Fund This: ‘Open Mic’ Acts Out Standup Stories

Welcome to the Fund This column! Each week, we’ll look at a planned web series or other online video project currently in search of funding on crowdfunding sites. We’ll tell you what the series is all about and explain why it is worth your money. Do you have a project that’s currently being crowdfunded? Contact us to let us know and we may feature it in upcoming installments and check out previous installments right here.

Project Name: Open Mic

Asking For: $10,000 on Indiegogo

Amount Raised Thus Far (At Time Of Post): $1,485

Days Remaining In Campaign (At Time Of Post): 58

Description: Open Mic is a web series that puts a spin on amateur stand-up comedy routines. In each episode, a comedian delivers a routine related to his or her life, and at the same time, performers act out the scenes that inspired it. It’s a simple formula driven by the ability of the talent of its participants. Two episodes of the series have already been released, and they showcase amateurs who drive solid laughs, especially by open-mic night standards. In the premiere, a woman named Robi discusses the relationship between her rich father and young mother.

By raising money on Indiegogo, creator Ryan Cashman hopes to fund seven episodes, each of which will feature a different comedian telling his or her story. “My goal is to show the audience that open mic can provide a space for the comedian to tell their story in the form of a group therapy,” he writes, “as well as give them a sense of catharsis when tragic events happen in their lives.”

Creator Bio: Cashman is a stand-up comic who lives in Chicago.

Best Perk: At the $30 level, contributors can write a joke into Open Mic‘s script. After that, all you need to do is think up a joke worthy of publication.

Why You Should Fund It: Open Mic is a simple series at its core, but its existing episodes suggest it is the sort of project that could end up as charming, easily-snackable fare for its viewing audience. As I noted above, Cashman appears to have assembled a nice complement of comedians to work with him on the series, and that fact alone makes the campaign worth a look.

The “serio-comic” scenes, with their emotive that complement the live recordings feature an over-emotive, lip-synced style that seems akin to a no-frills version of Drunk History. In general, Comedy Central’s unscripted programs are probably this series’ closest comp. If you appreciate that sort of humor, check Open Mic out.

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