STRAY Season 2
New York City, New York | Series
Comedy, LGBTQ
A case of mistaken identity coupled with a dose of poppers leads to a near hookup in this in-your-face bromantic comedy that pokes fun at the straight guy's paranoia about masculinity and sexual orientation.
STRAY Season 2
New York City, New York | Series
Comedy, LGBTQ
3 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $12,280 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
141 supporters | followers
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A case of mistaken identity coupled with a dose of poppers leads to a near hookup in this in-your-face bromantic comedy that pokes fun at the straight guy's paranoia about masculinity and sexual orientation.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Creator Pablo Andreu, a straight guy, had an idea for a web series based on his relationship with his friend Chris, a gay guy. A voracious watcher of TV shows and web series, Pablo noticed that there weren't any shows that reflected the dynamic that he and Chris had: joking, posturing, ribbing one another, and talking openly about sex and attraction, while happening to be different sexual orientations.
Usually, a show is either considered strictly LGBT+, featuring mostly gay men and mostly targeting gay men, or a show is considered "mainstream," whatever that is anymore, and there happens to be gay characters.
Pablo set out tell that story and to take the opportunity to poke fun at the hysteria and insecurity a lot of straight guys exhibit about sexual orienation and masculinity. Pablo is not immune. He once told his sister that, as a straight guy, he could not tell if another man was attractive or not. This eventually became the episode "Hot or Not" in season 1 of STRAY in which "Jay" proves to "Rich" that he can, in fact, tell if another man is hot or not.
To make this story come alive, Pablo was lucky enough to enlist the help of a talented team, including:
Bri Castellini, STRAY producer, relentless jack-of-all-trades, creator of award-winning web series, Brains, creator of upcoming web series, Sam and Pat Are Depressed, and creator of the award-winning short film, Ace and Anxious.
Dane Benko, director (Season 1) and director of photography (Season 2), Head Editor at The Skin Deep, producer of the Emmy Award-winning digital series {The And}.
Cameron Clarke, who plays "Rich," is the artistic director of the New York theater company, Company of Fools, and was a member of the ensemble in the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar.
Sha James Beamon, who plays "Jay," had starring roles in the films Groove and Right of Way, and can be seen in the Netflix Original Show, The Get Down.
Season 1, which is nominated for an award at NYC Web Fest, was created on a shoestring budget, if the shoestring was lit on fire and its ashes flushed down the toilet (season 1 was funded with Pablo's bank account and the generosity of friends, who donated equipment, expertise, and time). Season 2 is a lot more ambitious, so it'll require more than shoestring ashes.
In Season 2, Rich and Jay's world expands, introducing new friends and love interests, including "Brock," Rich's homophobic "friend"; "Marquis," a holier-than-thou thespian; "Autumn," a sadistic world-saver; and "Luna," an unfiltered jocknerd.
Season 2 will contain 10 five-to-12-minute episodes, including a short-form adaptation of the 1980s comedy Clue, a Freaky Friday-esque episode in which Rich and Jay switch orientations; and an episode that deconstructs the ending of 500 Days of Summer which includes, if we hit our stretch goals, a protracted, Family Guy-style non-sequitur of a fight sequence.
At this point, you're probably asking yourself, "How do I give these people all my money?" Great question. Scroll back to the top of this page and click on the "Make A Pledge" button. And remember to click on the "Follow" button. We're not entirely sure why. We think it mobilizes the internet elves. Remember: A little goes a long way, and, more importantly, a lot goes even farther.
In all seriousness, though, we made this series to deflate toxic masculinity through humor, to challenge rigid notions of malehood, and to show that being a man can mean a lot of things, each of which should be represented and celebrated.
We have a great team in place. We have talented actors. We have funny scripts. We even have a proof of concept with season 1, which we made with NO budget, so imagine what we could accomplish with funding. We have in hand all the elements we need to make a fantastic season two except for one thing- YOU.
Join us in bringing more of this weird, funny, frank, and dare-we-say heartwarming bromance to life.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cast
Costs $5,000
Season 2 expands Stray’s cast significantly, introducing new, diverse, and hilarious cast members.
Crew
Costs $6,000
With a longer and more complicated shooting schedule comes the need for new crew members!
Rich and Jay's apartment
Costs $600
Rich and Jay’s apartment location. This is the rental and cleanup rates for this AirBnB location.
Club/Lounge
Costs $400
An upscale lounge or club, with plush decor, and a sleek, well-lit bar.
Sports Bar
Costs $400
A casual sports bar with wall-mounted TVs and different sections that look like different bars.
Props
Costs $200
Unless one of you has HTML5 for Dummies and a fog machine, we’ve got some shopping to do.
Transportation
Costs $200
Sometimes, after a shoot day, we’re tired, and we don't want to take a light kit on the subway.
Just in case
Costs $1,000
Filmmaking is complicated and terrifying. This is for everything we haven’t yet foreseen.
Share this update!
