Today we’d like to introduce you to Raye Schiller.
Hi Raye, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to rip toilet paper on Saturdays. I was raised in a strict Orthodox Jewish community in Queens, New York. When I left the community and came out as queer and genderfluid in college, I was lost. It was through writing and comedy (and a lot of therapy) that I was able to express and find myself and an incredible community of people with similar struggles.
Ironically, I started my artistic journey when I was getting a master’s in computer science. It was January 2020 and a friend of mine at school heard my story and nonchalantly said “That should be a TV show”. I laughed him off, but the idea took hold of me and afterwards I couldn’t stop dreaming about it.
During lockdown, I taught myself screenwriting and wrote a semi-autobiographical pilot called Out Again. It was a finalist in the WeScreenplay Diverse Voices competition and is in the top 8% of projects on CoverFly.
I loved screenwriting but wanted more immediate creative feedback, and there’s no place better to do that than humiliating yourself on stage. So I started standup comedy. After spending so much time in guilt and shame of a religious upbringing, I love that in standup, the “embarrassing” parts of you are meant to be fully out in the open.
These days I’m a standup comedian and screenwriter. I also work as a software engineer where I use my creative skills to build apps for a progressive political data company.
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?
Coming out of the Orthodox community and coming out as queer were two of the hardest things I’ve done. I spent so much time shrouded in secrecy, living a double life, embarrassed of who I am. Now in standup and writing, I get to express the dirty, messy, normally hidden parts of myself and I am loving it!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I perform standups all over the US and the world! I’ve performed in top comedy clubs in NY and LA like the Hollywood Improv, Comedy Store, and Broadway Comedy Club and internationally in Rome, Paris, Lisbon, Tel Aviv, and Peru!
I’m shopping around my pilot Out Again with my producer Melissa Weisz. I also have another pilot in the works about a Jewish family and zombies, like Stranger Things meets Unorthodox.
I co-produce and host a few comedy shows in LA, including the Schmoozy Boozy Show with Maddie Ogden and Izzi Cavotta and Birdhouse with Teresa Lee and Tom Thakkar.
I have a podcast called Yenta! (gossip in Yiddish) where I interview my creator friends and get all their juicy secrets – don’t listen! I talk about being queer, Jewish life, and comedy. Shout out to co-host Jack Brenner and producer Jett Fink.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I wanna be the kind of artist who people say “You haven’t seen anything like them before.” I wanna be the kind of comedian who has an opinion, who says things people are scared to say about gender, religion, tech and politics. I don’t just want to be funny, I want to make an impact on my community. I want to bring meaning to people’s lives. I don’t just want to make people laugh, I want to make them feel something deep too. Also, a couple of mansions in the Hollywood Hills would be nice.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rayeschiller.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rayeontheway/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rayeontheway
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rayeontheway
Image Credits
Bud Bryan https://www.instagram.com/budbryan/ JT Anderson https://www.instagram.com/jtcanshoot
