Short Summary

"Bumpkins" is a female-driven, rural comedy webseries about Fern and Amber Lynn, best friends learning how to be adults at two different stages in womanhood. They are two medium-sized fish in a small town pond and the series is as if the shows "Portlandia" and "Broad City" had a country baby. We want to embrace the rural lifestyle and echo comedy and moments that come from the truths of living in a country town. 

The story involves Fern and Amber Lynn's daily lives, where they work, where they play, the people they surround themselves with and the rustic atmosphere in which they live. Your contribution will go towards locations, food, and props like canoes, caskets, dog kennels, musical instruments, riding lawn mowers and above-ground pools. We're not gonna  be fancy, we're gonna to be down-home funny.

"Bumpkins" takes place in a small, country town and will be filmed in Easton, Maryland. We love this setting because it is beautiful, charming and the town encompasses everything the story needs. In this case, production has to travel to the location which means we have to transport things like crew and equipment. Your contributions will allow us to bring in our production requirements. 

Our New Approach: 

Embracing Local Resources: 

We look forward to including local talent, businesses and locations to give the story a truly authentic feel. We want to have local products in our scenes, local talent performing with us, local businesses as locations and the beauty of the Eastern Shore in our shots. 

We want this series to be like a hug for the community. We want the series to feel as authentically rural and rustic as possible and the comedy to come from a place we can appreciate as home-grown. 

If you are interested in participating, please contact us at bumpkinswebseries@gmail.com for more information and details.

CAST:

FERN: Alexis Morrell

A little about Fern... 30, works at a dog and cat kennel, single and lives with her parents. She wants it all but really doesn't have her junk together. She loves Leo DiCaprio at any age.

AMBER LYNN: Megan McDermott

A smidge about Amber Lynn... 21, and works at the local grocery store. She's a "new adult," learning as she goes along, seeking information but, most often, led by emotion. 

Who We Are: 

We are a diverse group of filmmakers who are based in Los Angeles. Our backgrounds range from South Central, LA to Beijing, China to the Eastern Shore of Maryland creating an eclectic creative perspective on storytelling. 

Writer/Director: Alexis Morrell

Alexis was raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland where she committed herself to shenanigans and babysitting. She played lacrosse through college and then moved to Los Angeles to work in the Film/TV industry and to earn her MFA in TV/Film Production from USC's School of Cinematic Arts. She has worked a variety of roles on set (IMDB) and is now writing and directing what she knows. You can follow Alexis on Twitter @alexis_morrell and on Instagram @TheLazyShiksa. 

Producer: Katrelle Kindred 

A native of South Los Angeles, Katrelle Kindred completed her graduate studies at the University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts, earning a MFA degree in Film and Television Production. A former Subway Fresh Artist winner and recipient of the Johnny Carson Fellowship for academic excellence and Achievement in Cinematic Arts, Katrelle was also selected to direct a short film that will be included in an anthology film, entitled “The Labyrinth,” produced for Rabbit Bandini Productions and mentored by award winning actor, director, and producer, James Franco. Katrelle has directed and produced short films and web content for Sony, Content Co., Hyundai, and various non profit organizations. In the future, Katrelle would like to continue creating honest stories that focus on global social issues and people often unheard.

Writer: Megan McDermott

Meg McDermott was born and raised in Easton, Maryland, where she spent a lot of time driving around town in a ’97 Honda Civic with one side mirror and eating crabs. She is a a fourth year student concentrating in writing for television in the Dramatic Writing Program at Tisch School of the Arts, has studied improv at the UCB in New York City under Chelsea Clarke and Nicole Drespel and was also a member of NYU’s sketch comedy team, HammerkatzNYU. She currently lives in New York. Keep up with her on Twitter/Instagram@mkatmcd.

Cinematographer: Rachel Han Xu

Based in Los Angeles, Rachel has been working on advertising and narrative projects locally and globally. Her international upbringing has given her an integrated understanding of both eastern and western world, and has a strong influence on her work.

Originally from Beijing, China, Rachel holds a BA degree in directing from Peking (Beijing) University and an MFA in film/TV production with cinematography emphasis from the University of Southern California.