About This Team
Pablo Andreu, creator, writer, director. Pablo Andreu is not a creator or a scriptwriter. He’s certainly not a filmmaker. He’s just a guy who decided to make a web series called STRAY. It’s a bromantic comedy in which a brash gay dude and a nerdy straight guy talk sex and relationships while reconnecting in New York City years after college. He hopes it’s funny. By some inscrutable alchemy, his scribblings have wormed their way into The New York Times, McSweeney’s and some others. Usually, you can find him babbling here: https://medium.com/@pdandreu
Bri Castellini, producer, assistant director. Bri Castellini has an MFA in Writing and Producing for Television and a BA in Creative Writing, studying in New York and Oregon, respectively. She currently resides in Brooklyn with her partner and works as the Community Director for Stareable.com. She is the writer, director, producer, and editor, among other things, of the award-winning short film Ace and Anxious, the creator, writer, producer, and star (among other things) of the award-winning comedic zombie web series Brains, the creator, writer, producer, and star (among other things) of the upcoming web series Sam And Pat Are Depressed, the executive producer and assistant director (among other things) for the award-winning web series Relativity, and the producer and assistant director for the web series Stray.
Dane Benko, director (season 1), director of photography. Dane Benko is a Brooklyn-based cameraman, DIT, and editor as well as a DIY/independent filmmaker. He currently works as the post-production supervisor and head editor at The Skin Deep, an creative studio that produces interactive documentaries about human connection in the digital era, including the Emmy award winning digital series {The And}. He is a member of The FilmShop, a NYC independent film collective, and a former member of Basement Films in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Cameron Clarke, "Rich." Cameron Clarke is an actor, writer, magician, and professional goofball. A frequent stage actor, Cameron was recently seen as a member of the ensemble in the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar. Other credits include Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing (The Fools & Kings Project), Orlando in As You Like It (Barefoot Shakespeare), and Brick in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof (Parkside Players). Stray is his first webseries, and he’s more than thrilled to be a part of it, playing the hilarious Rich. Cameron is also a director, and the artistic director of Company of Fools, a fledgling independent theatre company.
Sha James Beamon, "Jay." Sha James Beamon is a Black, Jewish Jedi who plays Jay in the Hit Web Series Stray. He is best known 4 His Beautiful Head of Afro-Centric Hair and Purple Yarkmulke combination crowning him “The Holy Hebrew Highness of Hip-Hop & Hilarity”. He has also been known to carry a utility belt equipped with a holstered afro pick and multi-colored lightsaber to name a few features. He is a Love Based Actor and Musician that sometimes does Stand-Comedy and Writes. He enjoys using The Force and staying fit af. He does not like closed minds or wasted time. In addition to 2 playing Gay Jay of Stray, Sha is also in The New Films Groove (Sequoya Nelson) and Right of Way (Kenny Green). Catch Him if U Can ;-})
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Creator Pablo Andreu, a straight guy, had an idea for a web series based on his relationship with his friend Chris, a gay guy. A voracious watcher of TV shows and web series, Pablo noticed that there weren't any shows that reflected the dynamic that he and Chris had: joking, posturing, ribbing one another, and talking openly about sex and attraction, while happening to be different sexual orientations.
Usually, a show is either considered strictly LGBT+, featuring mostly gay men and mostly targeting gay men, or a show is considered "mainstream," whatever that is anymore, and there happens to be gay characters.
Pablo set out tell that story and to take the opportunity to poke fun at the hysteria and insecurity a lot of straight guys exhibit about sexual orienation and masculinity. Pablo is not immune. He once told his sister that, as a straight guy, he could not tell if another man was attractive or not. This eventually became the episode "Hot or Not" in season 1 of STRAY in which "Jay" proves to "Rich" that he can, in fact, tell if another man is hot or not.
To make this story come alive, Pablo was lucky enough to enlist the help of a talented team, including:
Bri Castellini, STRAY producer, relentless jack-of-all-trades, creator of award-winning web series, Brains, creator of upcoming web series, Sam and Pat Are Depressed, and creator of the award-winning short film, Ace and Anxious.
Dane Benko, director (Season 1) and director of photography (Season 2), Head Editor at The Skin Deep, producer of the Emmy Award-winning digital series {The And}.
Cameron Clarke, who plays "Rich," is the artistic director of the New York theater company, Company of Fools, and was a member of the ensemble in the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar.
Sha James Beamon, who plays "Jay," had starring roles in the films Groove and Right of Way, and can be seen in the Netflix Original Show, The Get Down.
Season 1, which is nominated for an award at NYC Web Fest, was created on a shoestring budget, if the shoestring was lit on fire and its ashes flushed down the toilet (season 1 was funded with Pablo's bank account and the generosity of friends, who donated equipment, expertise, and time). Season 2 is a lot more ambitious, so it'll require more than shoestring ashes.
In Season 2, Rich and Jay's world expands, introducing new friends and love interests, including "Brock," Rich's homophobic "friend"; "Marquis," a holier-than-thou thespian; "Autumn," a sadistic world-saver; and "Luna," an unfiltered jocknerd.
