A queer nightlife performer struggles to balance artistic freedom with commercial success in NYC's underground performance scene in the early 2000's.
Whiskey Riot, New York’s go-to nightlife MISTRESS OF CEREMONIES, presides over everyone’s favorite dive bar on the eve of the millennium. One of her fans, Frankie, invites Whiskey to perform at a fancy club called Picoler. Whiskey declines despite her best friend Oysters Rockefeller (aka The Rock) insisting that Picoler is the hottest burlesque spot in town. The next day, Whiskey finds her beloved dive bar “closed for renovation to meet city ordinances.” Someone tattled on them last night for having more than three people dancing at a time without a cabaret license so Giuliani’s “fun police” shut them down. With nowhere else to go, Whiskey agrees to give Picoler a whirl. In need of a costume more upscale than edible underpants, he borrows a gown from her estranged mother and golden-era burlesque performer, Ginger Jameson. At Picoler, Whiskey discovers Frankie has posed as her “manager” to get her the gig. Frustrated by Frankie and Rock trying to tell her what to do, Whiskey gets wildly drunk onstage, in a performance that leaves everyone fiercely impressed.
SCOUT DURWOOD is a cabaret comedian turned writer/director known for her high octane music and visual narratives. Her debut comedy music album, TAKE ONE THING OFF, was released with Blue Élan Records along with a twenty-two episode digital series of the same name, written and directed by Scout. The series amassed over 280k views on YouTube and was nominated for Best Indie Series at the 2019 Streamy Awards. Since making her directorial debut with TAKE ONE THING OFF, Scout has developed a signature style of brightly colored, queerly irreverent, and fearless content.
In 2020 and 2021, Scout released a duo of EP’s, COMEDY ELECTRONICA VOL. 1 and 2. That music became the foundation for Scout’s feature length visual album, YOUTOPIA which premiered at Outfest 2022 where it was the runner up for The Grand Jury Prize for Best North American Feature.
Durwood turned heads as a main character on MTV’s 2016 breakout MARY + JANE, executive produced by Snoop Dogg. The Hollywood Reporter claimed, “Durwood commits with gusto,” Vogue called her, “Brazen, brass,” and The Los Angeles Times lauded the series’, “sharp satirical observations about stoner culture, celebrity, the Silver Lake lifestyle, and female friendships.”
Scout started her career in NYC where she was a staple in the cabaret, burlesque, and queer nightlife scenes. Both she and her live shows were nominated for numerous awards including Huffington Post’s 20 Burlesquers to Know and GO! Magazine’s emcee of the year.
Born and raised in Kansas City, Scout is a graduate of Amherst College where she received cum laude honors for her thesis project, a one woman show about power hierarchies in porn. Scout starred as one of six “comedians to watch” in the Oxygen series, FUNNY GIRLS, and later worked as a staff writer for oxygen.com. In 2020, Scout sold her first scripted pilot to Freeform TV with EP Gabrielle Union and director Cheryl Dunye attached. The series centered on post-monogamous queer relationships in all of their many forms.
As an actor, Scout has appeared on The Mindy Project, House of Lies, Hollywood Darlings, Friendsgiving, and more.
In 2023, Scout released A SCOUT DURWOOD CHRISTMAS to much critical acclaim. Her thirty minute comedy special is available in the Epix series, UNPROTECTED SETS. Scout is currently the mistress of ceremonies and head writer for Spiegelworld’s adult themed circus show, THE HOOK. www.scoutdurwood.com
