Viral Vignettes | Entertainment Community Fund
Past Event

Viral Vignettes

Online
YouTube

The Actors Fund has announced a new comedic weekly series, Viral Vignettes, featuring original work from your favorite actors of the 70s and 80s, premiering this Wednesday, April 15 at 12 p.m. PDT / 3 p.m. ET. The series will showcase 5-10 minute vignettes and will premiere on the Pop Goes the Culture TV YouTube Channel.  

Participating celebrities in the Viral Vignettes series will be Barry Bostwick (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Spin City), Gail O’Grady (NYPD Blue, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, She's Having a Baby), John Schneider (The Dukes of HazzardSmallville) and Anson Williams (Happy Days, Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210), with many more to come. The writers range from veteran network comedy show runners and award-winning playwrights to newcomers, adding their own unique voices to the mix.  

The show was the brain child of producer David Levin, early in the period of sheltering in place. “It occurred to me that musicians were creating concerts in their living rooms.  Comedians were doing stand-up in their bathrooms. Talk shows are happening in basements and garages,” Levin said. “But scripted content has come to a dead stop.”

“So on the first Saturday of the stay home orders, I called a few friends and colleagues, writers and actors and basically said ‘I have an iphone. Let’s put on a show.’ By Tuesday, we had shot our first episode with Barry Bostwick and Yvonne Jung.”

Levin sees this as a grass-roots operation. “With studios and networks shut down, we thought let’s be creative. Let’s do some good for The Actors Fund. And maybe put a smile on people’s faces.” He added, “Every single star was not only excited to be part of it, but they had a great time doing it.”

The series is fully scripted and set in the present. Stars play characters talking to each other over Skype or FaceTime, dealing with the ups and downs of life, during this very strange and unprecedented time.

Appearing on the first episode on Wednesday, April 15 was Robert Wuhl and Don Most.

Produced by BrainStorm Inc, the innovative, genre-busting series will raise money for emergency financial assistance and other services for entertainment and performing arts professionals who have been impacted by COVID-19. New episodes will premiere every week, at least until film, tv and theater productions are back up and running.
 

Click here to check out the Viral Vingnettes playlist!