Jane Lynch serves ups laughs in 'Party Down'

In it, she plays Constance, a middle-aged slacker who is totally happy working as a cater-waiter.

"She fancies herself an aspiring actress, but when it comes right down to it she's really happy catering," Lynch told me recently. "These are her family members; this is her life and she enjoys it. She kind of lives in a soft cotton place; she doesn't have any ambition or any desire to be anywhere else than where she is."

Constance also fancies herself a contemporary of her 20-something co-workers. In Friday's episode, called "Peppers McMasters Singles Seminar," she and Kyle (Ryan Hansen, right) share a nasty exchange--I'll never think a tube sock as just a tube sock again--after being disgusted by flirting elderly singles. It turns out Constance used to date one of those singles.

The comedy, from "Veronica Mars" creator Rob Thomas and actor Paul Rudd, follows Constance and her Party Down caterer co-workers--most of whom want to break into show business--as they stumble and fumble through jobs while waiting for their big breaks. It's a pretty accurate portrait of the life of a young actor, Lynch says.

"I swapped stories with people in the cast and we've all done--if not catering--we've worked at restaurants and in the service industry," Lynch said, adding that when she appeared in Chicago theater she also worked as a temp, a waitress and a receptionist.

Even now, she keeps busy, which is evident in her long list of credits.

"I love this going job to job," she said. "I could use more [of] Constance."

Lynch and I chatted more about Constance, "Party Down" and Lynch's "humble beginnings" in Chicago.

In the April 3 episode of "Party Down," Jane Lynch's Constance can't stand being near the older singles. Starz photos

Constance always tells war stories of working with great actors. Did she really get advice from people like Gene Hackman?

She was probably an extra ... [Gene Hackman] probably did say, "You need to be committed," because she did something ridiculous. She read it as being an acting note. She was maybe a featured extra. She spent a lot of time in bathing suits and tight jumpsuits. She was the cute girl in the background.

Your scene with Ryan Hansen in the episode called "Peppers McMasters Singles Seminar" is very funny, and disgusting. Was that scene improved?

That's the brilliance of [writer] John Embom. He wrote every script. We improvise a line here and there, but it was all on the page. He's a great writer and he really wrote specifically for each of us so well. He really had our rhythms down; he has a great ear. I know he was exhausted by the end of it because he did 10 episodes and he was on set every day.

What kind of early jobs did you have while starting out?

When I was in Chicago I was a waitress at RJ Grunts. I also worked at Kaplan Realty; I was a receptionist there. I did temp work. In fact, I got the Kaplan Realty through a temp job and they just asked me to stay on. But I did a lot of going downtown and working in an office for a week and learning their switchboard. For some reason I kind of instinctively knew how to do the switchboard; that was my gift. If you could do the switchboard there was always work for you.

I worked for a temp agency--Loftus & O'Meara [Temporary] it was called. You picked up your check every Friday. They wrote you a check and there was always a big bowl of candy. Tons of actors would pick up their checks on Friday and then you call Monday morning, "Do you have anything?" And they'd say "No, call again tomorrow" or [assign you something.]

I saw you in "The Real Live Brady Bunch" in Chicago in 1991. Did you do improv in Chicago?

I did Second City touring company, which was all sketch comedy. I developed a love for sketch comedy; I just love doing it. We really didn't do improv and I was always scared to death of it. We would do little games every show and that was the worst part of it for me.

I saw "Waiting for Guffman" and knew I wanted to work that way. I got lucky enough to get on Christopher Guest's radar. I did a commercial with him where we got to improvise ... It's not a jump to the joke improv, it's really situational and character driven. And I love that stuff. I think that's where all the juice is. You kind of decide ahead who you are and what the person's psychological makeup is and then you just improvise form that.

I did a lot of guerrilla theater in Chicago where you have a week to put up a show. You have to focus on all aspects of it--get the theater, design the fliers, paint the lobby.

You worked in Chicago theater for a long time, right?

I was born and raised there and when I came back from college it was 1984. I left for good in 1992. ... I came back for a year and did "The Fugitive" and a play at Steppenwolf. Then I went back to LA for good.

Was "The Fugitive" your first movie?

"Vice Versa" was my first movie--actually a thing called "Taxi Killers" before that. [Laughs.] An Italian film company came through town. It was with Chuck Connors. It left town before paying us.

To what do you attribute your success?

I think I'm to modest to attribute my success to anything. A friend of mine is a painter and her instructor said to her: I care not for the most talented person in the class. I care only for the most persistent, the one who won't stop. And that's kind of who I've been. I just didn't stop. Not that I didn't get discouraged, you know, I'll never make money at this and people don't get me. Those angsty things that an artist goes through. I had something in me that just kept going and moved on to the next thing. I just got back up and shook myself off and went to the next thing.

Do you still go on auditions?

I try not to Curt. I really do. I'm tired and I'm old and I love this going job to job. ... I have to sometimes, but it's still kind of impossible for me to say no. Because what if? That's kind of one of my goals to let all that go. I keep busy.