About
The Infinite Need is a 10-episode improvised web series that focuses on the interaction between a casting director and an actor over the course of several paid auditions. The paid auditions, marketed as “workshops,” are hosted by an organization that puts actors in touch with casting directors for 8 minutes. The cost of those 8 minutes? $40.The Infinite Need follows Bette Moore, a hardworking actor with respectable training, as she tries to garner the interest of Scott Baron-Worth, a casting director at Meade Dolenz Casting. Scott casts the long-running television show Crime and Punishment, and his $40 “workshops” and $595 “on-camera intensives” are hosted by a company called Casting Access. Bette is paying to audition for Scott at Casting Access as a means for landing a role on the show.
The Infinite Need was shot in about 10 hours over the course of 5 brief shoots in May-June, 2012. The idea for the web series formed early in May 2012 when Ben Hauck and Mandy May Cheetham began rehearsing with an improv group. Their first improvised scene together inspired the central characters of the web series, as well as a premise and thesis for the series.Shot almost entirely on two simultaneously recording Flipcams and produced for under $300, this 10-episode series is a testament to the ability of long-form improvisation training for developing high-quality content in short amounts of time with no script and little preproduction. Most episodes are cut from a single improvised take with minimal or no inserts. On average, each episode was produced in about an hour. Several episodes were wrapped after their first take.
The general premise for each episode was outlined to the actors in advance, and the only real preproduction usually amounted to writing sides if an actor was to read sides in an episode. The story arc was not completely set when production began, and it was clarified over the course of production by the improvisation that sprung from each episode.
The production was a collaborative process amongst actors and camera operators. Most actors who played on camera also had their turn operating camera in a different episode. The camera operators are as much a part of the storytelling as are the actors and the editor. The camera operators select on the fly what is important to the present improvisational moment.
Given the collaborative process, all actors are also credited as writers in the web series since their dialogue constituted “the script.” The creators managed the story and story arc, and the executive producer managed final decisions when needed.
Contact The Infinite Need for more information about the creative process.
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Ben Hauck | “Scott Baron-Worth”
Executive Producer
also Producer, Creator, Director of Improvisation, Writer, Actor, Camera Operator, EditorBen Hauck is an actor, improv comedian, and author of the book Long-Form Improv (Allworth Press, 2012).
Twitter: @benhauck
More information: http://benhauck.com
Mandy May Cheetham | “Bette Moore”
Producer
also Creator, Writer, ActorMandy May Cheetham is has written and produced several short films and played lead roles in over 35 films since 2011. She has trained at The Second City, the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre, and the Lee Strasberg Institute.
Twitter: @MandaMayC
More information: http://www.mandymaycheetham.com
Heather Smith | “Maggie Gyllen-Hull”
Writer, Actor, Camera Operator
Heather Smith Lutkin is a writer, actor , teacher, film & theater festival producer, marketing & communications specialist , and experienced dog trainer.
Twitter: @commsartist
More information: http://www.couplaswells.com/about-us.html
Chris Lutkin | “Patrick Michael”
Director of Photography, Writer, Actor, Camera Operator
Chris Lutkin is an accomplished actor, director, teacher, writer, film producer, sales exec, and softball pitcher with a nasty knuckleball.
More information: http://www.couplaswells.com/about-us.html
Dawn Luebbe | “Tiffary Mahoghany”
Writer, Actor, Camera Operator
Dawn Luebbe is an NYC-based actor and comedian.
More information: http://newyork.ucbtheatre.com/talent/view/8247
Matt Kaplan | “Josh Brody”
Writer, Actor, Camera Operator
Matt Kaplan is a Brooklyn improviser, actor, and writer who can be seen regularly with the improv groups The Vanderbilts and Our Town.
Twitter: @GogoGowanus
More information: http://newyork.improvteams.com/performers/3916/matt_kaplan
Pandora Foster as Herself
Writer, Actor
Pandora Foster has cast numerous feature films, television series, Broadway plays, and national commercials. She lives in Manhattan.
Artsy Fartsy Productions
Associate Producer
Artsy Fartsy Productions produces comedic short films, both scripted and improvised, including Actuality, The Professionals, and the award-winning Tweak Performance.
More information: http://www.artsyfartsyproductions.com
