Bree Klauser

Will Butler:

We are super excited to be welcoming our first ever guest to Say My Meme. Caroline, thank you for making this happen. We are welcoming today, Bree Klauser. Bree, thank you so much for coming on the podcast.

Bree Klauser:

Thank you so much for having me, Will and Caroline, I'm really excited to be here.

Will Butler:

Yeah. How did the two of you meet? Were you working on a... Or what was it?

Caroline Desrosiers:

We met through Instagram, just following the same people, talking about the same stuff, and we just connected, and ever since then we've been fans of one another.

Bree Klauser:

Yeah. I really feel social media has become, especially, a powerful connector during this difficult time. And I think people are more open to just having people come out of the blue and be like, "Hey, I love what you're doing. Hey." And beyond just the likes and the hearts. And I think it was a particular post with the Ruderman Foundation, because one of the projects I've been in, SEE was being honored for inclusion, I think you guys shared that. So I found it and we just really went back and forth. And then I heard about this Say My Meme thing, and it was like, "What? Voiceover and memes. That's my whole life. I got to know what's up. I got to get in touch."

Will Butler:

So, Bree, you're one of the very few openly identifying visually impaired, low vision, and I believe legally blind actors out there. But you're actually coming to join us today to describe some memes, right?

Bree Klauser:

Yes.

Will Butler:

How does that work?

Bree Klauser:

So, I have some usable vision. I like to compare the whole legally blind spectrum to the same kind of spectrum with when we talk about ASD and developmental disabilities, I see it as a spectrum as well. So for lack of a better word, I'm a high partial. So I use what I got. I use large print. I'm a big fan of iOS accessibility, zooming in and all that.

Bree Klauser:

But when I think about visual storytelling, I'm thinking about what... I would say I'm a minimalist in that. I think about what's the most important information that needs to come across. So being that I am a complete achromat, having a condition called achromatopsia, which means I see no color, just the 50 shades of gray. I wouldn't necessarily be like, "Oh, she's wearing a blue sweater." Unless that was absolutely pertinent to the joke because, as someone who has studied comedy for over a decade, brevity is kind of the breath of comedy and that's how you meme.

Will Butler:

It is. And Caroline, I think we always think of our audiences as completely blind, that's sort of the high bar we shoot for, but I have some usable vision too, doesn't mean it's easy for me to read memes. But it's interesting to think about all the different people who might be listening, isn't it, Caroline?

Bree Klauser:

Yeah.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah, definitely. Bree, I have a question for you that comes to mind.

Bree Klauser:

Sure.

Caroline Desrosiers:

So, when you come across a meme, do you zoom in on it to see the details, or what is that experience like for you?

Bree Klauser:

So, usually because if it's a good meme, it's got that big, old, bold white text, and I'll read that first, and then I'll look at the image. But I think each meme is unique in the sense, and you'll hear it when we audio describe like, do you describe the image first or do you describe the text first?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Right.

Will Butler:

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Bree Klauser:

And I guess being visually impaired, and being memes, it's a little like being the person in the room who takes an extra five or 10 seconds to laugh at the joke, but eventually you get there.

Will Butler:

Absolutely.

Bree Klauser:

Yeah.

Will Butler:

I can definitely relate. And I would say eight out of 10 times, I skip a meme if I see it. But two out of 10 times something catches my eyes, someone's laughing really hard, and I get curious enough to like zoom in there and figure out what the hell's going on.

Bree Klauser:

Yeah. And I think it also depends on how eye catching the images is or if it speaks to something that interests you. If it's an animal, I'm going to look at it. If it's a cute animal, I'm absolutely going to look at it.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Right.

Will Butler:

Well, Bree, before we dive into memes, I want to share with folks a little bit about who you are and what you're working on, because you do so much. You're an actor, you're a singer as well, and songwriter, and you're a voice actor as well.

Bree Klauser:

Yes.

Will Butler:

I first saw you, I think, in the Apple TV show, SEE. What was that like working with Jason Momoa, and some of these other actors like Marilee Talkington, who's also blind. What was that experience like?

