Fun Raising
30 min TV Comedy Pilot by Sam Sferrazza
LOGLINE
A past-his-prime party promoter needs to grow up when he begins court ordered community service at an LGBT centre in order to meaningfully create community before the mayor closes the centre for good.
Tone: GAY PARKS & REC
fast paced, wry, quick-witted with a touch of camp
Characters
Our anti-hero. A bratty party promoter with a bad case of arrested development and opposition to authority, including the perfectly nice bank teller who’s replacing his debit card. Again. He desperately wants to find his tribe, but that would require caring about other people.
SKYLER
BRUCE
As the 65 year old director of Friends of Dorothy community centre, Bruce is the tent-pole keeping the entire circus from descending into chaos. After a long day of micro-managing and people pleasing, he unwinds by playing a Diana Ross record and lying on his office floor
Simply known as The Mayor, she is a bleach blonde Mar-A-Lago Barbie who won on a campaign of “draining the swamp” at city hall of all “woke” ideology. Ruthless, egotistical and doesn’t even choose what to have for lunch before checking polling data.
THE MAYOR
A Gen-Z trans man covered in stick and poke tattoos, Myles is the tenderhearted queer in charge of emergency outreach at the centre and, unsurprisingly, a vegan. Everyday he wears a shirt brandishing a niche social cause (e.g. March on Parliament Against Microplastics).
MYLES
Everything about Meredith is intense - from the way she manages the centre’s finances (badly) to her style (early 2000’s nightclub). Merediths unwavering loyalty means she’s committed to acquiring funding by any means necessary, even if that means selling feet pics.
MEREDITH
Julie may be more of a concept than a person, like a deadpan alien observing humanity for the first time. She secretly keeps everything running but doesn’t need recognition - just maybe to be left alone.
JULIE
Story
Skyler is throwing an illegal forest rave inside of a conservation centre when the chaos of his party brings down a rain of dying caterpillars on to party-goers. Locked up by the park ranger, Skyler is sent to Friends of Dorothy community centre - only to find out the mayor is coming in the next day for one of her infamous audits of the centre in her never-ending quest to balance the (mismanaged) city budget. She’s made it her political mission to defund anything deemed “not family friendly”. It doesn’t take a political science major to figure out that means nothing queer. Taking the reigns the only way he knows how, Skyler gets the idea to de-gayify the centre as a means of surviving the audit.
Skyler’s creativity and knack for making a statement could be the jolt of life the centre needs - if only Bruce and him could can get along. Skyler struggles to commit himself to anything that doesn’t serve his free-wheeling ego and Bruce can’t see his ‘we’ve always done it this way’ attitude is keeping the centre struggling and in the past.
The rag tag team at FOD are dedicated but fraught. There’s in-fighting and conflict all made more intense by the centre’s lack of funding. There’s nothing more toxic than gay infighting!
Stakes, structures & world
The mayor is the main source of conflict, who mettles in all of the centres plans to get funding so she gains political capital with her base of bigots. Thanks to the mayor’s deplorable policies, FOD is constantly having to manage another crises, from book bans to a protest at a drag queen story hour. This creates Fun Raising’s story engine when it’s characters have competing tactics as community organizers: Skyler’s rebellion thwarts all of Bruce’s careful planning and Myles’ compassion is tedious to Meredith’s big energy. It’s a world of heightened reality where the mayor is cartoonishly evil (she only kisses babies that compliment her low-lights) and Skyler’s latest nightlife drama makes him unable to sit though the board of directors call (mud wrestling induced diaper rash).
Ultimately our protagonist Skyler wants two things - to create the community and connection he desperately craves and throw a damn good party. But Skyler’s stubborn impulse means he gets in the way of both Bruce and himself. Once Bruce and Skyler learn how to work together, they can achieve their shared goal of creating meaningful connections and make Friends of Dorothy a much needed refuge for the city’s LGBT community.
Why this? Why now?
Fun Raising captures the political moment of DEI backlash we’re currently facing. It’s politically timely and has an unapologetic perspective audiences are craving. Media that speaks directly to diverse audiences is not just doing good, it’s good business.
Workplace comedies are as popular as ever, and Fun Raising is just that with a unique twist. Content that parodies workplace and non-profit office life is super popular online. In addition, nightlife has entered the mainstream: three of your friends are probably DJ’s, and remember Brat summer? Pop up and coffee raves are everywhere. Fun Raising speaks to this specific cultural moment while also poking fun.
Why me?
Hi! I’m Sam Sferrazza.
Fun Raising is a pilot about the unlikely intersection of queer nightlife and not-for-profit work. As a proven comedic writer, I have the identity and the experience of an enthusiastic queer party goer and someone who has worked with queer not-for-profits for many years. Queer voices need to be represented in the media, telling stories by us for us.
My talent as a comedic writer has been proven on some of Canada’s biggest stages.
I have been doing stand up in Canada for nearly a decade, performing at festivals like Just For Laughs and Winnipeg Comedy Festival and appearing as well as writing on programs like Roast Battle Canada on Crave, Top of the Block on HGTV and Next Wave of Stand Up on CBC Gem.
In addition, I was also a producer and founder of my own award winning production company, Route Eleven where I won a Cannes Young Lion for Film, produced music video productions with talent like Grimes, Janelle Monáe and Kiesza and commercials for brands like Porter, Tangerine Bank and Historica Canada. With over a decade of experience, I have the production know-how few new writers / comedians posses.
samsferrazza@gmail.com
647-821-6900