Season 2 will contain 10 five-to-12-minute episodes, including a short-form adaptation of the 1980s comedy Clue, a Freaky Friday-esque episode in which Rich and Jay switch orientations; and an episode that deconstructs the ending of 500 Days of Summer which includes, if we hit our stretch goals, a protracted, Family Guy-style non-sequitur of a fight sequence.
At this point, you're probably asking yourself, "How do I give these people all my money?" Great question. Scroll back to the top of this page and click on the "Make A Pledge" button. And remember to click on the "Follow" button. We're not entirely sure why. We think it mobilizes the internet elves. Remember: A little goes a long way, and, more importantly, a lot goes even farther.
In all seriousness, though, we made this series to deflate toxic masculinity through humor, to challenge rigid notions of malehood, and to show that being a man can mean a lot of things, each of which should be represented and celebrated.
We have a great team in place. We have talented actors. We have funny scripts. We even have a proof of concept with season 1, which we made with NO budget, so imagine what we could accomplish with funding. We have in hand all the elements we need to make a fantastic season two except for one thing- YOU.
Join us in bringing more of this weird, funny, frank, and dare-we-say heartwarming bromance to life.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cast
Costs $5,000
Season 2 expands Stray’s cast significantly, introducing new, diverse, and hilarious cast members.
Crew
Costs $6,000
With a longer and more complicated shooting schedule comes the need for new crew members!
Rich and Jay's apartment
Costs $600
Rich and Jay’s apartment location. This is the rental and cleanup rates for this AirBnB location.
Club/Lounge
Costs $400
An upscale lounge or club, with plush decor, and a sleek, well-lit bar.
Sports Bar
Costs $400
A casual sports bar with wall-mounted TVs and different sections that look like different bars.
Props
Costs $200
Unless one of you has HTML5 for Dummies and a fog machine, we’ve got some shopping to do.
Transportation
Costs $200
Sometimes, after a shoot day, we’re tired, and we don't want to take a light kit on the subway.
Just in case
Costs $1,000
Filmmaking is complicated and terrifying. This is for everything we haven’t yet foreseen.
Share this update!
About This Team
Pablo Andreu, creator, writer, director. Pablo Andreu is not a creator or a scriptwriter. He’s certainly not a filmmaker. He’s just a guy who decided to make a web series called STRAY. It’s a bromantic comedy in which a brash gay dude and a nerdy straight guy talk sex and relationships while reconnecting in New York City years after college. He hopes it’s funny. By some inscrutable alchemy, his scribblings have wormed their way into The New York Times, McSweeney’s and some others. Usually, you can find him babbling here: https://medium.com/@pdandreu
Bri Castellini, producer, assistant director. Bri Castellini has an MFA in Writing and Producing for Television and a BA in Creative Writing, studying in New York and Oregon, respectively. She currently resides in Brooklyn with her partner and works as the Community Director for Stareable.com. She is the writer, director, producer, and editor, among other things, of the award-winning short film Ace and Anxious, the creator, writer, producer, and star (among other things) of the award-winning comedic zombie web series Brains, the creator, writer, producer, and star (among other things) of the upcoming web series Sam And Pat Are Depressed, the executive producer and assistant director (among other things) for the award-winning web series Relativity, and the producer and assistant director for the web series Stray.
Dane Benko, director (season 1), director of photography. Dane Benko is a Brooklyn-based cameraman, DIT, and editor as well as a DIY/independent filmmaker. He currently works as the post-production supervisor and head editor at The Skin Deep, an creative studio that produces interactive documentaries about human connection in the digital era, including the Emmy award winning digital series {The And}. He is a member of The FilmShop, a NYC independent film collective, and a former member of Basement Films in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Cameron Clarke, "Rich." Cameron Clarke is an actor, writer, magician, and professional goofball. A frequent stage actor, Cameron was recently seen as a member of the ensemble in the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar. Other credits include Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing (The Fools & Kings Project), Orlando in As You Like It (Barefoot Shakespeare), and Brick in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof (Parkside Players). Stray is his first webseries, and he’s more than thrilled to be a part of it, playing the hilarious Rich. Cameron is also a director, and the artistic director of Company of Fools, a fledgling independent theatre company.
Sha James Beamon, "Jay." Sha James Beamon is a Black, Jewish Jedi who plays Jay in the Hit Web Series Stray. He is best known 4 His Beautiful Head of Afro-Centric Hair and Purple Yarkmulke combination crowning him “The Holy Hebrew Highness of Hip-Hop & Hilarity”. He has also been known to carry a utility belt equipped with a holstered afro pick and multi-colored lightsaber to name a few features. He is a Love Based Actor and Musician that sometimes does Stand-Comedy and Writes. He enjoys using The Force and staying fit af. He does not like closed minds or wasted time. In addition to 2 playing Gay Jay of Stray, Sha is also in The New Films Groove (Sequoya Nelson) and Right of Way (Kenny Green). Catch Him if U Can ;-})