Bree Klauser:

Oh, it was a life changing experience. I was shooting with all these amazing people, Jason Momoa, Alfre Woodard, who is a legend, just sitting next to that woman in a makeup trailer, hearing her do her lines is a masterclass in itself. And just this incredible ensemble cast that we had in, those first three episodes, they were really like a big ensemble, the Alkenny tribe. It was such a joy, because everyone was so nice.

Bree Klauser:

And production team, they were so accommodating without being pandering at all. It was very freeing to go into a situation and not have to apologize for my disability, and to not be afraid of speaking up. And I talk about that experience all the time as my out of the closet moment because for years I felt like I needed to hide in the industry, I needed to pass as normal sighted, but I think for much of my career it was a detriment I think. If you underplay it too much, then people think, "Oh, something else is wrong, or she's just being rude, or whatever."

Will Butler:

Yeah.

Bree Klauser:

But coming out about it, I feel like people are so much more accepting and understanding. Yes, there is also the other double-edged sword of it of then people seeing you differently once you come out as identifying as disabled, but you take the good with the bad. And honestly, the people that you want to work with are those who are going to be accepting, and understanding, and progressive thinking.

Caroline Desrosiers:

That's so great. What has your experience been since you're coming out of the closet?

Bree Klauser:

Ups and downs. I mean, it definitely... People in the disability community are very supportive. I've met a couple of people in the entertainment industry who have... I have a publicist manager I've been working with for a while who heard about my story through a PR page, and she was... Rhonda, who I've been working with for a year, she's my guardian angel. She said, "I just wanted to work with you, because your story resonated with me so much, not just your talent, but your story, because my husband is also legally blind, and I just felt like I needed to reach out to you. And I feel like if it wasn't for SEE, or it giving me that platform to be so open, people wouldn't come out of woodwork like that.

Bree Klauser:

And it also opened up a door to me as far as just meeting other people in the low vision, blind community. And I've gotten jobs like that. I mean, my career is... I'm a very anti-establishment person in general, but it really hasn't followed the traditional rules. People ask me, "Oh, did an agent get SEE for you?" I'm like, "No, I just found it myself. I showed up, did the work. I was in the right place at the right time."

Bree Klauser:

And a similar thing happened to me when I booked the role for the Audible original series, Phreaks. A friend who I made on social media, who is also low vision, said, "Hey, The American Federation for the Blind, they just got this notice, they're looking for a blind or low vision actress to play this role in an Audible series." So she sent me that audition and I booked it. And this girl, Rachel Abbott, she's actually part of one of the other teams in the Disability Film Challenge, so when I told her, I was like, "Whenever I get to meet you, I need to buy you dinner or something, and thank you." And eventually I got to meet her in LA when she was at Access Acting Academy so I feel sometimes your greatest resources in this industry are not so much your necessarily big producers, agents, whatever, but the people who are inspired by your work, and the people who believe in you.

Will Butler:

Yeah, the people who are looking out for you, right?

Bree Klauser:

Yeah.

Will Butler:

Yeah.

Bree Klauser:

Exactly.

Will Butler:

Well, you've named all these amazing things that are bubbling up from the disability community in the entertainment world.

Bree Klauser:

Yes.

Will Butler:

One of them is the Access Acting Academy that you mentioned, that's training folks in LA. But also you mentioned the Disability Film Challenge, is it true that you're in two films this year for this event?

Bree Klauser:

I am. And this is the first year I'm actually participating in it. The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, it's going on for many, many years, but this yeah, this is the second home edition. And I always kind of shied away from making my own work. It's particularly challenging when you have limited vision, and you don't know how it's going to turn out. But this year, I heard that the theme was mockumentary and I love mockumentary style films. I love Waiting for Guffman, and Best in Show, who was that, Christopher Best, Guest?

Will Butler:

Yeah.

Bree Klauser:

Yeah.

Will Butler:

Guest, yeah.

