In the Los Angeles area, the fact is that competition is fierce for any acting role. It can take years of going to auditions to get a speaking role on a TV series, and, as those years go by, the number of roles for an actor's age group tends to diminish. The whole process can be very discouraging. However, for a couple of actors in Agoura Hills/Oak Park, CA, producing their own Public Access Television show has given them more choices and more exciting opportunities.

How it started:

When Tim Gallagher met Regina Mocey in 2004, neither of them thought that they would be producing a recurring television show. They met at the Time Warner Cable (formerly Adelphia Cable) studio in Westlake Village, CA while learning television production in a free program provided to the community by Time Warner. Regina had started A Readers Theatre in 1999 to provide public readings of classic plays to book clubs and other organizations, and to keep herself acting while raising her three sons. Tim wanted to create a television program that would showcase his diverse acting talents. "Regina brought the basic idea and group of actors to the table, and I provided technical skills to follow through from taping to airing", said Tim. Tim's full-time job is developing custom software. "It is a great mix of both of our strengths," said Regina. "I don't have the patience with all the equipment, but I enjoy getting people together to experience new dramatic works." With the help of instructor Connie Enriquez of Time Warner Cable, Tim, Regina and several other actors became certified in studio use, and then took on their next challenge; actually producing a show.

What has come out of it:

The first episode was difficult to get started. "We didn't even have an original script and we had no budget to license a script. So, I had to write something," Tim said. "The Push" became the first script read for Readers Theater TV. The actors were gathered, assigned to roles and the rehearsals began. There were three rehearsals with three different set designs until the final "open studio" set design was used. The idea was to build on Regina's original A Readers Theatre and to take advantage of the TV medium. "We wanted to get up and move around. Kind of like a table read on steroids," says Regina. Actors were arranged in a semi-circle of chairs, and when their part came up in the script, the actor would approach the microphones and interact with other actors during a scene. "We were very pleased with the first reading, but we learned that taping in the studio, though time consuming, was actually less than half the total effort," said Tim. After each show is taped, it is converted from ¾ inch tape to miniDV to computer where the show is edited for broadcast on cable. Tim and Regina decided to also include an interview with the writer of each script. So, the editing includes putting together the reading, the interview with the writer, the intro, the closing, titles and credits to complete the 1 hour show (58 minutes, 30 seconds to be exact). Finally, Tim and Regina schedule a wrap party to screen the show and pass out complimentary DVDs to all involved in the production. "Since we are an all volunteer organization, we wanted to show our appreciation for everyone's hard work. Giving out DVDs is a nice gift," Tim said.

What is in the future:

Every year the group of volunteers grows, more new plays get produced, and Tim and Regina feel that the way they produce the program gets better. Readers Theater TV has produced plays written by writers as local as Agoura Hills, Oak Park, and Camarillo and as distant as OrangeCounty and even Great Britain. "Producing the interview with British playwright, Colin Pink, was a bit difficult, but we pulled it off with a photo and some scrolling text of his answers, spoken by a local British actor, approved by Colin, of course." said Tim. "I'm proud of all the work we have done so far, and am looking forward to producing our tenth episode, which I think is a good milestone." Regina says, "We are always looking for new scripts, new actors, and videographers who will join us for our productions." Tim and Regina both agree that when they started out acting, they never thought that it would lead to producing, but producing a weekly community access television program has given them a greater appreciation of what goes on behind the camera.

Readers Theater TV has produced readings of the following scripts: "The Push" (screen play) by Tim Gallagher, "La Visita" (play) by Peter H. Brothers, "50-50" (play) by Helene Cohen, "Pleasure and Grief" (play) by Colin Pink, "Sense of Wonder" (screen play) by Regina Mocey, and "Dancing on a Grave" (play) by John Bolen. For more information about Readers Theater TV, check out the web site at http://www.Gallaware.com/ReadersTheater.