was the prep like for the musical aspect of the role?
So I was a little bit nervous.
And Miya Folick did all the music and shes just so amazing and she helped me so much.
I also took some guitar lessons and Ive always wanted to play an instrument.
But it was really exciting to finally get to actually learn something on the guitar.
Its a really hard song on the guitar.
And Hannahs like, Its ok. Theyre fine.
No ones bored and it doesnt matter, everyones just hanging out.
And it makes sense, theyre not like waiting to see a show.
So it looked like I was playing.
I am playing the notes, they just dont sound amazing.
Thats what they had to play over.
But I knew technically how to do it.
Also, I loved getting to see Kayla onHacksthis season just really spread her wings.
How has it been growing with that character over the past few seasons?
I love Paul and Lucia and Jen andHannah [Einbinder].
And everyone on the show is just so amazing that it always feels like summer camp when were there.
Its really easy to cry with Paul in that elevator scene because they love each other.
And it really makes me like cry.
… its really interesting to feel so many feelings for someone thats just such a bad managers assistant.
Hacksis such a great representation of Hollywood and the comedy industry.
Have you noticed anything from that show to be particularly true about your experience in the industry?
Thats such a good question.
So thats what rings true to me.
I think it makes me emotional because… it takes a lot of you believing in yourself.
Thats what makes me emotional and ring true.
I think that I have seen that ring true for people, youre sacrificing so much.
So, I was really just doing that for me cause I just like doing it.
So I think that a lot of people sacrifice a lot and they forget that.
Its not important with this industry.
It is so crazy because at first, it feels like, Oh yeah, thats from the video.
And now, it almost feels like a different thing in a cool way of like, its everybody.
It came from that video.
Its really crazy and its interesting to see it change every year.
And this year, it feels like the stores arent even doing it.
It feels like Target took a different take on pride merch this year.
Its just really interesting how it changes but whenever I hear it, its so crazy to me.
