Press Start!

Miss the excitement of arcade games? That rush of winning the jackpot, the neon lights, the catchy tunes and the funky prizes? Well look no further! Relive all the nostalgic feels, while being a backer of the comedy web series, Galactic Circus.

The Epic Quest

When a group of eclectic employees close for the night, they find something terribly wrong… they’ve been locked in with no means for escape! They soon learn that this is a ploy devised by their immature general manager, Herbert, for their annual staff party. As he watches over them in a make-shift, Saw-like Escape Room, the staff members realise that they're truly in a Time Crisis and their quickest way out will be to play along with his ridiculous games. Each with their own reasons to escape (or not to), the staff members must attempt to work together if they have any hope of saving their Big Basses.

The Series

The overarching story carries the universally relatable themes of family, loyalty and finding a sense of belonging. Each of our lead characters, although misfits in RL, are drawn to the venue in one way or another, but more importantly their fellow colleagues. Embracing diversity and screen representation, we hope that our characters will be people that our audience want to befriend.

Select Your Characters

HERBERT: The incompetent general manager, who loves the limelight. He’s a little over dramatic and has an excuse for everything.

STACEY: The more level headed person, and although only 2nd in charge, is the go-to manager to get things done. She’s no nonsense and fair, but has a weakness for food.

MADYSON: Our aspiring influencer currently has over 7k followers and 65k+ realtime views. She knows how to twist things around and get it her way.  Check out her Instagram and YouTube Channel!

ESPEN: Is super meticulous in everything he does and longs for recognition. He’s a hard worker but with borderline OCD tendencies.

GRACIE: She always sees the best in people and is a huge source of encouragement. As a cult escapee, she’s experiencing all that life has to offer!

BEAU: Beau is a champion gamer and Herbert’s best friend. He lacks confidence when it counts, but is very loyal to his friends.

TOM: Slick, suave and the coolest guy in GC. He is low-key super observant but likes to stick to the status quo.

The Overlords 

Co-creators Taysha McFarland and Tristan Braines have gathered over a decade of experience working in busy arcades and theme parks. Combining this with the many years of collaborating on multiple projects together from award winning short films to even more ambitious productions, the creative duo are excited to merge these experiences together in order to bring this series to life. 

Together with the help of an incredible team and talented cast, we plan to bring you an authentic, heartfelt comedy about friendship, work life and finding a sense of belonging. Littered with gaming Easter Eggs, GC will be wacky, weird, loveable yet strangely relatable. Inspired by what was once a real venue, Galactic Circus is a reprise of its glory days (or not so glory days).

Before You Press Start

Taysha and Tristan first met each other at the original Galactic Circus venue in Melbourne as employees, where they developed a strong friendship. This continued on for years until they combined creative forces and became unofficial collaborative partners in 2014, and it was whilst in the midst of everyday workplace dramas and encountering strange characters, they asked themselves, "What if there was a comedy series based on all of this?" Who wouldn't want to know about all the crazy things that happen here?" From failed Justin Bieber moments to exploding popcorn machines, they realised all the never-ending stories that could be shared. This was the moment that Galactic Circus, the comedy series, began.

(Galactic Circus Stock Room circa 2010)

Inspired by the very real friendships, diverse customers, workplace shenanigans and the wholly unique environment of an arcade, they realised how special the atmosphere of Galactic Circus was. Equally influenced by some of their favourite comedies including Brooklyn 99, Community, Futurama, Malcolm in the Middle, Modern Family & Schitts Creek, and realising the common themes these particular series possessed (especially the concept of misfits united by a common circumstance coming together), they got to work creating the idea of Galactic Circus as a comedy series.

Drawing on the real personal experiences and stories, they crafted a group of original characters and with those came the ideas for the story. Even after the original venue of Galactic Circus closed down in 2016, they have kept the vision of bringing Galactic Circus the series to life. With a strong emphasis on nostalgia, home-grown content, normalising diversity, comedy and entertainment value, the development of the series has always been about capturing the essence of that special chapter in their lives, that was Galactic Circus.

Since its initial inception, and with the ever changing landscape that is online streaming content, the idea for Galactic Circus has evolved into its current format, which is to be a 8 x 6min episodic web series. However getting to this point was a thorough and challenging journey. Very early on, Taysha and Tristan knew that one of the most paramount aspects of the show would always be the colourful characters, and the need to have talented and charismatic actors to bring them to life.

