a Quick History
—
cataloguing my growth as a filmmaker through the years , making comedies about the blues
“I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just gonna ask them where they're going and hook up with them later.”
— Mitch Hedberg
I’ve been making comedy films since I was 9 years old. Now at 22, I’m learning more about my comedic impulse everyday.
There is a finite and unknown number of moments in a person’s life. A moment spent laughing has got to be the best kind of moment there is. If we can laugh as we learn about the nature of our lived experience, that we can take with us.
I’ve dedicated my life to making comedy about human sensitivity. I believe comedy has a moral function, and a mortal function. It helps us empathize with our communities, while giving us the strength we need to contemplate the finite nature of life.
Every year, I create 2-3 major comedy projects, and many miscellaneous comedies that may or may not develop into larger projects later on. In this brief timeline, I’d like to give you a glimpse of how I’ve developed as a filmmaker, as a comedian, and as a storyteller since I began my journey with comedy filmmaking.
2020
Fall 2020
Nature Hack
With his cameras pawned to cushion his father’s gambling debts, Gary treks into the woods with his Gameboy camera and green hankie to become a park ranger. Along the way, Gary teaches his viewers cool hacks to help them get the most out of nature.
In this 8-part series, Gary faces exhaustion, fever and angry birds, all the while keeping his eyes on the prize. He’s going to become a park ranger.
Yellow Belly Anthology
An anthology series about nervous people struggling with confrontation. The full written series features 60 scripts, drafted and revised as part of my honors thesis at Ursinus College.
Now, I’m releasing 6 of the Yellow Belly shorts I filmed with my partner Alex Wagoner, and inviting any filmmakers to peruse the scripts and make their directorial entry in the series.
Common Cause/Fair Fight
Gary’s father makes custom videos for anyone who volunteers or donates to Common Cause (commoncause.org), Fair Fight (fairfight.com), or any organization fighting voter suppression, safeguarding our elections, working to end gerrymandering, and advocating for the right to protest.
The Artist Formerly Known as Lucifer pilot places & wins at festivals.
Summer 2020
Father to Son
Gary asks his father hardball questions in hopes to share Dad’s wisdom with the world. His father, he finds, has more questions than answers.
In this 8-part interview series, Gary struggles for the attention of his father, who slips into a gambling addiction.
Philly Bail Fund/Black Lives Matter Custom Donation Videos
Gary makes custom videos for anyone who donates to the Philly Bail Fund, Black Lives Matter, or other bail funds and racial justice organizations in safeguarding our freedom to safely protest, condemn, and pay consequence to police brutality.
The Artist Formerly Known as Lucifer trailer premieres online.
From Official Trailer description:
Trapped in the body of a nervous teen, Lucifer discovers the most human remedy for depression: art. He's about to learn he's not very good at it.
Spring 2020
Elders React
In our nightmare parody of Elders React, lonely host Joey tries to evince emotional reactions out of our strange and uncooperative seniors.
Each of the 9 Elders React videos ramp up in intensity from “Loose Butterscotch” to “Losing Driving Privileges” and “Outliving Their Grandchildren,” as Joey attempts to obtain the ultimate reaction from his 7 begrudging elders.
Interactive Prom
It's 2020 and Prom is on. For all the high schoolers who couldn't attend their own this year, and for all Internet derelicts to occupy themselves on lonely Saturday nights, Gary is offering an interactive Prom experience with over a hundred short scenarios and 40 possible endings.
Experience Prom like you've never cared to. Go with Gary or browse your options. Can you become Prom King, or will you waste your Prom night in the bathroom?
Elders React wins selections and awards from festivals.
Graduated Magna Cum Laude from Ursinus College with Distinguished Honors in Creative Writing, inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Tau Delta.
Selected for Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
I was selected as a 2020 Watson Fellow to travel the world for a year embarking on my own dream project: studying comedy as a social and personal tool for building community and coping with hardship.
Winter 2020
Began and completed principal photography for The Artist Formerly Known as Lucifer pilot.
High Education Part 2 (episodes 9-16) premieres.
The High Education series concluded with a marathon screening in Olin Auditorium, where the 3.5 hour series played back-to-back culminating with the premiere of the special episode 16 finale.
