Clayton McDougall, Ben Kitnick, and Saxon Richardson chat excitedly around a table at Cartel Coffee in Tempe.
The ASU film students are in their freshman year, and between worrying about mid-terms and what they'll do for spring break, they're planning the big release of their web series, K.C. Carrington Presents: K.C. Carrington at the end of the month.
The seven-episode series is born from an 85-page script written by McDougall and Kitnick and surrounds the odd life of K.C. Carrington, a quirky playwright who's working to produce his untitled, uncast masterpiece.
Of course, the concept of his play is about as far as Carrington gets, as the series plot continually tosses him into surreal situations, funerals, and -- without giving too much away, the three students add -- a rooftop pool.
McDougall, Kitnick, and Richardson (who won a Big Brain Award two years ago for his film work in Send Greener Grass Uphill) say they're joined by a cast they've met while living in the ASU dorms, including Zach Jones, Krista Anderson, Domenique White, and Matthew Powell. The series' original music is written by Markus Rennemann.
"It's a series we all decided to do because we love film," says Kitnick. "It's not for class, and it's definitely not to make money ... it's probably one of the purest things we'll work on because there aren't any outside pressures."
They add the "student" card hasn't hurt -- it's landed them help from the director of the Herberger Institute, Jacob Pinholster, the program coordinator of the School of Theatre and Film, John Tang, and the program director of Film and Media Production, Miguel Valenti, as well as the opportunity to shoot in iconic Phoenix locations including the rooftop pool at The Esplanade condos and the Galvin Playhouse on ASU's Tempe campus.
The first of seven episodes will debut on March 26 on the series' YouTube page.
Check out a trailer and sneak peek below:
