In this comedic ode to theater, writers Ella Smith and Lindsey Bristol share their obsession with the stage (and all that happens in the wings), and the eccentric community they call home. Learn more about the project on our website! www.thisisbs.org
In this comedic ode to theater, writers Ella Smith and Lindsey Bristol share their obsession with the stage (and all that happens in the wings), and the eccentric community they call home. Learn more about the project on our website! www.thisisbs.org
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Story
Mission Statement
As of 2018 women comprised only 27% of all creators, directors, writers, producers and editors working on network, cable and streaming programs. This isn't because we are less creative, assertive, or humorous. To combat the statistics and the stereotypes, our project is placing women at its helm!About The Project
THIS IS B.S. is an 8-part web series chronicling the ups and downs of a life in the theater…well, in-the-middle-of-nowhere-non-union-summer-stock theater. Ted, the eccentric artistic director of The Bristle Shores Playhouse, welcomes a documentary crew for the summer season, hungry to grow his audience. From the initial auditions through a tumultuous rehearsal process and "tech week," watch as this colorful cast of actors (and their overworked stagehand) create drama on and off stage, and come together in the pursuit of the one thing they all love—making theater.
When they began writing the series, Lindsey and Ella were envisioning the beautiful Winnipesaukee Theater: the very theater where they met working on a production of Charley’s Aunt. As it turns out, the scenes they wrote for this series all take place in locations specific to Winnipesaukee; the upstairs rehearsal room, the creepy basement rehearsal room, the cozy Green Room, multiple dressing rooms, and at the actor housing located on the theater’s property. Their ideas were great--but the prospect of filming in all of these different locations seemed daunting. Where were they supposed to find a theater (or any sort of space) that was as beautiful as this playhouse on Lake Winnipesaukee?
Motivated by their passion for the arts and the artists they’ve worked with, Neil and Lesley Pankhurst, the owners of the Winnipesaukee Playhouse, have generously opened their theater to our cast and crew! They’ve given us full reign of the place for 8 days, during which we will shoot the entire series. We are incredibly grateful and overwhelmed by their generosity (and our budget is grateful as well).
In order to take advantage of this incredible opportunity, we have to begin shooting...soon! September 11th through the 18th, to be exact. It also requires that we transport our team of 20+ people up to New Hampshire from NYC. It is going to be an amazing and fulfilling experience--but it comes with a price tag. Here are a few examples of how our funds will be put to use:
TRANSPORTATION // Bus tickets and rental cars are needed to drive the six hours back and forth from New Hampshire. We also need access to cars during production for running errands and giving our actors the freedom to leave the theater on their off time.
LOCATION AND HOUSING // Even though we have been gifted full access to the Winnipesaukee Playhouse, the only request of the owners has been to cover utilities for the duration of our stay. We also have the ability to use the on-site cast housing, which sleeps a total of 16 people. However, we still need additional housing for the remainder of our creative team.
FOOD // Three meals a day. Healthy and nutritious to ensure everyone can bring their best to set.
CREW // It takes a village: Art Director, Lighting Designer, Sound Mixer, Assistant Director, Production Assistants, Make-Up Artist...with such a large cast, we need a large crew to help us stay organized and ensure we produce the best final product we possibly can.
PLUS Insurance, Hard Drives, Batteries, all that other stuff that you don’t need until you REALLY need it. Take a look at our “Wishlist” to see how we’ve budgeted!
We are actively seeking local hires for crew positions (which could save us on housing and car rentals) and donated lodging for the additional crew traveling from NYC. All of these small conveniences could help us allocate more of our budget to getting our footage through post-production, and, inevitably, to your screens.
And our Moms. Oh, have we told you about OUR MOMS???
The only person better at saving the day than a top-knotch producer is a MOM. When researching how much it would cost to hire somone to feed our cast and crew for three meals a day, 8 days in a row, OUR MOMS joyfully stepped in and volunteered their time and labor (saving us $3000!). Kathy Bristol and Eve Smith will be joining us in New Hampshire to chop, roast, and sauteé up some magic, and we could not be more grateful for their help and support. And come on. It’s always a good idea to have some moms nearby.
We are over the moon about the incredible cast of actors that have signed onto the project! Lots of them are people we know, love, and have worked with before, and some are incredibly talented new friends. Take a look at their gorgeous faces (we even have a Broadway alum)! More casting announcements still to come!
***This past May, we collected some actors, some tables, some snacks, and read through the scripts of our first 4 episodes. As we dove further into the story, we got to watch our peers respond with palpable joy and excitement about seeing their own experiences as actors unfold in front of them. This story is so close to our hearts because it is our story. It’s a story about people with passion, and we are passionate about telling it. A career in the arts can be frustrating, disheartening, and the total opposite of lucrative, but it has also given us a chance to share experiences with other people we otherwise would have never met. And most of those experiences result in an absurd amount of laughter. If we hope to do anything with this show, it’s to share some of that laughter with you.
So we ask you kindly to please...
