Interview: Creator Susan Sassi Gives a Classic Comic Strip Character a Feminist Overhaul

Creator and actress Susan Sassi gives a feminist overhaul to the beloved (but outdated) classic comic strip character Cathy in two seasons of her live-action parody web series, Cathy in Real Life.

Originally from South Jersey, Susan first started making people laugh at a young age. She went on to develop her writing skills at UCB LA, iO West, Second City and Writing Machine. She was a writer for CBS’s respected Diversity Showcase and has gained recognition in numerous industry writing contests, including New Voices, CineStory, ScreenCraft, Stage 32 and Austin Film Fest. She wrote and produced the musical, Victorian Courting and Zombies, a hit at the LA Fringe Fest followed by runs at UCB and iO West.

More recently, Susan was inspired to bring Cathy Guisewite’s iconic daily comic strip cartoon character Cathy to life in her parody web series Cathy in Real Life. For those who might not remember the character – look her up. Cathy was revered by millions of loyal fans on a daily basis, until she wasn’t. Now, Susan has armed Cathy with a new feminist attitude and a fresh image as she takes on Hollywood and attempts a comeback. Susan first has gained attention on the festival circuit with screenings at Dances with Films, IFS Film Festival, CineFest, LA Comedy Fest, IndieWise Film Fest and WRPN.TV’s Shorts Festival; and is currently receiving attention for the release of the second season on YouTube.

indieactivity : How did you get into the business?
Susan Sassi : I was born into it, baby!! Actually, I’ve been doing Musical Theatre since I was in middle school. A lot of people will never know this about me, but I made one heck of an adorable Paddington Bear. I’ve been in entertainment as far as I can remember. I started getting into film and video writing and producing when I wanted to start creating my own work.

indieactivity : What made you want to create your own projects?
Susan Sassi : Boredom! Oh my gosh, so much boredom! I always have to be doing something. Sometimes I’m doing too many somethings and getting myself in trouble. When I was a child, I would always complain about being bored. In response, my dad would always tell me to go bang my head against the wall and then laugh. But the jokes on him. I did bang my head, and then I went and did the things all parents dread, I became an artist. Take that, Dad!

Acting is a lot of sitting around and waiting and very little actually doing the craft. Creating your own projects gives you the ability to take charge of your career a bit more. You don’t have to wait for someone to grant you permission to be on stage or perform a roll. You give yourself permission. You spend less time waiting and more time doing, and you get to do what you want, not something you don’t like but have to do because you need the money. All of this makes it so much more creatively fulfilling.

indieactivity : Briefly explain your web series ‘Cathy in Real Life’?
Susan Sassi : It’s a bunch of ridiculousness! It’s a live-action parody of the classic Cathy comic strip from the 80s. The concept is Cathy’s cartoon was canceled due to her being outdated and offensive, so now she’s updated her image to make her big comeback. Cathy is a lovable idiot, a joke to herself and others, so once in a while when she drops a truth bomb it’s extra surprising, and fun to prove just because someone is silly doesn’t mean they are stupid.

indieactivity : Where did you discover the idea?
Susan Sassi : In my bedroom. I’m pretty sure I was sitting at my desk in my bedroom brainstorming ideas. I wanted to do a web series because it was something new and seemed as though it would be the least expensive option since online it doesn’t have to be as high quality in the technical department as film and its less time consuming than Theatre. I also wanted to act in it. So, first I thought, who do I look like? I usually get Peppermint Patty, but Cathy was in the Zeitgeist at the time, and I thought I kind of looked like her.

As I was researching online, I was surprised to find a lot of women hate Cathy, because she is a terrible role model for women. If you take her cartoon out of context of the time period and look at it from the point of view of modern society, you can see how it is outdated, and you can spot some female stereotypes. But Cathy was also the first cartoon ever to feature a single working-woman, and she wasn’t a secretary, but a VP of a marketing company. So, I wanted to give it some perspective and remind people that really, the most feminist thing we can do is just to let women be who they are without judgment.

indieactivity : What were the first steps you took to make it happen?
Susan Sassi : The first steps I took were the ones out my door and into a writing class. I didn’t have a lot of TV or film writing training back then, just sketch comedy. So, the first step was to take a web series writing class. The teacher and the other students were really excited and encouraging of my idea, which made me excited to move forward. When the scripts for season one were finished, I had a table read for all of my comedy writer friends. Again, the majority of the feedback was positive. And those who loved it, really loved it. After that, I felt so excited I just knew it was time to produce it, so I began the fundraising.

indieactivity : Did you feel the need to change anything before shooting Season 2?
Susan Sassi : Yes, for the second time around, I wanted an actual crew, a director, and a production coordinator. I tried to do the first one as small scale as possible to save money, but it was still overwhelming to do it all by myself. The second time around, I wanted to do more in terms of the set deck. I couldn’t afford a set deck person, but we did have a budget and a creative crew going above and beyond to make what we needed. They did such a fantastic job. It blew me away and touched my heart to see people believe and care about something I wrote, so much that they worked so hard, without being asked, to make it as amazing as possible.

indieactivity : Anything you wish you could “do-over” on the project?
Susan Sassi : Yes, of course. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, but my foresight needs bifocals. I would have auditioned the actors and interviewed the crew instead of just hiring my friends without auditioning/ interviewing them first. Don’t get me wrong; all of my friends are talented and professional. The thing is, you want to set the tone for everyone that they are working with a professional, not just their friend. When you are with your friend, you can’t help but feel like you are hanging out and things are a lot more loosey-goosey.

Also, when you produce a project, it’s like you are in a relationship with everyone involved and taking the time for both parties to communicate their needs and set expectations are essential. I can’t believe I just compared it to being in a relationship. Everyone uses relationships as a comparison to things and I’m like relationships aren’t any easier to understand than the thing you are describing, buddy.

Another thing, I would have taken more time to research the fundraising process and commit to doing it correctly. Fundraising is a full-time job, and you have to give it 100% focus and energy. Also, I felt awful asking people for money. I’ve tried my best changing my mindset around this, but it isn’t easy. I hope everyone who donated is as happy as I am with the project and feel they made a good investment in me as an artist. Still, I’m incredibly thrilled with what we were able to accomplish given what we had.

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