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variety.comJazz Tangcay Artisans Editor How does one edit “A Black LadySketch Show” when comedic talent such as Issa Rae, Gabrielle Dennis and Robin Thede have gone off-script? “It’s a challenge because everyone is giving you something hilarious,” editor Stephanie Filo says.
Filo is no slouch herself. This year, she achieved something remarkable, landing three Emmy nominations for her editing work on HBO’s “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” Netflix’s “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and Hulu’s “History of the World, Part II.” On “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” Filo relished the chance to edit a Coral Reefs gang sequence on the “WeMurk” sketch featuring Rae, Thede and Dennis . “I didn’t get to cut the other iterations, so I got to have a swing at it,” Filo says.
This time, Tracee Ellis Ross, who she describes as “hysterical,” was also in the sketch. Filo was used to having one or two takes of what was scripted, but it was the last day of filming and “everyone went off script,” she says. “This was the most improv-heavy sketch I’ve ever cut on the show.” How did she do it? “It’s a challenge because everyone’s giving you something hilarious on every single camera angle,” she says, “So, I’ll do one assembly and start to pepper in moments.
Robin is fantastic at improv and Gabrielle is so great at physical comedy, and they have a great dynamic. It’s about finding those little character moments for each of them.
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