Incentives
$10
Ensemble
Everybody knows that the Ensemble is a vital part of the show. You may not have many lines, but we definitely couldn’t do this without you! To express our gratitude we’ll give you a shout out on our social media!
$25
Featured Dancer
OK! We see you putting in that extra little somethin’ somethin’. You know how to work the audience and we’re going to make you a STAR by adding YOUR FACE to a B.S. Playbill program. (Pssst...that's our producer Simone starring in Cabaret!)
AND a shoutout on social media.
$50
The Character Role
You’ve got the potential to steal the show! You stand out for all the right reasons, so send us your best photo and we’ll use it as a headshot in our series!
AND a shout out on social media!
$100
Dance Captain
You’ve put in the hours and earned that extra title to put on your resume! So grab a partner (or two) and keep honing those dance skills in a class with our very own choreographer KATHERINE MCCLINTIC!*
AND a shout out on social media!
*NYC travel and lodging not included.
Sold Out!
$100
Leading Man
There’s a lot riding on your shoulders. Do you need to loosen up? We’ll help you get grounded again with a private yoga session, taught by one of our own Leading Men (and certified yoga instructor) CHRISTOPHER JOEL ONKEN*
AND a shout out on social media!
*NYC travel and lodging not included.
Sold Out!
$250
Ingenue
We know you’re more than just a pretty face. But, if you’ve got it, flaunt it!
Showcase your look with a one-look headshot session with Sub/Urban Photography in New York City!* Great for actors or corporate professionals.
AND a shout out on social media!
*NYC travel and lodging not included
Claimed: 3 of 4
$500
Leading Lady
It’s your time to shine! Park and Bark! Take center stage and wow the crowd with your very own PERSONALIZED SONG! That’s right. Someone on our creative team will write a song just for you! Because you deserve it.
AND a shout out on social media! AND your own personalized B.S. Playbill!
$1,000
Director
Exclusive invite to our wrap party in NYC*, or if you can’t make it, we’ll give you early access to the finished series so you can be the first to watch!
AND all aforementioned incentives!
*travel and lodging not included
$2,000
Executive Producer
But Actually… Welcome to the team Mr/Ms Executive Producer! We’ll bill you in the credits and give you an EP credit. PLUS you’ll get your very own “This Is B.S.” playbill to hang on your wall to show off to all of your friends and clients.
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$10
Ensemble
Everybody knows that the Ensemble is a vital part of the show. You may not have many lines, but we definitely couldn’t do this without you! To express our gratitude we’ll give you a shout out on our social media!
$25
Featured Dancer
OK! We see you putting in that extra little somethin’ somethin’. You know how to work the audience and we’re going to make you a STAR by adding YOUR FACE to a B.S. Playbill program. (Pssst...that's our producer Simone starring in Cabaret!)
AND a shoutout on social media.$50
The Character Role
You’ve got the potential to steal the show! You stand out for all the right reasons, so send us your best photo and we’ll use it as a headshot in our series!
AND a shout out on social media!$100
Dance Captain
You’ve put in the hours and earned that extra title to put on your resume! So grab a partner (or two) and keep honing those dance skills in a class with our very own choreographer KATHERINE MCCLINTIC!*
AND a shout out on social media!
*NYC travel and lodging not included.
Sold Out!
$100
Leading Man
There’s a lot riding on your shoulders. Do you need to loosen up? We’ll help you get grounded again with a private yoga session, taught by one of our own Leading Men (and certified yoga instructor) CHRISTOPHER JOEL ONKEN*
AND a shout out on social media!
*NYC travel and lodging not included.Sold Out!
$250
Ingenue
We know you’re more than just a pretty face. But, if you’ve got it, flaunt it!
Showcase your look with a one-look headshot session with Sub/Urban Photography in New York City!* Great for actors or corporate professionals.
AND a shout out on social media!
*NYC travel and lodging not included
Claimed: 3 of 4
$500
Leading Lady
It’s your time to shine! Park and Bark! Take center stage and wow the crowd with your very own PERSONALIZED SONG! That’s right. Someone on our creative team will write a song just for you! Because you deserve it.
AND a shout out on social media! AND your own personalized B.S. Playbill!
$1,000
Director
Exclusive invite to our wrap party in NYC*, or if you can’t make it, we’ll give you early access to the finished series so you can be the first to watch!
AND all aforementioned incentives!
*travel and lodging not included
$2,000
Executive Producer
But Actually… Welcome to the team Mr/Ms Executive Producer! We’ll bill you in the credits and give you an EP credit. PLUS you’ll get your very own “This Is B.S.” playbill to hang on your wall to show off to all of your friends and clients.
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
Lindsey Bristol (Creator/Writer/Actor) loves all things theatre. She is a performer, director, Casting Associate, writer, improviser, puppeteer, and teaching artist. She has trained at Upright Citizens Brigade, the University of Montevallo, STEPS, ALP, Access for Actors Musical Theatre Forum, and a multitude of various workshops, but has also discovered the vitality of learning through experience.
