Gemma and the Bear: We’ve All Been There, right?

NEW YORK - March 7, 2016 - PRLog -- In the past few years, there has been an explosion of binge watching, streaming services usage and internet celebrities. All of this has led to the rise of the web series.

Kevin R. Free and Eevin Hartsough are two people taking a chance on themselves. They are the producers and creators of Gemma and the Bear (http://winterfilmawards.com/portfolio/gemma-the-bear/), which was a Best Web Series Nominee at the recent 2016 Winter Film Awards Indie Film Festival (http://winterfilmawards.com/wfa2016/) in NYC.

The series revolves around your average career-focused woman who just happens to become a hairy gay man when she falls asleep. The series flows with the vibes of 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation, but do not think it’s all just outrageous comedy. Gemma, played by Eevin, still has to deal with the daily work grind and a co-worker who used to make her life tough as kids – situations many of us can relate to.

Winter Film Awards’ Matt Reich had a chance to speak with Kevin and Eevin about Gemma and the Bear.

What was the inspiration for the series?
Kevin:  Eevin rhymes with Kevin. We like to tell people that we rhyme – So we wondered what it would be like if we were actually the same person… We discussed it – and our dissimilarities – and voilà!

Who is Gemma and where does the inspiration for the character come from? As I watched I felt a Liz Lemon of 30 Rock vibe, was she part of the inspiration?
Eevin: What female actor/writer isn’t inspired by Tina Fey and what she’s accomplished?  I was a HUGE fan of 30 Rock so I’d say Tina Fey is a big influence on me, but not a direct source of inspiration for the character.  Gemma is really the most uptight version of an early career day-job me and if there’s overlap in that character with Liz Lemon, I feel very flattered.

Kevin: I love when people compare Gemma with Liz Lemon; it’s such a great compliment. BUT I have to say that we were adamant that Gemma be more real-life awkward and less comic awkward than Liz Lemon. It was important to Eevin that Gemma just be an ordinary woman who is getting life done when -BAM! – the Bear returns to mess everything up.

What was the most difficult part of filming?
Kevin: Coordinating schedules and locations was pretty tough. I was performing off-Broadway in The Fantasticks, so we had to work around my 8-show-per-week schedule. I missed a performance on the day that we shot my scenes with the kids in Episode 2. I drove like a bat out of hell from Long Island to Manhattan to get to the show on time but the producer of the show put my understudy on because I was so late.

Eevin: The Office scenes were incredibly difficult only because we had just one weekend to shoot EVERYTHING we needed there.  A close second would be an outdoor scene from episode two; we had a bunch of kids playing outdoors . . . on one of the coldest days of the year.  They were amazing troopers and eventually we all got the feeling back in our fingers and toes.

Are there plans to continue Gemma and the Bear as a multi-year project?
Eevin: YES.  We LOVE the universe and the characters  and we’re excited to keep playing with and within them.  Right now we have Season Two fully outlined and we’re getting ready to start fundraising for it.

Are you currently working on any other projects? If all the stars were to align, what would be your dream project to create?
Eevin: This year Kevin and I hope to create at least two more stand-alone shorts in addition to producing season two (and maybe work on some theater together too?!).

Kevin: My dream would be for us to raise enough money for Season 2 and 3 and be picked up by a distributor, so that we can continue making Gemma & The Bear! as a full-time job!

For students majoring in film, communications and acting, what advice would can you give them?
Kevin: If you know that it’s what you want to do, don’t stop doing it. Build your community of colleagues now, and continue to add to your community.

Eevin: Create your own work.  When I first graduated from college and came to NYC to get started as an actor, I had this idea that to be successful I had to avoid being a hyphenate: not an actor-writer or actor-producer, JUST an actor.  But creating my own work  – first for theater and now on film – helped me understand my point of view as an artist and taught me valuable lessons about how to better bring everything I have to offer to a project and to focus on doing that instead of on simply pleasing the people in the room.

https://youtu.be/gvrFlw0H5YU



By Matt Reich | @Matt_Reich7 | Matt Reich is a sophomore at Mercy College majoring in Media Studies: Television and Radio Production. He is the creator and host of Just Say It and Real America, which can be found on his YouTube Channel: MattisLiving.

Winter Film Awards (WFA) is a volunteer-run and operated 501(c)3 organization dedicated to showcasing emerging filmmakers and the celebration of the diversity of local and international film-making. For more information on tickets, schedules, sponsors, film descriptions and more, please visit www.WinterFilmAwards.com and find us on Facebook.