Arts
’Is That Yours?’ captivates at Club Café by Bessie King
MySouthEnd.com ContributorWednesday Mar 18, 2009 Shows like "Will and Grace" have left an unwritten agenda on which gay jokes to tell and what characters should be like for television. Relatively mild humor and straight actors playing gay roles lets audiences know that what they are watching is just make-believe television. In wanting to create a show that addresses real gay culture, using raw humor seen in British sitcoms, Anne Continelli and Deb Malone produced their own comedy show, "Is That Yours?". On Saturday, March 14, the launch of the show’s first four episodes was celebrated at Club Café, 209 Columbus Avenue.
"We don’t want to be a typical gay sitcom, we don’t want to be a special episode show, to us you are who you are and unlike other shows that have gay jokes or a character geared to this group we want something all-inclusive," said Malone.
Their idea to create a sitcom-style show with "a splash of queer culture," as explained by the pair, came after Continelli and Malone worked together on a theater production team in the fall of 2005 when they produced their first play, "Gender Bender," at the Boston Center for the Arts. The comedy, written by Continelli and starring Malone, was successful with audiences and helped the women think of other opportunities. Together they decided to enter the 48 Hour Film Project in Boston with the first episode of "Is That Yours?".
After winning the Audience Choice Award and the Best Of Boston DVD, Continelli and Malone knew they had a good product and decided to shoot more episodes and present the show idea to a television network.
"We like to take things that happen to everybody and find the humor in it to turn it into a script," said Malone. "Truth, real life, is so much funnier than fiction, and we don’t hold anyone sacred, we make fun of everything."
The episodes were shown at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Saturday to a large crowd of 100 or more each time. Aside from the viewing, people enjoyed a complimentary drink and cupcakes at the end of the shows from Sweet Bakery, 49 Massachusetts Avenue. This kept people happy, and the episodes kept them laughing.
Following the show’s title, each episode began with an odd item being found by one of three roommates; one is weight conscious, another refuses to admit she’s a lesbian and becomes a young, gay Republican, and a third is simply a drunken mess. Each character seems capable of having an individual show, with so many story lines possible for their categories, but the mix of the three personalities and the random people or objects they encounter gives the show its comedic uniqueness.
"I think it’s a tremendous idea, they are very talented, artistic and creative. I loved it, with a little luck it will go somewhere," said Jim Moonan of Milton.
With a "Desperate Housewives" meets "Friends" and "Frasier" feel, "Is That Yours?" manages to remain funny with bold but sly jokes. From the first episode where the roommates finds a dead body in their kitchen to the third episode where they win a trip to Provincetown in the middle of February and find a German techno fan in the basement of their cottage, each episode offered randomness easily woven into good comedic storylines.
"I was pretty impressed by it," said Kate Springfield of Brookline. "For something I just saw online and came to check out, you can tell why they won at the film contest."
Continelli and Malone entirely fund the writing, shooting, and producing of the show, and with the help of friends created a seven-person team to do it all. It’s not an easy-or cheap-task, and while they prepare to assemble more shows to offer to a network they are also seeking donations or fundraising support.
"Our plan is to submit it to as many film festivals as we can, they have started accepting web series along with films, generate interest and a buzz, and pitch it to LOGO [a gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender television channel] and other cable stations looking for new comedy shows," said Malone. "We are really hoping to crash through the glass ceiling of ’women aren’t funny’ that is so pervasive in the film industry. Tina Fey has made great strides and we thank her for that. We want to keep it up."
The episodes can be watched online at www.isthatyours.com and more information about the producers can be found at www.20americandollars.com.
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