I’m Making a Movie! (And I Need Your Help!)

Hey Vocal readers! Hope you're all doing well. This is going to be an article on the shorter side, but it'll explain why I've been a little slow to post recently. Your girl is doing something very big next month...

I'm making a movie!

No, not a big budget action flick that will play at your local AMC theater. I'm making a short film! It's called Strange Bedfellows and it's a comedy/drama with some coming-of-age moments. The story revolves around a young woman named Kelsey who brings her new boyfriend, Greg, over for the night. While trying to spend a peaceful evening with him, she must deal with her pesky little roommate: the monster under the bed.

This film will quite literally be homemade. Some of you may know that I moved back to my hometown in New Jersey after spending 6 months in New York City in 2020. Strange Bedfellows will be shot in my childhood bedroom, home, and suburb. Not only for practical reasons, but also because thematically, shooting in those places fits the vibe of the film.

Strange Bedfellows is a short that asks the questions, "what happens to our imaginary friends when we grow up? Is it possible to keep our childhood fantasies with us as we mature - and especially when we fall in love?" It's a mix of my personal childhood musings draped in creepiness, jealousy, hilarity, romance, angst and loneliness. And it'll all be decked out in cool neon lighting!

Actress Natalie Shaw will be playing Kelsey. You may have heard her voice in the Captain Underpants audiobooks, and her recent credits include the film Hip and the off-Broadway musical Ximer. Bito Boucher (Billy Elliot, AMC's Robert Kirkman's History of Comics) will be playing Greg, my friend Jesse Dalton will be playing another character - I won't spoil it here!

And who's playing the monster? Well...yours truly. That's right. I will be donning fangs, spooky makeup, and some Billie Eilish WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO-level attire. It'll be a joy to your eyeballs, I promise.

I started an Indiegogo campaign for Strange Bedfellows in early January and at the time of writing this, have received support from 19 backers. I was even surprised to find that a Vocal Facebook group (I believe it was the Vocal Social Society?) shared my campaign as soon as I made it! Now, I'm sharing this campaign with you all on Vocal. :)

Things have changed a little since I made that video. We've been able to be frugal-yet-effective with our personal funds for the movie, and have about $1500 left to spend for food, cast and crew payment, and other random expenses that always pop up when you're working on a film set. We're doing very good! Still, we do have post-production expenses to worry about (paying for a composer, color correction, sound mixing, a graphic designer, even more equipment, and film festival costs). That's where I could use some help from you. Yes, YOU. The good people of Vocal.

If you've got a few dollars to spare, please consider donating to the Strange Bedfellows Indiegogo page! Tipping through Vocal is also greatly appreciated. However, donating through Indiegogo is more worth it for you because we've got some great perks you'll receive for your contribution! Things like social media shoutouts from me, digital copies of the film, postcards, signed scripts, signed posters, props from the film, and the grandaddy of all perks: an interview conducted by me that will be published onto my Vocal blog! My boyfriend and I will meet you in person, no matter how far away you live, and treat you to lunch.

Click here or click below the video above to be led to the page where you can view all the goodies! :) Please hurry: we've only got a week left until the campaign closes and claiming perks will no longer be available!

And if you can't donate, absolutely no worries. Just supporting the film or sharing any Strange Bedfellows-related content is enough.

Thank you so much for reading. Can't wait to bring some new article ideas - as well as some Strange Bedfellows diary entries - onto Vocal for the new year. Until then, you can find me chilling underneath my bed. Believe it or not, it's actually pretty cozy.

Cheers,

-Katy xxx