Where It Began

“In a city with a perpetual identity crisis, surrounded by people struggling to be someone else, we are all almost what we think we should be………..almost…..NOT quite!”

It’s an unspoken rule, a measuring stick if you will; by the time you are in your 30s you will be happily married with 2.5 kids, a house, and a successful career, your 40s will be those greener pastures you have always dreamed of until you ride off into the sunset. In a matter of weeks, J finds himself with none of these. A single chubby gay man in his early 40’s trying to start all over again. With the help of his three best friends, they approach life with the realization that everything they thought they knew is all a sham. While waiting to feel “grown-up” they discover that it is a neverending process in which we are never quite there. In a city with a perpetual identity crisis, surrounded by people struggling to be someone else, we are all almost what we think we should be………..

almost…..NOT quite!

If you have read the synopsis, I cannot begin to tell you how close it is to my reality. I was 1700 miles away from any of my family, but I was with a solid, stable man that I loved, we had a huge house, two beautiful dogs and I was a real estate agent building a career down I was miserable. I was confused. I had everything I thought I was supposed to have to be a successful “adult.” What was wrong with me?

I had no creativity in my life, I had isolated myself, and I had worked hard to believe this was the life that made sense to me. It wasn’t. In a matter of days I turned my life upside down. I went from a 4,000 square foot home to a little 800 sqft mouse infested shack, I quit my real estate gig for a consistent paycheck as a receptionist at a med spa, I saw my sweet pups every other weekend. I had no idea how this would change my life, but I had to try. It was a very dark time in my world, but with the support of some amazing friends, I began to climb out of that hole. I realized that my friends were my family and my lifeline.

I began to date and realized that I didn’t know how it worked anymore. It seemed so weird. So I would take stories to the spa and tell the nurses and we would laugh until we were in tears. Stories about the guy who licked my face like a dog in the middle of the bar the man who planked on my chest (Is this sex now?) or the one who surprised me by wanting me to hold “him” like a gear shift while he drove. They would beg me to write them down and then one day I thought, why not?

I am a writer, actor, singer, overall creative. I process life through my art. I wanted to talk about life, rules that we accept, believing that it is never too late to live no matter what the world says about age. Most of all, I wanted to laugh! This show is part comedy party drama, it is simply life. As they say in Steel Magnolias, “Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.”

I hope people watch it, I hope they enjoy the over the top silliness of someone like the character of Jonny, but fall in love with the love story and work in the relationship of Jonny and Luke. I hope they become addicted to Sam and Todd and Mark. Feeling how close they are even though they seem so different. There are so many unique and crazy people in this universe we have created. I truly believe these actors have created some characters that can be beloved. This may seem weird and crazy, but honestly, it truly is just my life.

Where It Began

If you have read the synopsis, I cannot begin to tell you how close it is to my reality. I was 1700 miles away from any of my family, but I was with a solid, stable man that I loved, we had a huge house, two beautiful dogs and I was a real estate agent building a career. Deep down I was miserable. I was confused. I had everything I thought I was supposed to have to be a successful “adult.” What was wrong

I had no creativity in my life, I had isolated myself, and I had worked hard to believe this was the life that made sense to me. It wasn’t. In a matter of days I turned my life upside down. I went from a 4,000 square foot home to a little 800 sqft mouse infested shack, I quit my real estate gig for a consistent paycheck as a receptionist at a med spa, I saw my sweet pups every other weekend. I had no idea how this would change my life, but I had to try. It was a very dark time in my world, but with the support of some amazing friends, I began to climb out of that hole. I realized that my friends were my family and my lifeline.

I began to date and realized that I didn’t know how it worked anymore. It seemed so weird. So I would take stories to the spa and tell the nurses and we would laugh until we were in tears. Stories about the guy who licked my face like a dog in the middle of the bar, or the man who planked on my chest (Is this sex now?) or the one who surprised me by wanting me to hold “him” like a gear shift while he drove. They would beg me to write them down and then one day I thought, why not?

I am a writer, actor, singer, overall creative. I process life through my art. I wanted to talk about life, rules that we accept, believing that it is never too late to live no matter what the world says about age. Most of all, I wanted to laugh! This show is part comedy party drama, it is simply life. As they say in Steel Magnolias, “Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.”

I hope people watch it, I hope they enjoy the over the top silliness of someone like the character of Jonny, but fall in love with the love story and work in the relationship of Jonny and Luke. I hope they become addicted to Sam and Todd and Mark. Feeling how close they are even though they seem so different. There are so many unique and crazy people in this universe we have created. I truly believe these actors have created some characters that can be beloved. This may seem weird and crazy, but honestly, it truly is just my life.

What do you do when you have an idea for a sitcom, have it ready to film and the world stops for a Pandemic? You bring the show to life through video calls.

Meet the cast and characters of “Almost Not Quite” for the first timeand glimps who they are during COVID -19 Pandemic and their stay home stay safe lives.

The dream was just over the horizon, I could finally see the light peeking through. After almost a decade, the independent series I had written loosely based on my life (the chubby gay bear with a midlife crisis) was cast. We had a film crew in place. We had shoot dates ready to release to everyone…...and then COVID-19 decided it wanted a co-star credit. I was devastated. To be honest, I sort of froze. I wasn’t sure what to do. I had fought for so long to make this happen, I believed in this story, and these characters with all of my being. As we all began to process our new isolation and reality, as we made sure our loved ones were safe and healthy, as we got ourselves in check I began to think. There were some clear truths about my life that this virus could not change. I am a fighter, I never give up AND we needed creativity and some silliness more than ever.

I wasn’t going to be able to film the first season within our new parameters, the logistics and number of people close together was not feasible at this time. So what? These characters still existed within the minds of myself and cowriter Leonardo Poareo. How would they continue their lives in the midst of a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order? They wouldn’t just stop existing so why should we? So we began to write. I contacted all the actors and they were willing to follow my crazy suggestion.

We decided to write miniscenes, at first following Zoom calls between characters and then, most recently, sneaking peeks into the characters’ worlds. This would allow us to let the audience get to know the people in this universe more before the full series would be filmed and released. On a technical level, it would allow our actors to develop their characters in a very personal way and mesh in an ensemble cast. Although, directing and writing for the boundaries of a webcam is not easy and with the added constriction of not having access to just grabbing a new set piece, it has allowed me to access a well of deep creativity inside of my directing.

We have only begun to release scenes, although it feels that we are always filming. I think the editing of Jason Shuffield deserves a shout out as we get better and better. People should definitely follow our facebook to catch new mini-episodes every week. www.facebook.com/ almostnotquite