User:Pipedreamz/Theater Class

Theater Class is a web-based comedy series about a group of misfits in a community college theater class. It began in April 2009 and was developed by YouTube personality Brandon Rogers. It features an ensemble cast of virtually unknown young actors led by Rogers.

Filmed in a style reminiscent of Greg Daniels' The Office and Parks and Recreation, Theater Class is a mockumentary in which characters not only address the camera in monologues but also openly acknowledge it during the course of the episode's plot.

It is filmed primarily in the East Bay Area of Northern California.

Synopsis
The series follows the misadventures of an under-enrolled theater class at the fictional Valley Village Community College in Akron, Ohio. Alex Rimmer, a stand-up comedian who has become a pariah in the entertainment industry, takes a job as the class' teacher, despite having absolutely no teaching background and little in the way of people skills. There are only six students in the class, and most of them seem to be taking the course for reasons other than a desire to learn drama. Rimmer's teaching methods include asinine versions of show-and-tell, role-playing (with Rimmer portraying characters like Mufasa from The Lion King and racist stereotypes of Far Easterners) and field trips and parties that have little or nothing to do with theater. Over the course of the initial episodes, Rimmer made an enemy of his boss, Dean Martin Shaft, and managed to alienate all of his students on one occasion or another. What they lack in productivity, however, they have come to build in a sense of community, which led to their banding together to keep the class from being canceled by the Dean.

Characters
Alex Rimmer (portrayed by Brandon Rogers) is a 24 year-old stand-up comic of questionable talent. He claims to come from a long line of successful performers, but he himself became more infamous for his antics outside of performing than his actual comedy routine. After a violent outburst at a talk show and subsequent arrest, Alex moved back from Hollywood to his hometown of Akron, Ohio, where he was hired as a theater teacher at Valley Village Community College. Mr. Rimmer's teaching experience is non-existent and his style is brash and often counterproductive. He also has a staggering ability to say and do inappropriate things; though, for the most part, his intentions are good, and most of his students come to like him.

Mason Lucas (portrayed by Salim Razawi) has a genuine desire to pursue acting as a career, but is easily side-tracked by self-doubt and an unrequited crush on his best friend, Cici. As a result, he tends to put her needs in front of his own even if the act is not reciprocated. After Mr. Rimmer unintentionally causes the death of Mason's dog, he is given an automatic "A" for the semester but continues to come to the class and begins to open up to and even grow fond of Mr. Rimmer. He is often the voice of reason for the others.

Cici Lofte (episodes 1–7) (portrayed by Skylar Schock) is an aspiring actress and Mason's best friend. She is disgusted by Mr. Rimmer's lack of training and inability to teach the class, and is generally put off by the other students in the class, as well. She starts a petition to get Mr. Rimmer fired that fails and causes a strain in her friendship with Mason. In episode seven, Cici moves to Los Angeles to pursue acting as a career, leaving the class open to a new student and Mason heartbroken.

Marlena Lewton (episode 8–, recurring episodes 4, 6–7) (portrayed by Rachael Ferris) is the editor-in-chief of Valley Village's newspaper who ran a smear campaign against Rimmer and his class. She is enlisted by Dean Martin Shaft to gather enough evidence so that he may fire Rimmer without fear of a lawsuit. After being double-crossed by Shaft, she becomes a student of the class in earnest, but has a long road ahead to gain the trust of her classmates and Mr. Rimmer. Marlena has a crush on Oliver Hamilton.

Oliver Hamilton (portrayed by Stephen Weighill) is a football player whose motivations for joining the class are unknown, other than the fact that he seems to have varying degrees of sexual attraction to each female member of the class. His participation in the group's assignments and projects is limited at best, but he treats most members of the class with respect. He talks Mr. Rimmer into fighting for his job after a strict sub begins terrorizing the class.

Karen Shou (portrayed by Karen Fokes) is a frumpy, clinically depressed girl. Karen's mother recently died, though Karen seemed to be just as depressed before this happened, and has taken to carrying her mother's urn around with her at school; a regular gag involves the urn being spilled or dumped out. She is a frequent target of disdain (not to mention physical harm) from the other members of the class, particularly Mr. Rimmer and Jaime Bolton. Her "buzzkill" ways are a drain on the class, and she is the only student remaining in the class who seems to continue to harbor bad feelings for Mr. Rimmer.

Linda Starford (portrayed by Janet McCarroll) is a happy-go-lucky student who probably has ADHD. She is amused and delighted by the smallest of things, such as the sound of her own voice on a tape recorder and winning a chair as a prize. Linda is generally found smiling and treats most everyone kindly, though she does have her limits in the face of her antithesis, Karen, and also Dean Shaft, who she is aware has attempted to sabotage the class.

Jaime Bolton (portrayed by Adam Neylan) is the oldest member of the class (telling Rimmer he had "warts older than" him) who has joined just to "meet younger guys". He has an extreme fetish for exhibitionism, wearing outlandish outfits that show off his body despite being overweight and frequently abandoning with clothes all together. He has a sexual desire for Oliver and an antagonistic relationship with Karen. Jaime has a drinking problem and has previously been and may still be a prostitute and/or exotic dancer.

Martin Shaft (portrayed by Tony Rogers) is the Dean of Admissions and Records at Valley Village Community College who inexplicably hired Alex for his job and is constantly trying to find a way to ouster him, as well as shut down the class as a whole. He is shown to engage in many illicit practices to try and save money for the school, and possibly pocket the money himself. Shaft fired Mr. Rimmer but was forced to rehire him when incriminating evidence of his conspiracies surfaced, thanks to Marlena. Dean Shaft does not appear in all episodes, nor does his title card.

Episodes
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