Today we’d like to introduce you to Maggie Scudder.

Hi Maggie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

When I moved to New York after college, I underestimated the time and work it would take to get to this point in my career. However unconventional my path has been, I’m glad I took the weird way. The direct path is not always the fastest or best way to your goals. I’m lucky (and proud) to be in a place where I can support myself solely from my work in comedy/entertainment. But it didn’t happen overnight!

I’m a comedy writer, director, performer, and producer. I’m also (primarily) a screenwriter with multiple pilots in development.

I’m the co-creator (with Ana Breton), writer, and star of a new web series about NYC’s new Rat Czar. Rat Czar is directed by four-time Emmy-nominee Ana Breton, and the show features cameos by Rachel Dratch (SNL), Ashley Nicole Black (Black Lady Sketch Show, Ted Lasso, Shrinking), Ophira Eisenberg (NPR), and Countess Luann de Lesseps (Real Housewives of New York). After winning numerous awards and being featured in festivals across the country, a full-length version of Rat Czar is currently being shopped to networks and production companies.

My award-winning pilot script, The GOAT, is being developed with Emmy and Peabody-winner Ryan Cunningham (Search Party, Broad City). The GOAT is a half-hour comedy based on real New York City folk heroes.

As a director, my work includes BFF4L featuring Janeane Garofalo, Mutually Beneficial Union featuring Keisha Zollar, and PRESSED: A live sketch show (Brooklyn Comedy Collective, NYC Sketchfest, The PIT, iO Chicago, DC Sketchfest).

I’ve performed in and produced sold-out sketch and variety shows at The PIT (NYC), Improv Olympic (Chicago), Chicago Sketchfest, Chicago Women’s Funny Festival, Stage 773, Brooklyn Comedy Collective, NYC Sketchfest, The Clubhouse (LA), and DC Sketchfest. My sketch team, Dallallas, performed at 2024’s prestigious New York Comedy Festival and regularly performs at Caveat Theater.

I’m also the Content Lead, Sketch Instructor, and advisor for Digital Teams at GOLD Comedy—the online comedy school, content studio, and career network for women and nonbinary folks.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

Bumpy roads make for better stories! That’s what I try to remind myself, at least. When I moved to New York City, I only had an unpaid internship at a Literary Agency. I slept on a pull-out couch in my cousin’s basement for my entire first year in the city. Eventually, I found a “bread and butter gig” that allowed me to make enough money to move into an apartment. But, balancing a retail job and entertainment dreams was no walk in the park. After spending every day serving others at work, it was hard to rally enough emotional and physical energy to write anything! All to say, I felt like shit at the time, but looking back…these are the months that shaped me into a funnier, stronger, and more resilient person. Being a funnier, stronger, more resilient person has made me a better writer, a more committed comedian. Creating a career with longevity can feel impossible–especially in this industry–but it is crucial.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

My most recent work has revitalized my creativity! Rat Czar is a web series that I co-created, wrote, and starred in. Every part of the process, from ideation to literally watching on the big screen, has been fun and ridiculous and endlessly rewarding. Not only was I able to work closely with comedy powerhouses like Rachel Dratch and Ashley Nicole Black, I was also able to go deep with my collaborators and co-EPs, Ana Breton and Jake Huff. The nitty gritty is what I love. When I’m teaching, I often describe the development process like making meatballs–you have to really “get your hands in the meat.”

Building a show from scratch, writing and rewriting it, and being such a large part of its making—Rat Czar was a literal dream come true.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.

Comedy is all about risk-taking. You don’t need to be making “edgy” comedy or punching down for it to be a risk! Comedy is well-known as harder than Drama, and one reason for this is the idea that comedy has one ultimate goal–to make you laugh. If you can’t do this, your comedy isn’t successful! But, drama doesn’t have the same narrow requirements. There is a rigorousness to comedy akin to climbing a mountain. It’s risky! That’s what makes it fun and addicting; it’s what compels you to go for the next laugh.

Pricing:

• I offer script doctoring and development assistance on a sliding scale.
• Join my sketch and web series classes by joining the GOLD Comedy club, only $499/year (all classes included).

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maggiescudder.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maggiescudder/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OfficialRatCzar
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/officialratczar/