Bree Klauser:

Christopher Guest, thank you. And something I've done for years, but I'm not necessarily known publicly for is sketch and improv comedy. I've been doing it since I was 16 years old, and this genre allowed me to flex those muscles and even do a little bit of writing. So, I was lucky enough to get asked by a friend, who has her own production company, Annatated, her name is Anna, so, it's Annatated LLC, to put together, I would say, a short film, very like a la SNL style film called Social Fitness, which it's set within a news story about how to navigate the world after being inside, and all the foibles that come along with that. So, I play one of the characters in this social fitness class, which was all filmed virtually, and they do all this cool green screen kind of stuff to make it seem like we're all in the same world, which is an incredible feat by the editing and visual productions of that film team.

Bree Klauser:

And on the other team I was brought on by Acting Access Academy, run by Marilee Talkington, who I had the pleasure of working with in SEE, who is a colleague here in New York. I met her before SEE, I met her at an audition for NCIS, in that first really big breakout role that she booked where she did her own stunts, and that's where I met her, and I found out we had so many mutual friends. And then, when I found out we were working on SEE, I posted something and she's like, "I SEE what you're talking about." And I'm like, "Oh, you know what's going on."

Bree Klauser:

So, she brought together two teams of all blind and low vision creatives. And I'm on one of two teams of people I've never worked with before, and we created a mockumentary film called, Service: A Dog-umentary, and it is a tribute to service animals at home during quarantine, and it is really, really kind of a fun, also sketch comedy styled film. I get to work with a award-winning student film director named, Spencer Frankeberger. He's told me to, he's like, "Frank Berger, Frankeberger." That's his last name. He's out in LA, and he's a part of the whole UCB, IO West scene out there.

Will Butler:

Yeah, I've actually seen him on socials or something like that.

Bree Klauser:

Yeah. He's so big on TikTok. I'm like, "How do you see TikTok? It's so inaccessible." But he was our director and one of our head producers. We also have some like newcomer producers, [Shay 00:14:10] and Phoenix are from Montana. We have this crazy international team, we have a writer and actor named Shashank, who's from India, and he would join us on Zoom with a 14 hour time difference.

Bree Klauser:

What's really amazing about the film, besides it just being really cute, and really funny, and there's animals, and I get to act with my cat. What was really incredible to watch when everything pulled together is that you see this cast of all blind and low vision performers, and none of them come across the same. It shows the incredible diversity there is within the blind and low vision community.

Bree Klauser:

And so often something I rub up against in the entertainment industry as an actor with a disability is that I don't fit that mold of what people think "legally blind" is, and that's why I'm afraid to even use that label even though, by standards of visual acuity, I'm legally blind and should never get behind the wheel of a car unless that car drives itself. Come on Tesla Cybertruck, hurry up.

Bree Klauser:

But this film kind of proves that low vision and blindness has so many different faces. And I think that's going to be eye opening to all the non-disabled people who view this film in the industry, and I think it's a big win for the Blind community to say, "Yes. There are so many of us." And you mentioned before, I don't know if it was earlier on or in recording, my ADHD is acting up, but you mentioned something about usually the majority of your audience you assume have no vision at all.

Bree Klauser:

But the fact of the matter is that 95% of blind people have some kind of vision, whether it is just a little bit of light perception, or shadows, or they actually have a full field of vision, but every time they look at their screen, they look like they're sniffing the text, like me, that's me. When I do Instagram Lives, it's like, "Oh, excuse me, I'm sniffing my camera to read your comments." But yeah, 95% of us have some kind of usable vision, even if we're considered legally blind. And I am so thrilled to be a part of something that shows that representation in such an authentic way.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Wow.

Will Butler:

So, where do people see these, the films from the Disability Film Challenge?

Bree Klauser:

So, from what I know, this is being podcasted in the future. "Hello, future people."

Will Butler:

Yes.

Bree Klauser:

So, starting on March 27th, this film will be available on the, also, FilmFreeway and the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge YouTube channel. And when this podcast airs, we'll be in the midst of a social awareness campaign where we encourage you to watch, like, share, comment, all of the good things, subscribe. Because it helps all the actors involved and the individual teams, because we can win an award from being the most popular, I guess, but they call social awareness film. And it would be really helpful if you'd like it. I hope you like it. You should like it. There's animals in it. Who doesn't like animals? So this will be posted, I imagine somewhere on your website, blog, little link down below, will be provided for you to go check out the film.

