Sixth Floor of Curry Full of Talent and a Great Show

By Kristie Grube
Rotunda Reporter A new web series from the brains of students Joe Hartman and Matt Jackson gives Longwood Lancers a special connection. In the short weeks since their premiere episode-the new show "6th Floor Curry" has already received over 300 hits. With increasing popularity, we delved into the minds of the creators and some of the actors in this new series.

These ten-minute webisodes are catchy; when put into a genre they are defined as "that comments on the life students at a public college living in dorms in the style of "The Office'."Hartman says the idea came to him and Jackson spontaneously, that coupled with the talented cast of the sixth floor and his love of filming helped get the idea off the ground. All of the characters in the show are real, in the words of Hartman ,"Everyone is a real character with exaggerated attributes."

Hartman holds a lot of faith in his cast; saying "the whole cast of the sixth floor is talented." He additionally expressed his desire to act; Hartman puts the success of his show before his own preferences however. "I love acting of course, but I just don't have what it takes.' Despite being behind the scenes man, the work done by Hartman is truly helping to keep the show thriving.

If it had to be put into words, this show would be best described as the lovechild of hit shows "The Office" and "Dorm Life." Despite only a handful of negative comments, the show only uses a distinct format that is reminiscent of "The Office." Its introductory credits are not unlike the sitcom, and its theme song, is vaguely familiar. However, it was composed by Curry sixth floor resident Bernard Royster III.

Recently, the show has acquired new equipment to help it better meet the needs of the production. Currently, all of the episodes are edited on Mac's. It is also a mission of the cast and crew to keep the college a secret.

With a solid cast, this program is sure to get students interested. Freshman cast member Chuck Wongus agreed that relationships the cast has with one another are real. "We were all pretty tight before filming started, so we knew we'd work well together," said Wongus. He also says that the show is unlike another popular YouTube series, Dorm life, as suggested by some, claiming it is more authentic, the characters really have no roles, just to be themselves is their only task.

One of the show's quirks that is particularly unique is the story lines. Unlike some other shows, both online and on television, all of the events are based of true occurrences, which is seen in the pilot episode during a story line presented by a cast member. Another interesting fact about this new program is that it keeps viewers guessing; every episode starts with a hilarious and completely irrelevant scene to thoroughly enthrall viewers.

Hartman adds that they are going to be producing and airing new episodes starting after the wrapping performance of "Othello," since many cast and crew members are involved. Currently, production has about five episodes lined up, with the second episode in the late editing stages. They are also soon going to be featuring new characters and Hartman added there will be surprises along the way.

Some fun facts about "6th Floor Curry":

 Each episode is only semi-scripted.

 Each episode runs approximately eight to ten minutes.

 The next episode will feature another real life adaptation of a recent true story fondly titled "The Birds and Bees.