Megan Sass really liked making a girl or two laugh
Megan Sass is a comedian, writer, and educator. Their projects include the television comedy pilot Bible Park (ISA Table Read My Screenplay Comedy Genre winner), the stage musical The Mad Scientist’s Guide To Romance, Robots, and Soul-Crushing Loneliness (TimeOutNY NYC Fringe Critic’s Pick), the sci-fi short film 387 (Scriptation Features + Shorts Grand Prize Winner 2023), and In the Middle (Coverfly Red List #1 Stageplay early December 2023). They have written for The NBC Diversity Showcase, Reductress, Heeb Magazine, and Spoiled Media. Their comedy sketches have been featured on College Humor, Gothamist.com, and Playboy.com.
Insta: Megan_Sass
What were you like as a teen?
I was funny, but I didn’t necessarily know I was funny. It wasn’t until my best friends left for college that I started deliberately making classmates laugh. There was a girl or two I REALLY liked making laugh, though I didn’t yet understand why . . .
Did you have an un-sexy starter job?
I think I’m still doing it? It’s always a hustle. I write copy and teach Hebrew school.
How have skills from non-production jobs transferred into your producing jobs?
Oh damn. Most of them? Working as a teacher and working as a producer have a lot of interchangeable skills; improvisation, scheduling, people-management, sense of humour, etc.
Best comedy or producing advice you ever got?
“Write a pilot.”
Worst comedy or producing advice you ever got?
“Have you taken classes at UCB?” (This isn’t inherently bad advice, but I’ve gotten it in meetings where a script won a contest. At that point, YES, I had obviously taken classes!)
How has being funny helped you in your life?
I’m a redhead. I have three separate auto-immune disorders. I was a Jew growing up in Ohio. Growing up, I learned to make fun of myself and laugh before others could. Now, humor is a consistent coping mechanism.
How do you as a producer approach bringing out the comedy in a project?
If it’s a comedy-specific project, it’s just trusting the material and the talent. I don’t think it’s about pulling out the comedy, so much as getting out of the way and letting it manifest.
Was there a person who inspired you to go into comedy?
One person? Not really. I was inspired by a lot of the sketch comedy I was watching online, and feeling dejected as an actor. I was frustrated working as a “serious actor,” especially in how “my look” was received. Comedy is also the natural wedding of writing and performance; before I went into sketch and musical stand-up, I did them separately. Comedy was the inevitable next step.
What is your go-to show?
The Simpsons. I’ve been watching just about every day since March 2020.
What single word always cracks you up?
(*sound effect*) ffffffffrt
