Comedian Rosie O’Donnell Advises Students in Emerson’s Comedy Conservatory

The Flintstones, A League of Their Own, performing standup, and the Emmys were just some of the topics Rosie O’Donnell touched upon during a special talk held at Emerson College Los Angeles (ELA) on October 7, for students, alumni, and friends.

Prior to the talk, the comedian, actress, TV personality, and author met with Comedic Arts Comedy Conservatory program students. O’Donnell answered questions and shared career advice to the handful of juniors who are spending a semester at ELA studying various aspects of comedy. 

“It was very trippy. I remember watching some of the shows and movies she talked about growing up. To see her in person is surreal and to hear the behind-the-scenes stories about what she had to go through is amazing,” said JR McLachlan ‘26, one of the conservatory students. 

McLachlan remembers watching episodes of O’Donnell’s talk show, as well as The Flintstones. In the 1994 film, O’Donnell plays Betty Rubble.

“When I went in, I knew so much Flintstones trivia that [director Brian Levant] was blown away,” said O’Donnell. “When I did the Betty Rubble laugh, [Levant] said: ‘What are you doing?’ I said: You don’t know Betty Rubble laughs when she says everything?”

Though she cautioned that her voice is no longer as high, O’Donnell recreated the laugh for audience members. Glenn Meehan ’83, Comedic Arts Coordinator for the Comedy Conservatory program, interviewed O’Donnell during both talks. Meehan served as supervising producer on O’Donnell’s OWN talk show The Rosie Show.

“Rosie is by far the best boss I ever had and the most practical person I know,” said Meehan. “I’m so blessed that I got to share my friend with everybody else. She is filled with wisdom, joy, and she’s funny as f*ck.” 

This semester, Meehan has helped bring in some of comedy’s biggest names to speak with students at ELA:

• Writer, director, comedian Ryan O’Connell 
• Comedy duo Frangela
• SNL original cast member Laraine Newman
• Actress Arasha Lalani ’21
• Musician and comedian Gabe Gibbs ’14
• Writer Eric Kaplan (The Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory)
• Actor and comedian Jeff Hiller (Somebody, Somewhere)
• Director Josh Margolin (Thelma)
• Original SNL writer Alan Zweibel 
• Co-presidents of Paper Kite Productions Kate Arend & Kim Lessing 

Future guest speakers this semester include Abbott Elementary actor William Stanford Davis, comedian and TV personality Howie Mandel, Ted Lasso and Shrinking co-creator and writer Bill Lawrence, and TikTok star and writer Annie Korzen. 

Last year, strikes hindered students from visiting TV sets. This year, students have been able to tour sets for The Conners, The Talk, and are scheduled to visit the set of Reba McEntire’s Happy’s Place, which premieres on NBC this month.

While visiting The Conners, students were able to chat with actress and producer Sara Gilbert, have lunch with crew members, and shadow one of the show’s directors during a taping of one of the scenes. At a recent comedy show held at ELA, Madeline Call ’26 performed a standup set.

Mason Jeffrey ’24 was one of the alums who attended the O’Donnell talk. Having recently moved out to LA from New Hampshire, he asked O’Donnell for advice on pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. 

“She said to just do the thing. If you’re interested in something creative, just constantly do it and keep pursuing it,” said Jeffrey, an aspiring writer and director. “I’m doing the scary thing moving out to LA, but I feel confident about that decision.” 

Having O’Donnell speak was particularly special for Jen Zaborowski ’04, who is teaching The Business of Acting at ELA this semester. Zaborowski quoted one of O’Donnell’s movie monologues and shared how meaningful the comedian has been to her. 

“My senior yearbook quote from high school was from Rosie, and it was: ‘You have to dream it to live it.’ It was so funny to me that she sat down and that was the first thing she said. That you have to believe. You have to see it, and you can make it happen,” said Zaborowski. “Just always believe in yourself and focus on the work. It was amazing.”

Zaborowski served as a mentor to Conservatory students last year. This year, mentors include writer and producer Steve Basilone ’03 and writer and performer Emily Maya Mills ’03.

During the talk, O’Donnell shared stories about developing a friendship with Madonna while filming A League of Their Own, and how having kids led to her starting her own talk show. She told a story about how her kids painted a few of her Emmys.

When asked about how she deals with folks who are tough to work with, O’Donnell said to do your best. 

“You gotta be careful who you surround yourself with, but when you’re in an entry-level position all you do is you show up on time, or early. You always have a smile on your face. Know your lines,” said O’Donnell. “Know you can’t change everyone else. You can only change your reaction to them.”

At the end of the talk, as is tradition for Comedy Conservatory guest speakers, O’Donnell picked out a fortune cookie. Hers read: “Health and happiness are coming your way.” She was presented with an Emerson sweatshirt and stuck around to pose for pictures and chat with attendees.

“Rosie’s an icon and she came to Emerson,” said Zaborowski. “What a treat!”