entertainment BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO One new web series is opening the doors to what it is like to be a tenant in a New York City apartment building. “Common Charges,” co-created by actors Alison Whitney from Long Island City and Jonathan Zipper of Manhattan, is a series that follows six couples living in a fictional building called The Breaston. In approximately five-minute confessional-style episodes, the series shows the reactions each pair has to the building’s policies, rules, problems and neighbors. “It was a unique story we needed to tell, with plenty of ‘only in New York’ experiences to draw from,” Whitney said. The tenants include a gay couple, a man and his mail-order bride, newlyweds, “unlikely besties,” an on-again, off-again couple and the building’s superintendent, according to creators, who also star in the series. “In New York City you have all sorts of people coming together and living together,” said Whitney, who has lived in a Long Island City condominium for eight years. Both Whitney and Zipper said they used their own experiences of living in apartment buildings to create “Common Charges” and relate to viewers. “New York City is so densely populated and everyone lies on top of one another,” said Zipper, who grew up living in apartments his whole life and believes it has been an integral part of who he has grown up to be. “Everyone’s bound to form an opinion on everyone and everything in the building.” All seven episodes of the series, described as “an improvised comedy about big personalities living in small spaces,” were filmed in May at a hotel in Manhattan. The series premiered in September at the 9th Annual Independent Television and Film Festival (ITVFest) in Vermont and will be shown at the Miami Web Fest later this month. “Common Charges is now also running for the ATL WEBFEST “Viewer’s Choice Award.” Anyone with a Facebook account can vote, once a day, on www.facebook. com/atlwebfest. Voters can also catch an episode of the series on the Facebook page until Oct. 18, when voting ends. The creators said they are currently working on a plan to have an official release of all the episodes. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/Common- ChargesTV. Photos courtesy of “Common Charges” Andrew and Michelle Geoff and Wendy Krista and Dan Mario - The Super James and Sasha Blake and Leighton Alison Whitney Jonathan Zipper Complex Living LIC woman co-creates web series on living in New York City apartments
LIC102014
To see the actual publication please follow the link above