Casting for the series began in 2019 and continued well into 2020. From acting workshops and improv meetings to casting auditions over zoom, they were able to assemble a diverse cast of local talent, who have continually stuck by the project and are ready to bring these eclectic characters to the screen. And it's not only the incredible cast who continually support Galactic Circus, but the immensely hard working crew who have consistently risen to the call of duty in bringing the vision alive.

Earlier this year, the cast and crew helped produce a major stepping stone for the series, when we shot the Proof of Concept episode over several weeks. The Proof of Concept episode was the first substantial time that the cast fully encapsulated and brought the characters to life. It resoundingly confirmed to all involved how much potential the series has going for it.

(Behind the Scenes Photography by Melville Quilliam (Fotografi Group))

Press X to Continue

Now armed with a Proof of Concept episode, a complete scripted season, drafts for future seasons, a dedicated production team and a great ambition to make the series fully realised, we are ready to begin the next major stage of the Galactic Circus journey.

Deep into the pre-production planning for the first season, we are passionate at bringing the series to you in 2022, but we still need all the support we can get, which is why we're launching this Indiegogo campaign in order to get the name of Galactic Circus out there and to raise some funds to help bring the project to you.

Troubleshooting 

We are always striving to meet that industry standard and maintaining a professional working environment for all our productions, and Galactic Circus is no different. Galactic Circus is by far the biggest production we have undertaken and like any creative project has come with its own challenges.

It's these challenges that push us to become stronger and more resilient film makers, to create quality content for everyone and create a community by bringing them together. We want to get this content out to everyone but we cannot do it without you.

Biggest challenge is the delivery and we really want to bring the content to your screens!
Even if mentioning this campaign to people by sharing to your friends and families will mean so much to all of us.

Meet the Players

DEAN GUNERA as Herbert Gruber

Dean is a supremely versatile actor who has played a wide range of wonderful characters over his many years in acting. From award nominated performances as Salvador Dali with STAG, to numerous years studying under Peter Kalos at the Melbourne Actors Lab and Impro Melbourne, Dean will always go the extra step to craft the best possible performance. His amazing dedication to acting brings a certain dramatic flair to the fun and zany role of Herbert, making it a true match made in heaven.

KIM KO as Stacey Chan

Intelligent, witty and charming, Kim is the perfect fit for misunderstood or complex characters, consistently bringing a great gravitas to all her performances. It is only natural that she embodies the character of Stacey Chan so well. A medical professional by training and trade, she is multilingual in seven languages, musically trained in singing, dancing, and instrumental plus being an accomplished author. Multi-talented is definitely a very apt description for her, which enables her to nail the performance of Stacey at every opportunity.

FELISE MORALES as Madyson Joyce Madlangbayan

Always sticking by her Filipina Australian roots, Felise began pursuing acting in 2017, after completing her graduate year as a Registered Nurse. Success soon followed in commercial acting, presenting and modelling. She found her acting groove in comedy, studying Clowning with Fabio Motta and featuring in multiple comedy skits and shorts. Her natural charisma and commitment to acting makes her the perfect Madyson. Her great contribution of ideas and vision for the character makes bringing the character to life effortless.

TYLER JENKINS as Espen Argus

Tyler has trained both musically and dramatically from a young age both in theatre and film, and has become a true globe trotting performer. From touring Italy as a TIE performer, to working & studying under the tutelage of renowned casting director Jodi Rothfield in the US, to also travelling domestically with Australia's largest theatre-in-education company, Brainstorm Productions. As a multi-talented performer, we are always excited to unravel his many skills and quirks, which he's always prepared to apply to the quiet delight that is Espen.

LARA DEAM as Gracie O'Neil

Lara is an exceptional actress with over 10 years industry experience in both Australia and Canada. She has appeared in numerous TV commercials, live broadcasts and multiple short films and feature films. In 2018, Lara took home the Best New Talent award at the Oz International Film Awards, winning the award for her role in the independent mumblecore feature film, ‘Friends, Foes and Fireworks’, now on Amazon Prime. Broadly recognised for her talented skills in character acting, Lara brings the excitable energy required to portray the peppy, unique and wonderful character that is Gracie.

JESSE BUTLER as Beau Blackburn

Graduating drama school in 2009, Jesse has been working in the performance industry in a multitude of roles as actor, director, writer, comedian and voice over artist. Currently in a role as a children’s entertainer in hospitals, he is an indigenous artist born in Adelaide, who recently made the move from Melbourne to Darwin. Whether we’re laughing, crying, buying, selling or just having a yarn with Jesse, he always brings his A game when delivering a performance. His nuanced and effortless approach with the character of Beau, never fails to leave a multitude of laughs and heart in its wake.

