GEOFF BENNETT: Actor and comedian Lyric Lewis says she discovered her love of performance through improv.

In tonight's Brief But Spectacular, she reflects on finding her authentic voice in comedy.

LYRIC LEWIS, Actor and Comedian: My favorite thing about improv is, oh, it feels like playing as an adult.

The instant gratification of audience laughter, there's truly nothing like it.

It's just a launching point to really take off and have fun.

So I'm originally from New Orleans, Louisiana.

My mom's side is from the Lower Ninth.

My dad's side is from the 17th Ward.

As a kid, they called me Motormouth because I literally would never stop talking.

The basic rules of improv, for anybody, but especially for a beginner, it's really to yes/and.

And it's to try not to be funny.

I think the worst thing that can happen during an improv performance is becoming self-aware.

Improv, like acting, is just reacting.

When I was coming up, especially in, like, junior high, high school, and college, I have seen these women's career, Maya Rudolph, Jennifer Coolidge, Cheri Oteri, even Will Ferrell.

They all had The Groundlings in common.

I'm like, I want to go where these people who I idolize, where they got sharp.

Coming from a theatrical background and the drama department at Syracuse, it isn't, like, super, super diverse.

I was kind of used to at that point being one of in a classroom setting, but still, at The Groundlings, it was very interesting that at first I was just doing the classes and I was just getting my training on.

And it wasn't until I got into writing lab.

My teacher was Karen Maruyama.

I was writing monologues and I had this thing where I was like, I will not be a stereotype.

And Karen was so great and delicate about being like, look on the wall and how many people on that wall that are in the main company look like you.

So I went and looked and it was none at that time.

And she was like, why, when you have a chance to write for yourself, and to give a voice not only to yourself, but she was like, to your cousin, to your aunts, to your family, why not give them a seat at the table by writing from every pocket or perspective that you have?

So when I got voted into the main company, there had not been a Black person in the main company for 16 years.

I was like students need to see a representation of everything on the stage and every student needs to see it.

The oddest reaction, this was the summer of 2019.

So this is when at Disney first announced that they were doing the live action "Little Mermaid," but that it was going to be Halle Bailey.

And the outrage that people had on social media, because they were like, how, how can a mermaid be of color?

And so I did a sketch where I was literally a mermaid.

The whole sketch, I'm like, my name is Alcorella (ph).

I'm from the like the NAACP sector of the mermaids under the sea.

And I literally am like, who's mad?

And I had one woman once that was like in the second row, she went, I'm mad.

She was like, well, what -- I don't know what to do now with the dolls.

Ain't nowhere in nobody's song that she say, kiss the little white mermaid that has red hair.

It's just kiss the girl, girl.

My name is Lyric Lewis.

And this is my Brief But Spectacular take on how life is play, because it is.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, you can watch more Brief But Spectacular videos online at PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.