Production Designer: Cecile Davis 

Cecile “Cece” Davis grew up in Cambridge Maryland, went to college in London England, where she studied theatre, film and art direction. During the six years she lived abroad, she worked with a wide range of artists: from Kevin Spacey at The Old Vic to independent filmmakers like herself. Feeling homesick for the slower pace and quality of life on the eastern shore, she moved home to Easton in 2010, where she was quickly snapped up by Mid-Shore Community Television (a division of the Avalon Foundation) and to this day, despite owning and running her own successful production company, she continues to work for the TV station and film the many events put on by the Avalon Foundation. www.ceciledavisfilms.com

Music by Ahmed Alabaca 

Ahmed Alabaca was raised in a troubled neighborhood in San Bernardino California, Alabaca began composing and playing the piano at age 6, finding an escape from reality in the music that flowed out of him, giving him life. Alabaca moved to New York in the summer of 2006 and readily adjusted to the life of a struggling artist in the city of dreams, buying a keyboard before he bought a bed. For a time all he did was compose and work.While in NYC, Alabaca earned his B.A. in Music from Hunter College, took classes at Julliard, and earned his New York State teaching certificate. Alabaca began to deeply explore scoring while collaborating on original theater projects, using his music as part of the performance “text”, exploring how to make music a vital and necessary part of the artistic whole as opposed to an unnecessary element superimposed onto the production.

Now, after moving back to California, Alabaca is composing and performing for various projects throughout the Los Angeles Area.

Ahmed can be found on Instagram @ahmedalabaca

Agriculture Culture Advisor: Jenna Hicks

Homegrown in Southern Illinois.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT: 

Why I am making this: 

I think it’s a mixture of living in a small town surrounded by fields, taping over childhood home movies with episodes of “The Nanny” and “SNL” on the family VCR to watch on repeat when my homework was done and a Shania Twain obsession that have led to this moment.

Most writers say to write what you know and I know Fern and Amber Lynn. They are pieces of myself growing up, people I know from home, from college and from other rural areas who are trying to make the most of what they’ve got. The idea for the show came to me when I was just writing a scene for fun about this time I made a huge mistake back home and my dad called the cops on me… The thing is, he didn’t know he called the cops on me. Actually, if he reads this, it might reveal to him that he called the cops on me. I sent the scene to my friend and producing partner, Katrelle Kindred, and she said “Let’s make this.” There’s nothing more rewarding than a mistake paying off creatively. Plus, they can’t fine ya if they can’t find ya. #CountryLogic

I’m presently keeping that story vague as to lure you into watching this series.

I am so proud of the team we have brought together. We have people from all over the world, various backgrounds, ethnicities and stories coming together to make something different, entertaining and above all else, funny. We will be sacrificing time, sweat, tears and dignity to bring you a quality production. I am looking forward to the format as well, something that can be watched in webisode segments but then also enjoyed as a whole, almost as if you were watching a show from television in the 1990s. Do you remember that? I’ll break out the VCR. I still have one.

One last note I want to boast about is our idea of incorporating local crew, talent and businesses. We want “Bumpkins” to have an authentic feel, much like how “Portlandia” or “Broad City” are loyal to their stomping grounds and the people who inhabit them. These characters are your neighbors or your cousins. Everyone gets it, but you don’t really want them to show up at every wedding.

Thank you for being a part of Bumpkins and I can’t wait to show you what we’ve been stirring up! Yee haw!

-Alexis Morrell

PS - Sorry, not sorry Dad. #statuteoflimitations

What We Need & What You Get

The donations will go towards:

• Film equipment rentals. 
• Transporting talented crew to the location.
• Food for cast and crew.
• Location fees.
• Props and set pieces like canoes, riding lawn mowers, aboveground pools and a casket. That's right... This comedy has everything!

If we don't complete the campaign, we have a flexible funding set up so that any donations received will go towards the project and we will work towards producing the show to the best of our abilities.

The Impact

Our webseries will tell the stories of people from rural America. We are taking stories from growing up on the shore, deep south and mid-west and creating a comedy series to reflect the things that you just don't get in the city.

Risks & Challenges

Other Ways You Can Help

Some people just can't contribute, but that doesn't mean they can't help:

• Get the word out and make some noise about our webseries and campaign! 
• Be sure to use the Indiegogo share tools!
• Tweet, text, Facebook, Like, Tumblr and if you can invent a new way of using social media to promote our series, we'd be so grateful! 
• Spread the word locally, or contact Alexis when she's in Easton this July. 
• Promote your product or local business with us. We'd love to have you involved!