SUNNY WALIA as Tom Kelly-Banks

A highly prolific and well known local talent, Sunny has not only trained at Brave Studios and TAFTA, he also possesses 5 years experience working as a Rifleman in the Australian Army Reserves. One of his most recent accomplishments was his win for the AACTA pitch competition, where his performance was labelled original and truthful by the judges. With consistent calm and professionalism, Sunny always brings the screen presence and charm needed to elevate the cool and suave character that is Tom.

The Coin

Wonder where your coins are going towards? This is where we bring the arcade comedy series to reality with your help with the power to combine forces!  As you may know, a there are many different costs that come in to play with film productions and ours is no different.  The funds raised from this campaign will go towards our:

• Location Hire
• Equipment Hire
• Insurance and Legal Fees
• Catering
• Cast 
• Crew
• Post Production
• Marketing and Distribution
• Indiegogo Fees, Perk Costs and COVID-19 Safety

Currently we are looking to raise a minimum of $8,000 to cover our legal costs prior to applying for more funding.  This is the most up to date quote, received from our legal representation, which will cover our Chain of Title documents, Solicitor's opinion letter, cast and crew contracts and location contracts for example.  Before we can apply for government funding, we will need to provide these documents in order to have the chance of being successful.  You can be a part of that!

The budget we have set in this campaign is the bare minimum we would need to independently produce this web series.  Our hope is to raise enough funds to cover our initial costs prior to applying for government funding for the full series.  At award rates, our total budget would equate to upwards of $400,000.  Failing to be successful with our application, we will be looking to independently produce Galactic Circus using a reduced budget of $137,646.  

Below is a percentage breakdown of total costs for an indie budget:

Your Contribution Counts

Every contribution made to this campaign helps us get closer to our goal.  No matter the size of your contribution, each "backer" is a part of this journey and a huge support to strengthening our application.  

While we understand that times are difficult and we may not reach our full funding goal, we do have an urgent need to raise the legal costs in order to apply for more funding.  This means it is essential for us to raise a minimum of $8,000.  

If we are unsuccessful in reaching this, we will still be determined to make this series.  We will then take some time to reassess our production and decide what we can and can not do.  We have already spent over 7years working and developing this project and truly feel that this is the opportune time to make this series and share it with you!  Not meeting our minimum goal would mean we would have to push back production yet again.

In the very fortunate chance that we will raise more than 100% of our independent budget in this campaign, we will jump straight in to production and will be able to keep to our current schedule of filming in early 2022, with a release later that year.

Perk Info

What is included in the Galactic Circus Showbags?

Standard Showbag includes: Galactic Circus Poster, Galactic Circus Temporary Tattoo and a small mystery prize

Deluxe Showbag includes: Galactic Circus Poster, Galactic Circus Temporary Tattoo, a Galactic Circus T-shirt and a Medium Mystery Prize

Premium Showbag includes: Galactic Circus Poster, Galactic Circus Temporary Tattoo, Galactic Circus T-Shirt, GC Hoodie and a Large Mystery Prize

For a size guide, including measurements for T-Shirts, Hoodies and caps, check out our Merchandise store.

T-Shirts: "The GC Basic Tee" available in multiple colours.  Sizes from Small to 5XL

Hoodies: "GC Staff Hoodie" available in multiple colours.  Sizes from XS to 5XL

All filming will take place in Melbourne, Victoria.  Please note, for perks including events and on-set experiences, you will need to organise your own mode of transport.

Meet the Coders

Writers, Producers and Directors: Taysha McFarland & Tristan Braines 

Excutive Producer: Cindy Pritchard

Associate Producer and Marketing Director: Will Chan

Line Producer: Vikki Blinks 

Co-Writer: Sarah Baker

Director of Photography: Samuel Vella 

Camera Department: Sal Hicks & Bree Horwood

Production Designer: Bianca Milani

Music Composer: Chris Tuazon 

Sound Design: Khang Nguyen

Editor: Mark Davenport

Animator and Conceptual Artist: Nikki Wong

Makeup Artistry: Nikki Di Matteo, Kristal Garcia, Renee Louise and Shonal Kumar

Stills Photography: Melville Quilliam

Promotional Stills Photography: Kevin Long

Thank You!