A few favorite professional theatre credits include Don/Dr Janet (Jim Henson’s Dinosaur Train Live! National Tour), Bad Idea Bears/Mrs T/Jen (Avenue Q), June (Chicago), Cinderella (Into The Woods), Amy (Charley’s Aunt), Prince Rupert the Fair (Snow White: A Traditional Panto), Sarah Brown (Guys and Dolls), Elsa Schraeder (Sound of Music), Catherine (Pippin), and Ginger Vitus (The Great Pie Robbery).
Ella Smith (Creator/Writer/Actor) had her first taste of The Stage when she was five years old (she played a mouse in Cinderella) and hasn’t been able to get enough of it ever since. After many career-defining roles (including a Munchkin and Jitterbug Dancer #2), Ella felt ready to head to New York to attend NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts to study drama. It was here in NYC that she also fell in love with comedy.
She has studied improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade and in 2017 wrote and starred in a comedic short film titled Period about...well you can guess… Favorite credits include Jackie Coryton (Hay Fever), Chicklet (Psycho Beach Party), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet: Choose Your Own Ending), Sylvia (Two Gentlemen of Verona), and Luciana (The Comedy of Errors). TV: Pose/Season 1, The Deuce/Season 3.
When not acting, Ella can be found teaching acting classes at Rikers Island Correctional Facility and trying to pick herself out in the extras’ scenes in major network TV shows.
Amanda Pinto (Director/Media) is an actress, choreographer, director, and photographer. Favorite performance credits include Katherine in Love’s Labour’s Lost (dir. Ian Belknap), Carla in In The Heights (dir. Catie Davis), Sister 1 in born bad (dir. Nicole Watson), and Stephanie in the world premiere of Bigger Animals (dir. Jeremy Landes). Choreography credits include Carrie (Peregrine Theater Ensemble), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (dir. Carl Cofield), Lysistrata Jones (dir. Kenneth Mitchell), and The Secret Garden (asst. to Marcia Milgrom Dodge). In 2016, she co-produced/directed Raise Your Voice: A Cabaret for a Cure benefitting The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at The Skirball Center. Additional directorial experience includes Están Mirando(BAX) and The Cave (co-dir. Chris Betts, Access Theater). Her photography work with her partner, Jake, can be seen at www.sub-urbanphotography.com. Amanda has a BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, having studied at the New Studio on Broadway and The International Theater Workshop.
Jake Nathanson (Director/Cinematographer) is a photographer and filmmaker based out of NYC. Originally from Cleveland, OH, Jake moved to the city to attend NYU where he graduated with a degree in psychology and minors in film producing and creative writing (a true product of the liberal arts education wasteland). During his time at college, Jake co-founded the actor headshot team Sub/Urban Photography with his partner Amanda and has continued working as a cinematographer, writer, and director on short films, commercials, multimedia theater, and web content. If you were to ask him what his favorite movie was he'd try really hard to convince you (and himself) it was Pulp Fiction. If he's being totally honest, however, it's the 1996 classic Twister starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton. Citizen Kane might as well be Gigli in comparison to Twister and there's not a whole lot you could say to convince him otherwise.
Simone Stadler (Producer) is a New York based actor and producer originally from Portland, OR. Initially entering the industry with a focus only on acting, Simone discovered a love (and knack) for producing back in 2016 when she and a fellow actor, both ready to start creating their own work, decided to produce a project together, which ultimately ballooned into the independent feature film When We Grow Up, starring Catherine Curtin of Homeland, Stranger Things, and Orange is the New Black, and which has since appeared in 8 film festivals across the country. When not producing indie film projects, Simone can be found onstage performing around New York and the greater Northeast. Recent credits include a role-swapping production of Macbeth as both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth with the Adirondack Shakespeare Company, Noel Coward’s Hay Fever with the Bagaduce Theater, and Hamlet with the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. Simone earned a BA in Acting and Public Health from Beloit College and later studied at the Atlantic Acting School in New York City.
Katherine McClintic (Choreographer) is a New York City based Choreographer and Dancer. Katherine has choreographed for stage: “Medea” for Columbia University’s MFA Directors program(Dir. Miriam Grill), “Spy in the House of Love”(Dir. Miriam Grill) ¨Into The Woods¨(Dover Little Theater). For film: “Queen of the Mold”(Lizzy Bryce) “Spies?¨(Becca Co), “Under the Sky of Your Tough Love”(Meia), ¨This is B.S.¨ (Ella Smith/Lindsey Bristol) and a concept film she produced and choreographed titled “The Housewives of Corinth” derived from her work in “Medea”. Katherine teaches dance lessons for weddings and events as well as a devised dance class for Kindergartners through Creative Stages. Katherine loves working with actors, movers, dancers and pedestrians to instill a love of dance and native vocabulary of movement for everyone.
Curious about her work? Check it out at KatherineMcClintic.com/Choreographer or on her IG: @KgMcClintictock.
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