Welcome to the grungy 1990s, where angsty D.C. teens face the hardships of growing up, as they mature from adolescents into young adults. These hardships may include: heartbreak, hormones, relationships and sexuality.
“Orange Juice in Bishop’s Park” is a web series that has entered its sixth and final season. The show has gained extensive popularity online, with hundreds of thousands of views and a viral viewership in over 140 countries. Some AU alumni have even participated in the show’s production.
Series creator Otessa Ghadar said that the entire cast and crew is based in D.C., her hometown.
“There’s amazing talent here and because this is part of new media that makes it easy to not have to be in the major cities such as New York or Los Angeles,” Ghadar said.
New media is any sort of film or video with the primary focus on watching it online.
AU graduates who have served on the crew include Dan Curl, Dylan Myers, Matt Harmelin, Habib Awan and John Napolitano, as well as current undergraduate student Emily White, according to Ghadar.
Curl graduated in 2011, with a MFA in film from AU. He started on the show as an intern and worked his way up, editing the show for the first season and becoming a location manager for the third (using the AU campus as a location). He also worked as a guest director for the fourth, fifth and sixth seasons.
“AU professors stressed new media and using Web pages, Facebook, Twitter and blogs to spread new work,” Curl said.
Curl also said that what he learned in the classroom helped prepare him for the show. Interning taught him an important lesson about the career field: “No job is too small,” Curl said.
Ghadar said that she decided this would be the final season because there are other shows that she wants to develop and start. Most of the cast is going to college, so it was a good place to end. Ghadar said that her future plans include a 1970s sci-fi show and a sketch comedy. If there’s enough funding, both shows will be available online.
thescene@theeagleonline.com
