We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tess Mervenne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tess, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I attended the Savannah College of Art and Design, where I studied Performing Arts, Casting, & Business. (This was not the risk, just setting the scene. Going to SCAD was the easiest decision I ever made, and I have no regrets.) In my third year at SCAD, I was just beginning to find my voice as a creative. I had fallen in love with the feeling of making people laugh, and I’d become part of an Improv & Sketch Comedy trio called Your Mom’s Bookclub with two of my best friends, Troy Michael & George Gordon (both SCAD BFA Performing Arts class of 2024). The three of us were performing at SCAD’s Improv Shows every Friday night, and we had made an impression on our improv professor & mentor, Prof. David Storck.

In the fall of 2022, we received a very mysterious email from Professor Storck, asking for our availability for a special project. I mentioned that my class load might impede my ability to participate, but I’d still like to be involved in some capacity. Prof. Storck replied that I needed to prioritize my classes, so I would not be participating in this special project. Then, it was announced that the “special project” was an SNL Bootcamp directed by Matt Walsh (co-founder of The Upright Citizens Brigade). I was floored. I’ve always been the type of person to play by the book and avoid making waves, but this was the opportunity of a lifetime. I decided to take a risk, and show up for the bootcamp, despite being told that I was not going to be allowed to participate.

When I entered the room on the first day, Prof. Storck was surprised to see me, but I convinced him to let me stay and watch. There was a group of actors who were warming up with improv games, and a group of writers who were watching – taking notes on moments that they found funny that might inspire sketches. Once I saw an opening to hop in and join an improv game, I took it, and I made Matt Walsh laugh (success!). After that, there was no stopping me. I was participating every chance I got. At the end of the first day, Matt told us that the writers would be assigned to write sketches based on their favorite moments from our improv scenes, and that the actors were dismissed to give the writers the opportunity to pitch their sketches. Since I was already feeling risky after inserting myself into the group of actors without permission, I decided to up the ante, and insert myself into the group of writers, as well. I stayed for the writers’ meeting, pitched a sketch, and got the green light from Matt to write for the show.

Throughout the week-long bootcamp, I was an unstoppable force. Every free moment I had in-between my classes, I was workshopping, writing, and editing. On day two of the bootcamp, my car broke down, and I cashed-in every favor I had with friends for rides to class or rehearsal for the rest of the week. On day three of the bootcamp, I cast my friend Troy as the main character in my sketch, despite the fact that he was also told by Professor Storck that he wouldn’t be allowed to participate due to his class load. By day four, Matt officially approved my sketch to be included in the show, and I had been cast in three other sketches, as an actor. I was the only participant who was both writing and acting for the show, even though I wasn’t supposed to be participating. I was the most sleep deprived I’d ever been, and yet, I’d never felt more alive.

The sketch show went up on Saturday night, and the audience was at least double the size of our usual SCAD Improv & Sketch shows. It was such a rewarding experience, and the best part, was the sense of purpose that I found during that crazy week. Participating in that bootcamp solidified my choice to pursue comedy, professionally.

After graduation, I moved to Los Angeles to chase my dreams. I’ve kept in touch with Matt Walsh, who has been an incredible mentor as I try to find my footing in the industry. As of right now, I’m very involved in classes at The Groundlings School, as both an actor and a writer, and I’m constantly learning and growing.

Right before I auditioned to take classes at The Groundlings, I texted Professor Storck, thanking him for preparing me for that moment, and this was his response: “Of all the many terrific qualities I see in you, the one that most resonates with me is an inner strength that is a mix of resilience, grit, and perseverance. And yet, you are able to bring a lovely vulnerability to your life and art. The ebb and flow of that duality is your superpower. Go get ’em!”

I’m don’t know where my journey with comedy will take me, but I’m certain it’ll be worth the risk.

Tess, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Tess Mervenne, and I’m a Los Angeles based actor/writer specializing in comedy. I was raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and I grew up on the stage. When I was 8 years old, I did a community theatre production of Suessical the Musical Jr., where I played The Cat in the Hat, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Throughout my childhood, I did around 25-30 musicals and plays either in school or with community theatre programs. My passion for performing led me to the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD), where I earned by BFA in Performing Arts with a double minor in Casting & Business. My education at SCAD encompassed everything from Stage to Screen, Shakespeare to Sketch Comedy. During those 4 years, I continued to cultivate my passion for theatre while developing my love of comedy.

Nowadays, we live in a very stressful world. My dream is to create and tell stories that help people escape their worries. In an ideal situation, I’ll eventually be working on a single-cam sitcom as an actor and a writer. In the meantime, I’m taking classes at The Groundlings School, making connections, and trying to get my foot in the door in the entertainment industry in any way I can!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I was rejected from my university’s showcase four separate times. Every year, SCAD puts together a showcase of around 20 students in the Performing Arts/Acting program to be presented to industry professionals for an opportunity to sign with a manager/agent or audition for professional projects. They also select around 10 students for a musical theatre showcase, which serves the same purpose.

When I was finishing my sophomore year at SCAD, I had enough credits to be considered for both showcases. I auditioned for both and received callbacks for both. Right before returning to campus in the fall, the cast lists for both showcases were published, and I was not on either. I was disappointed, but the professor directing one of the showcases assured me that I wasn’t selected because I was only a junior and they knew I’d have another opportunity next year.

At the end of my junior year, I auditioned for both showcases, again, and received callbacks for both, again. This time, I had grown so much as both a person and an actor, and I had excellent relationships with every professor involved in the casting process. I was confident that I would be selected for, at least, the acting showcase…primarily because I had be told by the people in charge that I had “nothing to worry about.”

Right before the fall of my senior year, the cast lists were published, and, once again, my name was missing from both. I was ~devastated~. I was hurt and confused. My ego was severely bruised, but more than anything, I was experiencing a feeling of betrayal. How could a program that I had dedicated so much to reject me from their showcase a second (technically fourth) time? Why was I rejected when I had been told by multiple professors and faculty that I trusted that I had “nothing to worry about?”

It took me a long time to process and accept that I was going to be graduating from my acting program without the support I was expecting. In the moment, it felt as though everything I had been building towards in my time at SCAD was all for nothing. Little did I know, not participating in a showcase my senior year would actually make me a better actor.

That feeling of betrayal lit a fire under me to prove to anyone who didn’t believe in me that I didn’t need their help. I auditioned for everything that I could. I submitted to agencies on my own. During the weeks that I would’ve been participating in showcase, I was on film sets making short films that I could be proud of. I was exploring new genres, developing an impressive acting reel, and building connections that would continue to propel me forward after graduation. Instead of being marketed to the industry the way that I would’ve been typecast by a showcase, I can market myself the way that I choose, with no repercussions.

I ended my career at SCAD with more content and experience on set than most of my peers. Better yet, I did it all by myself and for myself. I proved to myself that I am more than capable of pursuing this career. I showed up for myself when I felt like I wasn’t receiving the support I needed. So much of an actor’s journey is bouncing back from rejection. If my rejections from showcase hadn’t lit the fire under me to work harder and advocate for myself, who knows where I’d be today!

I guess, ultimately, my professors were right. I had nothing to worry about.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I think we can all agree that the world can be a very dark place. When times get tough, I turn to sitcoms to escape. My North Star as an artist, right now, is to create and star in a single-cam sitcom. My mission is to find a way to create light for the people who feel trapped in the dark.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tessmervenne.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tess-mervenne-06b54a1b7
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/yBLcrVGZ4j8

Image Credits

Samuel Patti, Tim Borowic