Will Butler:

Perfect.

Bree Klauser:

And I'll also be sharing it on my social media as well. I'm most active on Instagram and you can follow me @bree_klauser_official. The regular word, the regular way that word is spelled, official. And yeah, we should talk about some memes.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah. Bree, you are like the perfect first guest for Say My Meme-

Bree Klauser:

Thank you.

Caroline Desrosiers:

... because I know you love memes. And when we were talking last week, you had me cracking up. You have some really funny impressions and voices, which I am super excited that you're bringing to us.

Bree Klauser:

Well, thank you sweety, remind me of my friend [inaudible 00:19:01].

Caroline Desrosiers:

There you go. See, I love that because on this podcast, I attempt to do voices, but I am so far from an actor. So, I've done Samuel L. Jackson, which it happened, and then Dr. Steve Brule, but I try my best, but I really would rather leave it up to awesome talents like you.

Bree Klauser:

Well, actually just last night, I was watching, I love The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and he had Dana Carvey on there, and he's legendary for his impressions. And his advice is like, "You don't necessarily have to be good at the impression. You just kind of pick a lane and go with it." And that's kind of the key to impressions. On my first improv team, I used to do this notoriously bad Bill Cosby impression. Now, we don't do Bill Cosby impressions anymore because it's 2021, and he's dead to the world now, but I would do this impression and it was the worst impression, but I was very committed to it. So, I'm sure your impressions are great, you just got to commit to them.

Will Butler:

Yeah. Don't undersell your impressions, Caroline. [crosstalk 00:20:11].

Bree Klauser:

Yes.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Well, thanks guys. Thanks. Yeah.

Bree Klauser:

Also, every time I hear the title, Say My Meme, I just brings me back to Destiny's Child, like, (singing).

Caroline Desrosiers:

I love that.

Will Butler:

[inaudible 00:20:27].

Bree Klauser:

That should be your theme song.

Caroline Desrosiers:

I was singing that.

Will Butler:

We're about to grab that and sample it. [inaudible 00:20:32].

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah.

Bree Klauser:

Say My Meme.

Caroline Desrosiers:

That's awesome. Yeah. Just grab that audio clip right there. Yeah, it was stuck in my head for a good few weeks after we first came up with that name.

Bree Klauser:

Yeah. It's a great title. Congrats on that.

Will Butler:

Thank you. We've got to get you in the studio for the new version of the theme song.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yes.

Bree Klauser:

(singing).

Will Butler:

Oh my gosh. Okay, let's do some memes.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Let's do it!

Bree Klauser:

Yeah! All right. So, I got three great memes for you all. Let's start with the animals because everyone loves animals. So this one is a black cat laying on a wireless phone, a landline phone, and he looks very distressed, he kind of has that look of "Hello darkness, my old friends." In his eyes. So he is making a phone call. Hold up. So, 3:00 AM, cat, "My food bowl isn't incompletely full." Cat 911, "Okay. Have you tried meowing for an hour straight?" Cat, "Yes. They won't get out of bed." Cat 911, "You're going to die. RIP." Cat, "I know."

Caroline Desrosiers:

Oh my gosh.

Will Butler:

Oh my gosh.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Fantastic.

Bree Klauser:

So is there anything visually I missed that was important in the visual... Because I'm taking just the snapshot of what I see with this lovely cat on the phone.

Will Butler:

So, the cat is lying on the phone.

Bree Klauser:

Yeah. That is important.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah. I think that is important because the way the cat is lying on the phone, the receiver is kind of angled towards it, it's actually being held up to its ear.

Bree Klauser:

His mouth.

Caroline Desrosiers:

And his mouth.

Bree Klauser:

And his kitty cat mouth.

Will Butler:

So, it is sort of like, "I've fallen and I can't get up." Type of situation?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah.

Bree Klauser:

Oh my god. It is the combination of, "Hello darkness, my old friends." And, "I've fallen and I can't get up."

Caroline Desrosiers:

Oh, man.

