Help Us Make A Pilot For Our Musical Web Series

Project 2014-10-17 10:22:18 +1300

A Long Way From Broadway is a short form narrative series that is being made for the Internet. It is a web series that tells the story of a small town New Zealand musical theatre society. Each episode will center around a Musical number that celebrates what it is to participate in musical theatre.

In order to make the show we are making a pilot episode as part of an application for New Zealand On Air Digital Media funding. We are making the pilot in order to prove to NZ on Air and potential investors that we have what it takes to produce an original musical theatre web series for the internet, right here at home in Christchurch…where we know there is a wealth of talent for this genre! 

The Pilot Episode: ‘I Can’t - I Have Rehearsal’

 ‘I Can’t - I Have Rehearsal’ is a musical number which will introduce an ensemble of characters for the series as well as the premise for the show. This is a society of musical theatre enthusiasts who will sacrifice anything (even their best friend’s wedding!) to make rehearsal. Our opening sequence introduces us to our protagonist in a scene that references ‘The Sound Of Music’s’ ‘Maria’ spinning her arms around in the hills (on the family farm) singing about how happy she is because she ‘can’t’- she has rehearsal. 

Have a listen to an excerpt of the song as it currently stands right here: Soundcloud
This is a demo to give you an idea... and Julian and Amy are currently singing all the lead and chorus roles.

Our Vision for the Show: A Transmedia Show

Our show won’t just be a web series, we are planning on telling a story that will span multiple platforms, genres, styles and mediums, whilst interacting with an online audience who will play a key role in its creation. That’s called “Transmedia” - and we can’t wait to get into it. Our strategy involves four separate styles of online media…

The Episodes. – At the center of our transmedia experience will be the episodes. There will be 6-8 episodes, each centered around a musical number. They provide the bulk of our story telling. A single episode could be anywhere from 3-6 minutes long

One Shots – complementing the episodes of the show will be a dozen or so small one-scene videos that capture a slice of life from the world of the show. We would aim to make these 2-3minutes long each

Skit videos - These videos are going to be even shorter than the episodes or one-shots. They will be a fun way of exploring the world of the show without being bound to the same rules that the episodes and one-shots are built upon. 

Memes & other Internet Media – Memes, Photos, Vines, Facebook videos, character blogs and more! 

The Team. (So Far) 

We have been working on this for a while now, we are also talking to many other great people in Christchurch (and wider new Zealand!) We can't wait to collaborate with the talent here in Canterbury. The core team so far is:

Amy Bowie – Songwriter/Writer/Producer 

Amy holds an Honours degree in Theatre and Film Studies and has been involved with musical theatre from a young age. Her most recent lead role was ‘Johanna’ in ‘Sweeney Todd.’ She has also had some significant successes with her songwriting, including performing her original work with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, in Coca-Cola Christmas In The Park and having a song licensed to the National TV ad campaign for KidsCan Charitable Trust. As a performer, she currently sings with a theatrical, french-themed accordion/bass/vox trio.

For more info visit www.amybowie.com

Rowan Strang – Director/Producer

Rowan holds a Bachelor of Broadcasting Communications (specialising in film and television) and has also been making film and online video content for 8 years now. Rowan’s YouTube channel Strang Entertainment boasts 21 thousand subscribers with over 24 million video views. Rowan loves musical theatre but hasn’t performed on stage since high school when he played the lead role of Henry Tudor…

For more info visit www.strangentertainment.com 

Julian Hay – Songwriter/Composer/Musical Director/Producer 

Julian has a DipABRSM and a double degree in Music (Majoring in Composition) and Political Science. He is a full-time music tutor at Vision College. In his previous role as CREATE School of Arts Assistant Principal he scored and directed a number of original musical shows. In 2011 he released his debut album 'Counting Afternoons', and in 2013 completed his innovative 'DIY Music Project' in which he released a new song and video online every month.

For more info visit www.julianhay.com

Cameron Mason – Choreographer

Cameron started dancing when he was 9. From there he spent two years competing in dance competitions, including travelling to compete in Showcase Australia and winning a few trophies. He then transferred to Impact Dance & Stage School, where he spent eight years learning anything he could get his hands (and feet) on - Jazz, Tap, Drama, Singing, Ballet, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Acrobatics. During this time Cameron found his love for Musical Theatre, performing in a few shows for Showbiz Christchurch, and countless public appearances including Christmas in the Park, Starry nights, What Now & The Erin Simpson Show…where he turned his hand to acting in a recurring character role on Erin’s soap-opera, ‘Ruby’…Cameron is definitely no stranger to working with cameras! 

Why do we need Money?

To date we have had a lot of support, many people are volunteering their time and equipment to make the pilot a reality. As our plans developed we realized that there are cost barriers that we just can’t break through. We have decided that if we can raise a minimum of 4,000 dollars then we will be able to move past some crucial costs and focus on making the best darn web series pilot video NZ on Air will have ever seen!

We need money for: 

Makeup -  Heavy stage makeup will play a key role in bringing our characters to life.

Costumes - It’s very important that our characters look like they are performing in real-world musical theatre.

Food - Food for a whole cast and crew adds up pretty quickly!

The Website - When we launch the pilot it's very important we have a website ready.

Film Equipment - For some very special shots.

Art Department – confetti canons, smoke machines, special lighting and much, much more

Where we are at currently?… Where to, next?!

At this stage, we have recorded most of the band on the pilot song, all thanks to the band and to Orange Studio. We have a demo track ready for our auditions that begin soon (email us [email protected] if you’re keen to find out more). Once the pilot is cast, we will record the final instrument tracks with the singers we have cast. From there we will shoot the pilot over a couple of days in November before launching the pilot and website before the end of the year…

And then, we will still be… A Long Way From Broadway (but perhaps a little closer ;-)

Even if you cant pledge anything you can still keep up todate with the project on our facebook page here: Facebook

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