Stacia Rice plays a director getting her first big break and Jeffrey Hatcher her nemesis, the artistic director of a Guthrie-like major theater, in the third season of the web series "Theater People," premiering online Oct. 30.
Congrats, "Theater People." What started as a homegrown homage to that wacky unpredictable existence known as The Acting Life has become an award-winning web series drawing attention on the festival circuit. It's also about to wrap its third season, which will premiere online Oct. 30.
Recently named Best Web Series out of thousands of entries at the Open World Toronto Film Festival, the Kickstarter-funded series will present the first episode of Season 3 this weekend (12:15 p.m. Sat.) as part of the Twin Cities Film Festival.
Taped at several familiar locations including the Guthrie, Chanhassen and Old Log theaters and featuring an all-local cast of 20 plus extras, the story follows a newbie director played by well-known local stage actor Stacia Rice as she wrangles her first big gig at the prestigious Shepherd Theater -- a very,very Guthrie-like institution.
She clashes with the Shepherd's artistic director (playwright Jeffrey Hatcher) when she discovers he has cast a TV star (played by Zach Curtis), known for his sitcom "Fat Guy with Hot Wife," as the play's lead. Meanwhile, an improv group similar to Brave New Workshop is going under, with one last show to stage to try and save the company.
Due to a combo of great writing, performances and high production values, the quality of "Theater People" is several notches above many such efforts. And thanks to the Internet, it's gained fans all over the world.
"It's great to see people in far-flung places all over the world, from Orlando to Rome to Toronto, connect with these characters," said the show's creator/main writer/director, Matt Anderson. " It speaks volumes about the talent we have here."
The complete first two seasons are available on the show's website. Watch the Season 3 trailer here:
