Tig Notaro & Stephanie Allynne dish on the perks of co-directing ‘Am I OK?’ & raising their kids with pride
In A World… and fell in love.But, since getting together (the pair married in 2015) they’ve managed to push each other to new heights, adding more credits to their resume: Actors, writers, producers, directors, and even parents, when they welcomed twins Max and Finn to the world in 2016.Subscribe to our newsletter for your front-row seat to all things entertainment with a sprinkle of everything else queer.Their latest “baby” is the dramedy Am I OK?, the feature directorial debut for both Notaro and Allynne, which follows thirty-something Lucy (Dakota Johnson) as she comes to the never-too-late realization she might be gay—just as her long-time support system and best friend Jane (Sonoya Mizuno) is getting ready to move halfway across the world.With a script from Lauren Pomerantz (SNL, The Ellen Degeneres Show), the film is an especially personal one for Allynne who, like Lucy, didn’t know she was queer until she was an adult—in fact, it wasn’t until she met Notaro!And for Notaro, the experience of making Am I OK?
taught her an important lesson: Maybe she’s not all that crazy about directing—whereas Allyne totally is. “Stephanie had her eye on everything in a way that made me so aware of: Wow, she is the director.
I am the director’s wife,” the comic jokes with Queerty.With Am I OK? now streaming on Max, Queerty jumped at the opportunity to speak with both Notaro and Allyne for a first-ever “Couples Edition” of our rapid-fire Q&A series, Dishin’ It.
In our conversation, the partners opened up about mining their lives for comedy (Allynne just directed Notaro’s latest special Hello Again on Prime Video), Notaro’s notorious “talent” for not being able to recognize famous people, and how they’re celebrating Pride Month as a family.A post shared by Stephanie Allynne (@stephanieallynne)First, our favorite icebreaker question: Is there a piece of media—whether a movie, TV series, book, album, theater, video game, etc…—that has played an important role in your understanding.