Quinta Brunson

“Once I found out there were places that people went to congregate and that there were schools to practice the craft of comedy, that's when I started looking at it as a career goal.”

“I can feel a chord that's connected to everybody else, where I can feel what people would like to see right now or what would make people feel better. I think that's why 'Abbott' hits the way that it does.”

“In January 2013, I moved out to L.A. I got a job at the Apple Store to pay the bills, and every now and then, I would get a little side job as a styling assistant for Elle or Details. I spent the rest of my time taking classes at The Second City and performing with them.”

“I don't like the individualism of being on stage by myself, so I made the executive decision to let that go and focus on 'Abbott,' which I do consider a big team sport.”

“When I was in college at Temple University in Philadelphia, I became obsessed with 'Saturday Night Live' and 'The Office.' I thought the writing and performing was amazing, and I wanted to figure out how to do that. So I started researching everyone on those shows. That's when I found out about The Second City in Chicago.”

“I was participating in acting and writing for other shows and I knew that eventually I wanted a sitcom of my own.”

“It's actually a really hard job that you have to have a lot of gull, hurt and emotional stability to be able to do. So if you can't do all of that, you're not going to be a good teacher. If you can do all of that, it's actually really special.”

“My first official acting job was on the show New Girl.'”

“I took ballet, tap, modern and jazz growing up.”

“I think that we're all complex characters, and we have to forgive ourselves. We have to own our own humanity by not regretting everything we do, unless we have been extremely harmful to someone or hurtful to someone or done something violent. I think we have to give ourselves room to make the human mistakes that everyone else makes.”

“Comedy comes from some of our saddest moments.”

“I grew up with my mom as a teacher for years. I went to school where she taught, so I spent a lot of time with her in the mornings and after school - just fully entrenched in the school life.”

“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 don't really like lipstick, but I love a good gloss. Sometimes that's a little corner store gloss. Sometimes it's a super hyper-expensive brand.”

“I was fortunate to have a sister who styles hair and a sister who braids hair. I really grew up wanting for nothing as a young Black girl. They were doing hair when I didn't want my hair done. I'd be like, 'I'm good. I don't want... ' She was like, 'No, I need to use you as a guinea pig to test out this style.' So my hair was always fly.”

“I feel like I am not only my ancestors' wildest dreams but also my wildest dreams. Little-kid me is like, 'Girl, that's crazy. You're friends with Amy Poehler. That's insane.'”

“If I want to make a show about a dinosaur, I want to be able to make a show about a dinosaur.”

“Philadelphia is such a unique city. To just call it diverse would be reductive, which is what people do sometimes: 'Oh, diversity.' Yeah, it's diverse, but it's more than that.”

“Life can be dark and horrible, but what makes humans so resilient is their ability to find the light in dark situations.”

“I'm not a hot girl who's going to wear a hot outfit. I just want to show up in a dress I like that is comfortable for me, because I don't want you to come to me for the outfits I wear. I don't want you to come to me for being pretty, even, or anything other than a good writer.”