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Student
soap opera to debut soon Some TCU students’ homework may reach 5 million students on 600 college campuses in the radio-TV-film department’s production of the soap opera “Almost Legal,” said Aubrey Monk, a senior radio-TV-film major and casting director. The department started the production of “Almost Legal” Wednesday, the series that will be broadcast on college cable-access stations nationwide, said Kelly McKenzie, who is directing certain episodes of the series.
McKenzie, a senior radio-TV-film major, said participating in the production is not just a great experience, but the possibility of national exposure also makes it a great résumé piece. The Burly Bear network, owned by Lorne Michaels, producer of “Saturday Night Live,” bought the rights to the soap opera for $6,000 earlier this semester along with the rights to “Studio 13,” a previous department project done in 2000, said Richard Allen, a radio TV-film associate professor who is supervising the production. He said the radio-TV-film department has been producing soap operas since 1995. The department schedules a production every two to three years because of the high educational value of the project, he said. Allen said he is not concerned if 100 million people see the show or just 10, because his main interest in the production is to create a professional environment and to provide a professional experience for students. McKenzie said she appreciates the opportunity. “I am still learning, but my work will be seen professionally, because of the seriousness of a production that is aimed for national exposure,” McKenzie said. There are eight classes from the radio-TV-film and theater departments that are involved in the production, Allen said. The production has 20 primary crew members including six directors, who rotate with each episode, and 26 primary cast members besides extras, McKenzie said. The difference between “Almost Legal” and earlier productions is that it was purchased in advance, said Roger Cooper, chairman of the radio-TV-film department. “The involvement of the Burly Bear network helped us to launch a production that is far above anything we have ever done,” Cooper said. The cost of the production is not covered only by Burly Bear, Cooper said. TCU and the radio-TV-film department provide the equipment and the facilities for both production and post-production, he said. “TCU or the (radio-TV-film) department does not make a profit out of the show, that would be like selling people’s homework,” Allen said. The plot of the show takes place somewhere in the Northeast and deals with teenage girls from an all-girls private school hanging out with fraternity men from college, McKenzie said. Such scenarios inspired the title “Almost Legal,” she said. “It is basically about sex, drugs and Pop (music),” McKenzie said. There are 10 half-hour episodes scheduled to be produced during the semester, one every week, McKenzie said. The first episode will première Feb. 27 in Moudy Building South, room 164. David
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