Can You Host?

For my upcoming practicum in my final year of undergrad, I had the pleasure of joining an amazing team for Project Development and being part of "Can You Host?". It is a 20-minute pilot episode for an online dramedy web series that follows the prep for the 2036 Olympics. It is Benny and Stephen, a dueling rivalry between their respective cities, and who would be the better host for the games. The pilot showcases a women-led team, a flirty gay romance, and a look behind the scenes at what it takes to host the Olympics.

My role in the project is Business Manager, which encompasses the legal, financial, and managerial aspects of the show, which play an important role in making this project run smoothly. In our current stage of development, I am in charge of creating the budget, searching for venues and sponsorships, and looking at our KPIs and SWOT. I am very passionate about this type of role on the project, so it makes the work feel like a hobby rather than an assignment or task.

Our team is made up of four total members: Michael Giacobbe as the producer, Lucas Calinsky as the technical producer, Jordan Baker as the creative director, and me as the business manager. All four of us come with different strengths and weaknesses, but that's what makes our team work so great with one another. Michael came to me with this idea in November, and I read the first bit of the script and knew I had to be a part of such a powerful and funny piece of work. With both of our different talents, we were a perfect pair to start working on the first stages of development. When Project Development started in January, we brought in Lucas, as he was great with all of the camera and audio work side, and Jordan, as she is an actor herself and loved the script.

Although our group was friends before the project started, that hasn't stopped us from butting heads from time to time. The biggest struggle with a project like this is that weare alle so passionate about the story that we think our ideas are the best and want to make them happen. Navigating difficult decision-making and constructive feedback is a part of being a good group member and deciding which battles are worth fighting. In this early stage, we have had a few minor hiccups, whether that be navigating conflict, deciding who should take on which assignment, and making sure everyone is picking up their fair share of slack. This comes with difficult conversations and can include calling someone out, which, for someone who avoids conflict like me, is super hard. It has been my biggest struggle thus far, which seems interesting. Although the work is challenging at times, and the workload is hard to manage, the conflict is my main struggle.

Because I love my group members and the message of our story, I have persevered and made a concise effort to be able to tell my friends when something could be working dysfunctionally, and grow together as a team. This project would not be able to happen without my amazing team members, who make it easy to come to class, meet on the weekends, and work well into the night on something we all care about so much.

The current stage of development is moving full speed ahead, with our final pitch, proof of concept, and show bible coming together well. Once summer begins, the grind will continue with the real work starting, such as acquiring our filming spaces, funding, and casting.

*LINK TO VIDEO COMING SOON*