Bree Klauser:

That is the reference shorthand for the body language of this poor kitty.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Oh, I love it. So much drama here.

Bree Klauser:

Yeah.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Like if cats could talk-

Bree Klauser:

I know.

Caroline Desrosiers:

... there would be so much drama.

Bree Klauser:

Yeah. [inaudible 00:23:01].

Will Butler:

And of course cat memes, I mean the originators, really, that's where we started this very podcast.

Bree Klauser:

Yes.

Will Butler:

So very apropos.

Bree Klauser:

Also, if you love cat pictures and memes, my cat is in both of the films that I'm in, in the Disability Film Challenge and you can follow him on Instagram at @uncle.iroh.thecat.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Awesome. We need to make an original meme out of Uncle Iroh the cat.

Bree Klauser:

Yeah. See, I have trouble making memes, because that's where it becomes more visual. I got to put the text on the image and the things. Too much work.

Will Butler:

We're going to have to have you back.

Bree Klauser:

Yeah.

Will Butler:

Caroline's going to becoming a meme dealer.

Caroline Desrosiers:

That's right. That's where I come in.

Bree Klauser:

Black market memes. All right. Okay. We'll save Bernie for last because I think we have a Bernie meme coming in later. So, we'll save the Bern for last.

Will Butler:

Perfect.

Bree Klauser:

But I know Caroline and I were talking about our love for boomer memes. And this is more, I guess... This woman in this meme, I would say she's more part of the silent generation, so we see an octogenarian with white hair, and big spectacles that she's holding her hand, and she is looking perplexed at a laptop screen. And she says, "Tracking my cookies. They'll never get the recipe."

Caroline Desrosiers:

Hilarious.

Will Butler:

Oh, my goodness.

Bree Klauser:

Great. Is there anything else visually that our listeners should know about our octogenarian friend?

Will Butler:

No, I'm just so impressed with your ability to nail these memes. It makes us look like we're mere mortals compared to [crosstalk 00:24:52].

Bree Klauser:

[crosstalk 00:24:52]. Guys.

Will Butler:

No, these are amazing. So Caroline, I feel like the only thing I'm lacking is the meme scholarship here.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Oh yeah. Because we love to bring that. Yeah. I'm glad you asked because there's a history to this meme, it's been called Grandma Finds the Internet, or Internet, Grandma's Surprise. And it's fantastic. There are so many taglines that go with this one. Yeah, I'd say she's looking through her glasses at her screen, and she just looks so perplexed or troubled, and it's paired with taglines that are like, "Do they deliver emails on Sunday?"

Bree Klauser:

She reminds me of the grandma from The Looney Tunes, like the sweet, like, "Oh, Sylvester, my putty cat."

Will Butler:

Yeah, oh my god.

Bree Klauser:

She's the sweetest grandma ever. And when she was like, "My cookie recipe, no, never."

Caroline Desrosiers:

Oh, I love it. It's a good one.

Will Butler:

One of the things that's incredible about memes is, equally as important as the image is the sort of the context of the image, and the fact of how it has been used, and how it's evolved and all this stuff. At this point, I don't assume that any meme is a unique snowflake. Everyone has an antecedents and one that comes after it, right?

Bree Klauser:

Yes. It's memes are kind of like an ongoing conversation.

Will Butler:

Yeah. Wow. Okay. Number three. What is the third one?

Bree Klauser:

But I would say best for last. So, get ready to feel the Bern guys. The girl from high school who is advertising her pyramid scheme on Facebook. We see Bernie Sanders in a parka, squinting at the camera, "I am asking you once again for your financial support."

Caroline Desrosiers:

Great Bernie voice.

Bree Klauser:

Thank you. I kind of fell in love doing Bernie impressions from watching Steven Cole Bear. I can't take credit for this joke, but I say it all the time. He said, "Twinkle, twinkle little star, the billionaire class has gone too far." And I'm like, "Oh my god, I love that. I'm stealing that." That is the kernel of my Bernie impression, and definitely follows the Dana Carvey, School of [inaudible 00:27:33]. Go for it. Yeah, I'm not going to sound like Bernie, but get the accent, get the deepness, get the influxion, you got a Bernie.

