Caileigh Scott and Jacklyn Collier of ‘Girlcrush’ Are the Comedy Duo We Need

{Image Credit: Sub/Urban Photography © 2017}

When two incredibly funny people get together, crazy things happen — like, ridiculous sketches, hilarious podcasts and uniquely genuine storytelling. But when two incredibly funny women get together, it’s an inimitable, refreshing experience with a perspective on humor this post-election world badly needs.

From Lucy and Ethel to Fey and Poehler, like the great comedy duos that have come before them, Girlcrush Comedy’s Caileigh Scott and Jacklyn Collier are one of the hottest comedic acts you need to know about today — and for good reason.

With a presidency that sets equality back decades and tyrannizes Americans with its consistent nature of negative rhetoric, Girlcrush Comedy is a smart, witty sketch series exploring feminism and sexual fluidity.

Born in large part from the on-going journey of Scott and Collier processing November’s U.S. election results, Girlcrush Comedy is something the two life-long friends felt was part of an important dialogue to have.

“One of the things that got us through in the immediate aftermath and continue to keep us going is great comedy and commentary,” they said. “SNL did some truly incredibly social commentary this past season [or] even someone like Rachel Maddow who isn’t a comedian, but digests current events for us and explains them in a way that is informative, [and] also humorous.”

{Image Credit: Sub/Urban Photography © 2017}

Some of that commentary has been around the F-word — “feminism.” For years, it’s been grossly misconstrued by the masses. But as Scott and Collier put it simply, it’s the idea that women are people and people are equal to men. With that basic comprehension, it’s hard to understand why millions are still inwardly and outwardly unsupportive of the idea.

“Living in a country that elected a man — who has not just admitted to, but in fact bragged about, sexual assault — to the highest office in government, makes feminism absolutely vital,” they collaboratively shared.

The two go on to share how feminism also imagines how men should be able to express their emotions in healthy ways without fear of judgement by society, nor face criticism for not being “manly,” adding that “feminism truly benefits everyone.”

With Girlcrush Comedy exploring those very benefits through its two quick-witted leads, the sketch series finds Kit (Scott) and Jen (Collier) slowly realizing their “girl crushes” on other women might actually be a lot more meaningful than just an innocent admiration. But whether it’s self-discovery or just some post-election dabbling, viewers will have to wait until the two start shooting new episodes this July.

“We’re currently revising scripts,” Scott says. “Jacklyn was on tour with a show this spring, so we were able to write together long-distance… we knew we’d be using the summer to shoot more content.”

Scott and Collier, who openly share they have a “co-dependent friendship” and “bicker like sisters,” tend to complement each other’s strengths really well when it comes to collaborating for their inspiring web series.

“One of us will throw an idea out there and we’ll riff and build upon it,” they revealed. “We do have slightly different styles when it comes to approaching work, but luckily for us it works really well and allows us to both stay focused with the freedom to spontaneously create something new and wonderful.”

{Image Credit: Sub/Urban Photography © 2017}

With a sketch series that lampoons the idea of what “girl crushes” are to the masses and picks up with sharply clever, witty commentary, the two disclose that while their sense of humor is similar, it’s their personalities within that sense of humor that differ.

“We’re both very self-aware if an idea hasn’t quite taken shape, loses its way a bit, or if a sketch is lacking a button,” they said. “We have an extremely symbiotic relationship.”

Drawing their influences from the landmark sitcom, I Love Lucy, Scott and Collier share that the friendship they witnessed between Lucy and Ethel was the heart and soul of the show’s appeal and humor.

“They were so alike, but so different at the same time, balancing each other perfectly,” Scott and Collier said. “They disagreed and bickered and even fought, but when it came down to it, there was nothing toxic about their friendship.”

As the two share, so often in pop culture we are seeing female friendships portrayed through the lens of a male’s opinion — catty, bitchy, underhanded and with ulterior motives — but it has the potential for a lot more fulfillment.

“Certainly some friendships are unhealthy, but in our experience the friendships between women are the strongest and healthiest in our lives,” they said.

The two plan to shoot in New York, the city in which they reside because as they put it, they “just don’t understand life anywhere else.”

“We’re lucky to live in a city that not only allows for people to explore who and what they are, but encourage it and sometimes, even demands it,” they said. “New York is a place where you can live and be, where no one really feels the need to label you.”

{Image Credit: Sub/Urban Photography © 2017}

The two go on to share that while learning improv, they learned the fundamental rule of “yes and,” which simply means you accept what is given to you and in that, material is born.

“Everything we write is based on real things that have happened to us,” they reveal. “We love being in a diverse city where you’re faced with such a wide range of the human experience every moment, of every day.”

Aside from shooting this summer in one of the most welcoming cities in the world, the creative comedy duo are also planning a Planned Parenthood benefit later this month at the famed nightclub, Don’t Tell Mama, a hotspot named after the song of the same name from the 1972 film, Cabaret.

Scott reveals the idea for the benefit came from her last visit at the PPNYC and just hours after Vice President Mike Pence was the tiebreaker in the Senate, blocking access to women’s health.

“Jackie texted me…furious,” Scott said. “I suggested we somehow channel our rage into creativity, and a mere hour later [she] pitched the benefit idea to me. She basically had me at ‘Planned Parenthood.’”

Collier says the benefit, Girlcrush Comedy Presents: Broadway Babes For Planned Parenthood promises to be a fun evening with an incredible roster of talented women, both onstage and in the audience, adding, “men are of course encouraged to attend, too!”

“Aside from wanting to be creative and raise money for an amazing cause, I’m also really passionate about expanding our community of women,” Collier said. “After the election, one of the only things getting me through has been seeing women in my life, whether on social media or in person, speak out and be active.”

Collier says she hopes to connect with as many of them as possible, so that more women are surrounded by like-minded females who will support and lift them up, an idea Scott wholeheartedly agrees with.

“Women are often seen as competing with each other, which I think comes from a sense of there not being enough seats at the table,” Scott said. “We both firmly believe that when you take your seat at the table, you pull up other chairs and make room for more women.”

Scott goes on to add that their hope for the benefit is that in a room full of women uniting to protect reproductive health care access, the opportunity for meaningful, supportive relationships will be born and deepened.

Collier adds that tickets are just $10 simply because it’s important to the two of them that the event be accessible to everyone in the local artistic community.

“The arts are crucial right now,” Scott said. “We didn’t want to leave artists out of an experience that would mean something to them.”

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For more information on Girlcrush Comedy, follow them on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. And head to Twitter to follow the series’ stars, Caileigh Scott and Jacklyn Collier.