Corporations remain dominated by white men. In Pushers, two female drug reps, black and white, tackle their differences head-on in a humorous, lighthearted manner. Doctors offices bring together characters with diverse backgrounds. Pushers is written, directed, and filmed by a mostly female crew.

We {Nicole and Krista} met in 2006 when we worked in the same district for a pharmaceutical company and instantly bonded through comedy, sarcasm, and wit!

 

During 2016, Krista shared on Facebook her registration for an online comedy writing class through Second City.  Nicole commented, "If you need a black writing partner, I AM PRESENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR!"  And Krista said, "Duh, of course I do!!".  

 

A week later, we had a brainstorming phone conversation. Tossing around ideas of what we could write about led to sharing funny stories about our jobs, like the time one of us was talking to a doctor about a drug and he went into the restroom and urinated with the door open, still listening to the presentation and engaged in discussion.  Or the time one of us was waiting to sell her drug to a doctor in a psychiatric unit but instead was told by the doctor that a well-known criminal she had just sat beside had a crush on her.  Finally, we said..."we should write a pilot about pharmaceutical sales!" These stories MUST be told!

 

A month after that phone call, Nicole traveled up to D.C. from Atlanta and we met for breakfast. We talked a lot about race and the misperceptions we have of each other.  We laughed so hard, we decided that our characters needed to ask bold questions too, and address those very misperceptions.  But what medication should our characters sell? After selling a drug for erectile dysfunction in real life for so many years, we believed it was only fair for our main characters to promote a product for post-childbirth vaginal dryness.  Did we just make up a condition? we asked ourselves. No, we didn't. We initially thought. But, yes we kind of did ! (We are both moms, after all).   Therefore, our protagonists Nicole and Kristy sell Vysiccum, which contains the Latin root for dry. 

 

We began writing via Facetime once a week. Sometimes wine was involved, other times Bourbon, and often just sparkling water, but don't tell anyone that.  Writing together was a complete and utter joy. We agreed that even if our project went nowhere, it had brought immeasurable happiness. 

 

Finally, we had six mini-episodes written and began the search for a production company. Again, we took to Facebook and asked our friends for reputable production companies. We landed on Alejo Media and met with the owner, Anna Davalos, whom we instantly liked, respected, and trusted.  We auditioned actors, convinced friends to act in supporting roles, and after much deliberation {would we lose our jobs?!?!} decided to act in it ourselves. 

 

Filming, much like writing, was a complete joy!  Nerve-wracking, humbling, but oh so much fun!  

 

Once filming wrapped we realized a profound truth.  We weren't writers, actors, nor did we know anything about producing, editing, crowdfunding, or promoting.  And yet, we did it!  We had a vision and we executed it!  Nicole summarized it best:  We are GRASSROOTS, honey!!! 

 

The six episodes serve as a an introduction and are public on YouTube. We wanted these to serve as a "pilot" to set up the story:  A tenured rep, Nicole, meets her newly hired counterpart, Kristy. The girls must work together to sell Vysiccum to win.  Doctors offices routinely prevent reps access to them, so these two characters must constantly devise innovative ways to see the doctor and hopefully get to tell them a thing or two about the medication, so he or she will prescribe it. Rejection and defeat are part of their everyday, and that's just the beginning of the funny part. You'll see them get back into their cars, possibly cry or blast the horn, or play a loud music...and then get back out...and knock on another doctor's door.  We can't wait to introduce you to the douchy manager, eccentric teammates, and show you the lengths these reps will go to to see a doctor! We will also watch Nicole and Kristy's relationship flourish. 

 

We launched a Kickstarter campaign and raised 4K. We'd love to raise about 6K more, to film an additional 10 episodes, 2-3 minutes each. Filming will take place this fall and winter.  Until then, we continue to write....

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!!

Love,

Nicole and Krista