Bree Klauser:

He did this great article, Bernie, where it was talking about... Someone was trying to roast him, and say he was out of touch about the subway. It's like, "You put your token, and you take the subway." I was like, "But they don't use tokens." "You jump the turnstile."

Caroline Desrosiers:

Oh my...

Will Butler:

I feel like, Caroline, isn't the... I'm asking you once again, like a thing. Isn't that a thing?

Bree Klauser:

Yes, it is. His YouTube channel, like, "I'm asking you once again for your support. Thank you."

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah. I think it went back to his presidential campaign, and he was fundraising, so that was kind of his line. And this moment in particular, I actually looked up and watch the video, and I was delighted to find out that he's walking down the street and the camera is moving back with him. So, he's kind of walking towards you. And then he lifted his hands up and he's wearing the mittens, the famous Bernie mittens-

Will Butler:

No.

Caroline Desrosiers:

... that were described this week, he's wearing them on this day as well. So, I love...

Will Butler:

Back before the inauguration?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yes. It's the same coat and the same mittens.

Will Butler:

Has anyone ever done the mitten origin story? That's incredible.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yeah.

Bree Klauser:

Well, the mittens, I think it's... Isn't it a teacher from New Hampshire?

Caroline Desrosiers:

Oh.

Bree Klauser:

No. From Vermont, his state, Vermont, who knitted them for him.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Oh, that's sweet. I didn't know that.

Will Butler:

Oh, my gosh.

Bree Klauser:

Yeah.

Will Butler:

He just gets more and more [crosstalk 00:29:20].

Bree Klauser:

I love that he has a uniform now. He's like a cartoon character. He has his park... What color is it? Blue?

Caroline Desrosiers:

It's a brownish color.

Bree Klauser:

Brownish parka, and the red and white mittens. And just the Bernie face.

Will Butler:

Yeah. Bernie is coming back, say my memers, don't you worry. There will be of Bernie in episodes to come.

Bree Klauser:

You haven't seen the last of me.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Oh my gosh. Love it. And I love that the pyramid scheme, like your friend approaching you about a pyramid scheme, which is like... I don't know if you experienced that, but everyone's like, "Oh." That's why this meme is so effective, because it's happening to a lot of people.

Bree Klauser:

Yeah. The girl from high school, like, "Hey girl, do you want to be a boss babe?" Like, "Who are you? Didn't you used to shoved me into lockers in high school?"

Caroline Desrosiers:

Or like, "Free facials at my place. Come on over, girls."

Bree Klauser:

Yeah.

Caroline Desrosiers:

It's like, "Let me sell you a bunch of products." Yeah.

Bree Klauser:

Yeah.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yep.

Bree Klauser:

Amazing.

Will Butler:

Well, Bree we can't thank you enough for coming on the podcast. Everybody should go check out the Disability Film Challenge, and go listen to Phreaks, that's Phreaks with a ph on Audible. Anything else? What else?

Bree Klauser:

Yeah. I gave you my social media handle. My website is breeklauser.com. And yes, the film, again, is, Service: A Dog-umentary. Find it on the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, go to eastersealsdisabilityfilmchallenge.com, and they should have the YouTube video there and like, share, comment, tell the world, we have all blind, low vision, awesome team. Never been done before, I'm pretty sure.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Awesome. Can't wait to check that out.

Will Butler:

Amazing.

Bree Klauser:

Thank you so much for having me on here. I hope to be back in the future.

Caroline Desrosiers:

Yay, Bree!

Will Butler:

Absolutely. Please come back. I'm sure we have not seen the last of you. And you, like everyone else, can always just send us an email at hello@saymymeme.com, whether it's a voice memo or a request for a particular meme, we will have it on the podcast. So, thank you so much again, Bree Klauser.

Bree Klauser:

Thank you.

Will Butler:

And we'll see you all next week.

Bree Klauser:

Bye.

Will Butler:

Do you want to be on the Say My Meme Podcast? Send us an email at hello@saymymeme.com.

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