Kathryn Hahn tells Amy Poehler what motivated her ‘Parks and Rec’ ‘poncho’ moment

“It’s like Batman’s cape,” Amy Poehler said about the child protective poncho Kathryn Hahn‘s character Jen Barkley wore in a memorable episode of Parks and Recreation.

Hahn was a recent guest on Good Hang With Amy Poehler, a new weekly podcast in which Poehler chats up her entertaining chums. (This is just episode 6; previous guests include Martin Short, Quinta Brunson, and Rashida Jones. It will not surprise you to learn that Amy’s BFF Tina Fey was on the premiere.)

During the episode, Poehler explained how Hahn, whose character Jen was an all-business Washington, D.C., insider, is someone who really loves to laugh.

“If someone’s gonna break,” Hahn added, “it’s this professional right here.”

In fact, improvising and “going harder” in a scene, as Hahn puts it, is her survival technique to keep from ruining a take with laughter.

This philosophy — which seems to have done her right all these years — is what motivated a much celebrated ad-lib during the season 7 episode, “Pie-Mary.”

Hahn sets it up nicely, explaining how her character Jen, who is “not into children at all,” visited the home where Poehler and Adam Scott’s characters had chaotic kids running around.

“I wore a plastic poncho so that I wouldn’t get any sticky fingers or crap all over me.”

One of the tykes blazes by with a paintbrush, and in one of the takes, “just to make you guys laugh,” she did a runway-esque spin to show off her smart defense — and blurted out “poncho!”

“I didn’t have any idea it was going to be anything. I just swung my arms and said ‘poncho! Poncho!’ and it really has become a thing. That was the best — just wanting to make you guys laugh.”

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The gals leaned into the “poncho” fun further with a promo for the podcast episode, made even more likable because they kinda screwed up the timing a little bit.

Star of the recent Disney+ hit Agatha All Along and current Apple TV+ sensation The Studio, as well as zany classics like Step Brothers, We’re the Millers, and Bad Moms, Hahn made 10 appearances across Parks and Rec‘s 7 seasons.

Although when Poehler asked her to guess the number of episodes she appeared in, Hahn spitballed “between 7 and 13.” Being not incorrect was received as a bit of a triumph for both women, who cheered and giggled, leading Poehler to snort-laugh a little bit.

Watch the full episode of Hahn’s appearance on Good Hang With Amy Poehler, below.