What's Your Deal?: Sarah Clapp

My first encounter with Sarah Clapp '19 was through one of her comics for The Rib, "What Your Favorite Library Says About You." After spying Sarah's name on our nominations sheet, I knew I had to take the opportunity to speak with the triple threat editor/writer/illustrator who somehow sensed that I was a classic "SciLi."I sat down with Sarah in the glow of Hazeltine Commons (uncharted territory for an English--Nonfiction and Classics concentrator) to chat about comedy at Brown, co-oping at West House, and the unfair misconceptions surrounding vegan baking. Read on to find out exactly what Sarah's deal is.

One of Sarah's signature baked creations

How did you first get interested in comedy?I applied for The Rib my spring semester freshman year. And before that, I didn’t think I was really a funny person because I was very shy growing up and I wasn’t really into the whole performing side, but I’ve always enjoyed writing and kind of enjoyed writing funny things for myself as my own audience. So I just thought it would be a really great fit. The Rib is nice because it’s very eclectic. You can write a personal essay but you can also write satire and I was interested in both of those things. I’m kind of gravitating more toward satire now. So I was just intrigued by the concept of it being a female publication and also having a humorous bend to it. And I really enjoyed it so far. It’s definitely made me a better writer outside of comedy as well, which I think is a great testament to it.And you illustrate for The Rib too?Yes. I posted an illustration I did on Instagram and The Rib editor was like you should do illustration for us and I was like huh...okay. So we’re kind of diving more into having original visual content on the site, which is super awesome because comics are a no-brainer but it’s also fun to work with writers to find a graphic that will compliment what their message is and pull people in. That’s also helped me as an illustrator because before I never worked digitally, but now I love working on my computer and doing illustrations like that. And it also made me think of ways I could combine writing with illustration. And I think it’s a great combination and really effective in certain ways.

An illustration from one of Sarah's posts for The Rib

Would you say you prefer illustrating or writing?Oh gosh, I don’t know if I have a preference. I love it when I can do both and kind of incorporate the illustration into the article, whether it’s doing a long-form comic which I’ve done before or intersplicing it. I think I’m definitely most comfortable as a writer and that’s what I gravitate toward because you can do a lot with writing. But it’s super exciting to be able to do both.What would you say is your favorite piece that you’ve illustrated or written for The Rib?Over the summer, there’s a show called Married at First Sight which is a crazy show that I love watching. And it had applications for it because they’re filming in Boston, which is near where I’m from. So I was like I’m just going to apply for it and answer as crazy as possible. So I just took screenshots of the entire application and just played with the application. And I’m sure whoever read it was like what the heck, she’s twenty, she can’t be married, also she’s answering these ridiculous things. That was really fun because I love writing about reality television.Where do you usually find your inspiration for your posts?Usually it’s just a weird phrase I say or I hear someone say and I’m like that’s an article. So it’s just kind of like having always in the back of my mind what my next thing’s going to be. And even if something on campus is happening or it's just some weird satirical phrase I just come up with talking to my friends. I just keep notes on it.Now, shifting gears a little bit...What is it like at West House?I’m actually not living at West House. I’m just co-oping there, so I get my food there. So I’m an out-of-house member but I still spend a lot of time there. It’s a really great time there; I really enjoy it. It’s a really great community because one of the main things is that we share communal meals and have this whole food thing going on but there’s a lot more going on in the community. There’s really great events, like we had a murder mystery party last semester, which was super fun. And we also have meetings and talk about shared values so it’s nice to be on the same page and working toward certain goals about what we want our organization to be like. I really enjoyed it. I joined last semester so I was pretty new to it, but I definitely feel very at home. It’s nice because it’s a home setting because the atmosphere is very cozy and it’s just nice to have that place to go on campus that I wouldn’t have had before.And what are you responsibilities there?So we have split-up cooking and cleaning responsibilities. So we just do a job or so a week and then we have semester-long jobs. So I’m one of the house bakers this semester, which is super exciting because it gives me license to bake. It’s really a great place to like to bake because we have these huge tubs of flower and sugar and all the things you need, like a huge bucket of chocolate chips, so it’s like the world is my oyster when I go in there and I can decide what to bake. It’s also very relaxing for me and it makes people happy when the goods arise.So what do you usually bake?I really like making cake. A few people in the house are vegan, so sometimes I end up baking vegan not really on purpose but because there’s milk or eggs missing so I can substitute other things in, so it’s been a revelation. But vegan baking doesn’t have to be not as good as regular baking. Just yesterday I made scones, which was really fun. I just have an ongoing list of things I want to make and just see what the ingredients are. Usually if there’s fresh produce like apples or carrots I try to incorporate that, which is fun.Who is your favorite Great British Bake Off contestant ever?I love the Great British Bake Off. I’ve been re-watching the series. It definitely needs a second watch-over because you just get even more invested. My favorite contestant is Norman. He was not very good. His main problem was that his bakes were very simple. So the judges would be like, c’mon Norman, you got to do something to wow us, but he would always do the bare minimum. So he’s my favorite and I made a painting that’s actually on my wall in my room that’s like my fantasy -- it has Norman with a winner sash next to the two judges, and that’s my little shrine to him. If only he won. He was a former sailor and has a Scottish accent. He’s my hero.Is there anything else you’d like to mention?I’m helping organize the Brown University Comedy Conference, which is next weekend, March 2nd through March 4th. So we’re getting all the details smoothed out and it’s really exciting. There’s going to be a stand-up comic coming in, we’re going to have an improv troupe, ten or so student groups are going to visit, which is awesome. So that’s really exciting. I’m a BEAM teacher, so I do after-school mentoring, which I love. I love working with kids. I’m trying to learn the bass right now. That was pretty recent so right now I can only play "Battle of the Republic" and the Jeopardy theme song. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Images via Sarah Clapp '19 and The Rib.