Dylan Marron ’10 writes in to share his most recent project post-Wesleyan:
I was recently cast in an independent television show called Whatever this is. It follows three best friends – Sam (Hunter Canning), Ari (Dylan Marron), and Lisa (Madeline Wise) — who work job-to-job in New York City. Sam and Ari work as production assistants on reality television shows and each episode sees them on the set of a different project. Whatever this is. is from the same people who made The Outs, the 2012 series that was made on a shoestring budget, developed a cult following, and drew fans like John Cameron Mitchell and Alan Cumming (who appeared in The Outs’ Hanukkah Episode).
Check out the pilot episode, called Whatever this is. – Reality. It features everything from real housewives to cute puppies and appendicitis.
The group is doing a Kickstarter project and are hoping to raise $165,000 to fund orchid upkeep the first season of the show. They have already raised around $70,000, but have a long way to go in the three days before their fundraising deadline.
I wanted to learn a little more about Dylan after watching the pilot episode (he’s the “gay one”), and so asked him a few questions via email.
What was your major at Wesleyan? Who was your favorite professor or what was your favorite class?
I was a theater major at Wes and worked mostly with Yuriy Kordonskiy, whom I loved very much. I also had an amazing experience my last semester with Cliff Chase in an introductory class to creative non-fiction. Also, as with everyone and their mother, I was a big fan of Jonathan Cutler and ended up writing my senior essay with him on Rita Hayworth and ethnic covering. I suppose those three created something of an educational triumvirate for me and would like to see my work since college as an attempt to operate in the overlap of the venn diagram that those professors create.
What other exciting things did you participate in as an undergraduate?
I wrote a show with Jo Firestone (’09) called Ridgefield Middle School Talent Nite, a 17-character middle school talent show that we perform ourselves. We began getting offers to perform it in New York City around my senior year and have continued to do so since. I then got my first official theater job writing and performing with the New York Neo-Futurists, whose weekly show Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind is the attempt to do 30 plays in 60 minutes.
What were you doing before getting involved with these projects?
Whatever this is is my first professional film gig. It’s a huge professional opportunity for me but also a socially important one. I grew up seeing few (if any) gay characters of color in film or television and having the opportunity to play one on a show that honors truth over glamor means so much to me. In short, I wish I could have seen this show as a young brown queer kid who couldn’t find his reflection on his television set.
What is $165,000 going to pay for?
The money will go towards fancier equipment, more content, and more possibilities.
If you want to donate, check out their Kickstarter page here.