Featuring cameos from some of our favorite radical queer indie performers, Marque and Hector's new web series blows the lid off gender and sexuality expectations, creating a brave new jamboree of a world where freedom is tantamount, and it's not that serious.

We've seen generations of cisgender men playing trans women in media. Maybe it's time we flip the script, and let a trans woman play a cisgender man, for once.

Welcome to Marque and Hector's topsy turvy world -- a world in which gender norms have been torn to shreds and put back together ass-backwards. We paint our absurd tapestry with all the colors of the rainbow, featuring cameos from our favorite performers from many corners of the LGBTQ+ community.

In light of the discourse surrounding transphobia in comedy, our attitude is this: trans, queer, and gender-nonconforming people are FUNNY AS HELL! We are funny! And we want to show you how to make comedy that deals with our identities that doesn't invoke a spirit of hate or violence against us. We hope you are listening.

As the future surrounding COVID remains uncertain, we are offering viewers what they so desperately need... MORE CONTENT they can watch from the safety of their own homes. And let's face it: the world needs a laugh. As winter descends, we'll have a whole slew of ludicrous content to release onto you.

In the spirit of Christopher Guest and Summer Heights High, Marque and Hector follows two utterly bizarre gay men and their wild antics.

In puruit of YouTube fame, Marque (an aging gay queen) enlists the help of his dumb-as-a-bucket houseboy Hector in his mission to conquer the interwebs. Hector serves as his Vanna White, his magician's assistant, his punching bag. The only problem? Marque bungles everything he touches -- incluing his hopes and dreams.

Marque is played by Joslyn DeFreece - a trans woman who invented the character as "a love letter to what I would have become if I had never come out as transgender." Marque is loveable and insane, affectionate and cruel, fabulous and tacky. Marque also represents a critique of the dysfunctional (downright creepy) dynamics that can play out between rich older queers and their young proteges.

Joslyn can be seen in: Strange Angel, Carl(a), and a groundbreaking Sonnet commercial.

Hector is played by our director, Linus Ignatius. He's a bleeding idiot. No seriously, he's very dumb. But he has a heart of gold and a sensitive soul. He is Marque's number two, and completely under Marque's Stockholm Syndrome spell. After all, Marque rescued him from his life in the Mormon Church and taught him what it meant to be free. So Hector owes him an arm and a leg... and perhaps some other body parts, too.

Linus has had roles on Law and Order: SVU, Bull, The Blacklist, and various indie projects.

Marque and Hector is currently in the can. Which means we have filmed our entire first season, and are currently in post-production. We are also currently in need of paying back the creatives involved in the production. These funds will get all the artists paid, as well as supporting the finishing costs of the final product.

Once the series has been edited, we will have an exclusive premiere for contributors only. After that, we will be showing at festivals and pitching the show to networks. Eventually, this first season will live online for FREE STREAMING (thanks to your help), and we will continue to produce future seasons til the cows come home!

In an age where representation is so sensitive, some productions feel like they're walking on eggshells -- that they're only allowed to portray LGBT characters in a heroic light, and that casting choices have to conform to public expectations.

This is because those productions aren't being built, developed, and executed by LGBTQ+ people! The more we get to tell our own stories, the more freedom we have to play. To expand our approach to what types of roles we can and can't play, and what stories get told.

That said, there's a lot of work that remains in this industry. Recently one of our scripts received the feedback that "it'll be impossible to make, because so many of the characters are transgender." Which is why we want to use this project to give back to people who are making a change in the industry.

The Transgender Film Center is an organization that aims to help create "a richer world of stories" and "a more inclusive world for everyone" through their grants and support programs. 

Our team whole-heartedly supports this mission. If we make our full goal or exceed it, the filmmakers personally (not the production) will be matching a 5% donation from our personal funds to this organization.

 

If you'd like to get involved:

FOLLOW

Follow our campaign and stay up-to-date on the latest "Lunchbox" news!  It's 100% free. 

Seed&Spark rewards us for building our audience.  The more followers we get, the more we unlock products, services, and festival fee waivers courtesy of Seed&Spark!

CONTRIBUTE AND PLEDGE

You can make a contribution to our film by making a pledge.  We have to collect 80% of our crowdfunding goal to keep our funds. You can choose an incentive or make a pledge to a specific wishlist item. You can choose any pledge and incentive amount that fits your budget.  No pledge is too small.  Every dollar makes a difference in making our film possible!

SPREAD THE WORD

The only way we will reach our crowdfunding goal is if we reach beyond our networks. If you’d like to help transgender and queer folks tell our own stories and create comedy that uplifts our uniqueness, rather than fostering an attitude of disgust -- YOU can truly help make the difference!

Please share our campaign via your social media, email, word-of-mouth, however you want!  We can't do this without you!

Here are some examples.  Feel free to copy and paste!

 

Help @marqueandhector by supporting their bizarro series, "Marque and Hector turn Trash into Treasure" about an aging gay man and his dumb-as-a-bucket houseboy on their quest for YouTube stardom.  Join the jamboree on @seedandspark: https://bit.ly/3FHOtP3

 

I just watched the @marqueandhector pitch video for "Marque and Hector turn Trash into Treasure" and OMFG, these cats are weird! Join the jamboree on @seedandspark: https://bit.ly/3FHOtP3

 

Can't wait to see cameos from @peppermint247 @brucellaneous @smithcatmrs @steroidbeyonce and so many more in the @marqueandhector series "Marque and Hector turn Trash into Treasure"! Join the jamboree on @seedandspark: https://bit.ly/3FHOtP3