2019
Fall 2019
Interactive Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
A sprawling satirical literary adaptation of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel, parsing out themes of addiction, friendship, and recovery. I gave an oral report on this project as my final presentation in my senior seminar in adaptation, and forced my classmates to play it over and over. They liked it though.
High Education Part 1 (episodes 1-8) premieres!
Autumn kicked off with the premiere of High Education, with new episodes premiering every Thursday at 4:20pm. The series crescendoed to a cliffhanger right before the Holiday season. You don’t have to wait though.
Liam Worcheck scores High Education.
Summer 2019
Interactive Doctor
Evolving from a couple ASMR “virtual nurse” parodies I made early summer, this series made my childhood dreams come true—to be a comedy video game writer. Conceived with my filmmaking partner and best friend Alex Wagoner, Interactive Doctor was our own “Click-Your-Own-Adventure“ (after we received a cease-and-desist from Choose Your Own Adventure) where the viewer could decide the strange path they took, and eventually win or lose.
Interactive Therapy
Gary’s virtual therapy session puts you in the patient’s armchair. His ways are unusual, but for you it’s no charge.
Whether you’re depressed, anxious, or just have trouble sleeping, Gary has a series of methods to get you happy, healthy, and asleep.
Wasteland Doctor
In this apocalyptic video game parody, viewers meet Gary, a humble wasteland medic pining for a stethoscope.
Viewers can attempt to cure their radiation poisoning, heal their wounds, or just help Gary find some drugs. The choice is yours.
Joined the team at PBR Productions
I joined Nate and Corey as a digital marketing intern, script writer, video editor, and camera operator. Today I still work with Nate and Corey on miscellaneous projects in Eastern Pennsylvania.
A comedy short I wrote and directed to promote PBR Productions.
Presenting our digital marketing campaign at a banquet hosted by the U-Imagine Center in Collegeville, Pa.
Spring 2019
Studied at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
I had the great opportunity of taking practical coursework in feature screenwriting, script analysis, film language, acting, while studying acting under Dr. Mary Angiolillo in the Czech Republic’s National Theatre and drafting a feature length screenplay under the mentorship of Jan Fleischer, at FAMU Film and Television School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czech Republic.
There, I also wrote and assistant directed a short dark comedy film which we shot on 16mm and screened for a panel of professors at FAMU, where it was well received.
I also had the opportunity to create a 60-second stop motion film at Hafan Studio in Prague with my fellow students and filmmakers, George Marshall, Maude Lustig, and Bessie Rubinstein.
Winter 2019
Kids React and the holidays with Gary
After meeting Liam Worcheck and Jenna Menapace, who helped with the final production of High Education, I brought us three together to make a dark parody series of Kids React, where a strange host (Liam) makes kids react to things like cigarettes and divorce. The final product was a satire of the Fine Brother’s failed attempt to trademark, “React” and the exploitation of child actors on youtube.
The child actors were so good that people thought it was real, and it has since drawn hordes of angry child critics. After many complaints and a superficial review, Kids React to Cigarettes was banned from YouTube. They were some great actors.
This was also my first go at show-running a full series, which had been my dream for a long time and still is.
The holiday months were not good to Gary.
Fortunately though, Philadelphia filmmaker, Mady Van Trieste edited a couple videos for Gary.
Winter also featured the premiere of a short-lived video game show.
The Video Game Video Show began as an opportunity for me to collaborate with more comics, improvisers, and gamers on an uncomfortable game stream satire.
2018
Fall 2018
Tune Out premieres online.
& Liam Worcheck begins scoring High Education.
Summer 2018
Satire series, “High Education” filmed on a summer fellowship.
I spent my summer filming High Education with Alex Wagoner, and with the support of fellowship at Ursinus. I’d been revising so long and still carved out a daunting 500-page script for the 8 weeks. We got as much as 300 pages filmed, which we’d later snip into quick-paced comedy scenes.
Among the actors we kept busy were Anika Backelin-Harrison, who was completing her own fellowship, Natalie Sandone, Robin Brecker, Dana Mckenna, Alyssa Coolen, David Woyden, Lillian Pyskaty, Greg Poppa, Barb Hannevig, Erin Ryan, James Johsnon, Buddy Harris, Domenick Scudera, and Bella Ragomo.
