Filmmaker Alicia J. Rose is the creator, show runner, and co-writer of the new gay-themed web series, The Benefits of Gusbandry.

2She is a Renaissance woman: producer, writer, director, club promoter, photographer, and accordion player. Alicia has taken elements from her life, along with a leap of imagination and some help from crowd funding to create a new hit web series. Speaking with Alicia is like talking to a creative tornado that is constantly spinning out a cyclone of ideas. She says that she has cultural ADD and that living in Portland–with a lot of other creative and independent thinkers–makes her stay on her toes.

I spoke with Alicia about her new web series and her crowdfunding experience.

WW: You have had a pretty crazy year, haven’t you?

AR: Well, in March 2015, I came up with a wild idea for web series and I decided to make it happen by building a community. You could say that I’m polygusbandrous. My dear gusband, Leland, is my executive producer.

WW: What’s a gusband?

AR: A gusband is a gay husband or gay best friend. I have a lot of them. I went on a trip to Thailand with my gusband, Lake. He and I are great together. We travel really well together without all the complications of being married. It was an eye-opening trip; I came back wondering, what can I do? I wanted to do something creative, but I hadn’t focused on exactly what that would be. And then I attended a two-day workshop with Diane Bell. And those two things–the trip with Lake and the workshop– led me to the idea of mining my relationships with all of my gusbands.

WW: So, the workshop helped you come up with the idea?

AR: That workshop was a kick in the butt. I started thinking about all my relationship with my gay friends. The characters in the show are based on me and my relationships, but I took a creative leap. So, it’s not exactly as things happened in my life. I came up with 12 ideas. These ideas had heart and were real. They became the core structure for The Benefits of Gusbandry.

WW: You’ve done so many different things. What’s different about doing a crowdfunded web series?

AR: It’s taken me longer to grow up. It’s fun not to grow up. I like to explore new things. I like to do so many things. I was an intern at A&M records. I was an executive in music distribution. I was a nightclub promoter. I have made music videos. I’m a photographer. I play the accordion. All of these things have prepared me for this amazing journey with this project. It was only a year ago that I had the idea, and now I have a fully realized show that has received a lot of attention.

WW: You raised money through crowdfunding, which is a bit hit and miss. How did it work for you?

AR: Yeah, It all started through crowdfunding. My initial ask [ing price] was $25,000, which was very hard to reach, so I cut it in half. I eventually raised $13,000. I made an initial funding video and I made it informative and funny. It was like pulling something out of the ether. I was lucky because I cast the project early and I had preexisting support from social media and my gusbands, of course. It was a good start and gave me motivation.  There were 114 people, who gave money and supported me. I wasn’t going to let those people down. I felt a responsibility to make it happen. I thank every person who supported the project in every episode. They are my core and I’m grateful for their support.

WW: Was it a challenge to go from an idea in the ether to shooting the series without the support of a studio?

AR: Getting it going was hard, in the beginning, but I had great people on my team. They are brilliant and support my aesthetics. I’m a tough audience and I wanted to make a show that pleased me [and] that made me laugh. We live in a time of shortened attention spans, but if something is good it will hold the viewer’s attention and that’s what I set out to accomplish. I wanted something real and from the heart. I work to bring the best out in people.

WW: The series has a great look. Did your photography background help with that?

AR: Certainly, that was part of it. I have high standards and I know what I want. I have great directors of photography, Phil Anderson and Bradley Sellers. These guys have worked on Curb Your Enthusiasm and Portlandia and they are great. Also, my co-writer, Courtenay Hameister, is simply brilliant.

WW: Choosing any creative career is difficult. What influenced you?

AR: I grew up in the San Fernando Valley in the ’80s. It was TOTALLY a Moon Unit Zappa–Valley Girl, experience. My parents were my big influence in a strange way. Honestly, they were in a marriage and [had] careers that made them miserable. I definitely didn’t want that for my life. They are both creative wonderful people, but misguided. They had to succumb to reality for survival. They sacrificed a lot for me. I was this weird, sensitive, smart kid. I wanted out of the family cycle of misery. I first got into acting in school and then I went to SF state but I after my first year I was asked to tour Japan with a band, playing my accordion as Miss Murgatroid. My Mom totally supported this choice. She said, “it’s okay to take a break from college because something else has called you.”

3Alicia J. Rose has created popular music videos for national artists like First Aid Kit, Cake, Blitzen Trapper, and Bob Mould. She has directed many short-form commercial/corporate videos. She is an award-winning still photographer who spent 20 years in the music business doing marketing and sales before turning her eye to filmmaking in 2008.

 

Review: The Benefits of Gusbandry

The Benefits of Gusbandry follows the adventures of Jackie and her soon to be gusband, River. Episode one opens with a celebration of Jackie’s unconventional 40th birthday, complete with penis hats, penis cake, a hairy stripper dressed like Wonder Woman, and oil wrestling. Jackie has recently gone through a break-up and needs a little pick me up, which includes partygoers doing lines of cocaine off her tits.

4 5

Jackie also likes a little weed and steps outside to light up, where she meets a handsome, sweet, and sensitive guy named River. They talk and made a connection. Jackie rejoins the party. She thinks maybe she has found a new love interest. However, as soon as Jackie heads back into the house, River heads to the bushes to hook up with his Grindr date, her ex-boyfriend.

Actress, Brooke Totman plays Jackie and actor Kurt Conroyd plays River. These two actors are the heart and soul of the show. Ms. Totman brings a tired, comic resolve to the character of Jackie. The show has many laugh out loud moments like when Jackie’s friend introduces her to a hunk and Jackie declines to give him her number by explaining, “I’m an Amish Jew. I don’t use cell phones.” Ms. Totman plants these funny and pithy lines with aplomb. She seems on the verge of becoming bitter until she meets River.

Kurt Conroyd is handsome with a sweet and sensitive quality that brings believable humanity to his character, River. He has a certain something that sparks the embers of hope in Jackie. The first episode runs almost nine minutes, and it packs those nine minutes with warmth, a lot of humor, naughtiness, irreverence and insightful, and well-acted moment-to-moment reality. The Benefits of Gusbandry is touching, funny, and engaging. The series deals with people who are all grown up or still trying to grow up and navigate their way through life. You can catch up with this must-see web series online at http://thebenefitsofgusbandry.com/

The Benefits of Gusbandry is an official selection in the web series competition category at the 2016 Nashville Film festival April 14-23.

For more info check out.

https://nashvillefilmfestival.org

 

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