For residents of Syracuse, life in upstate New York isn’t followed by a laugh track. But all of that could change if Tom Seeley’s comedic brainchild gets up off the ground.

Seeley, an adjunct television, radio and film professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, is credited with writing the pilot episode of a sitcom, ‘Upstate,’ that would take place in Syracuse. He is collaborating with Steve Kimatian, a former vice president and general manager of WSYR-TV and one of last year’s Republican mayoral candidates, to put the series in production.

Writing sitcoms is an old hat for Seeley. He has been a writer on the shows ‘Murphy Brown’ and ‘Hannah Montana.’ ‘Murphy Brown’ won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1990, during which Seeley was a producer, and was nominated for the same award in 1989.

‘Upstate’ will be a comedic take on economic times. The show revolves around the character of John Michael, a blue-collar factory worker whose production job was recently sent to China. The series, if it gets picked up, would document the struggles of John’s friends and family to face the challenges of a recession.

The script hit the stage when a cast comprised of Syracuse University students and faculty and professional actors from New York City gathered to perform three weeks ago. Celia Madeoy, a voice and acting professor in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, said she and others rehearsed all day for a performance for students from VPA and another for potential investors. Q-and-A sessions with both audiences were held immediately after to gauge audience reaction, and responses were positive.

Madeoy, who read a character named Colleen for the stage performance, said, ‘It was really great fun. As an actor you live for those moments, for a whole new script and a character that hasn’t been done before.’

Timothy Davis-Reed, a professor in VPA and longtime acquaintance of Seeley, was invited to initial meetings with the manager of Syracuse Stage for the rehearsal time. He read the part of Tony, a middle-aged man going back to medical school after losing his job.

Madeoy said Davis-Reed was instrumental in putting the performances together.

Davis-Reed’s acting repertoire includes the television series ‘Sports Night’ and ‘The West Wing.’ 

Elizabeth Boyke, Andy Striph and Mary Ann Pianka were three SU students who helped present the pilot to fellow students and potential producers. Boyke, a sophomore musical theatre major, said ‘Upstate’ was special because it would bring back a true family sitcom to television.

‘Most TV shows nowadays are crime dramas, medical dramas or dramas focusing on the upper class,’ she said. ‘‘Upstate’ addresses the struggles of the middle working class during economic hardship.’

The only thing standing between the script and full-scale production is funding. Striph, a sophomore acting major who played the boy next door, said approximately $150,000 has to be raised this winter to shoot the pilot come spring.

Taylor Louie, a senior retail management major, said she would be interested in seeing the show.

‘I’m living around here, so I think I would check it out and see what they have to say,’ she said.

Those involved, however, believe that even though ‘Upstate’ is based in Central New York, it would have an impressive following nationwide.

Boyke said the series could have a positive impact on Syracuse, giving the local area a newfound notoriety.

Said Boyke: ‘Though I can’t predict what the future might bring, the potential this show will bring to Syracuse is very positive for our city.’

knbaug@syr.edu

Published on November 30, 2010 at 12:00 pm