Launch of new on-line comedy series in Galway
Giles Brody (left) and Bob Hennigan.
By Kernan Andrews
LIFE COACH, the new on-line comedy series from local comedians Giles Brody and Bob Hennigan, will be launched tonight.
The series’ official website will be launched at 8pm in the Bierhaus on Dominick Street and two episodes of the show will also be shown.
Life Coach follows the adventures of the painfully shy John and his omnipotent life coach. As well as staring Brody and Hennigan, the show will also feature appearances from Brian Kelly (So Cow), musician/actor Emmet O'Malley, Vertigo Smyth, and Maria Anastacia Keogh. It is directed by Barry Richardson.
The show was conceived by Brody and Hennigan with writer Eamon Quinlan.
“Eamon had a screenplay idea about two conmen, one of whom was posing as a life coach,” says Brody. “A life coach will ask you what team you support. If you say you don’t support a team, they say ‘Wrong. You support Chelsea. They’re a winning team’.”
“Effectively a life coach can make any sort of comment on your life and make it seem profound,” says Hennigan. It’s entirely subjective. It doesn’t matter what the idea is so long as its presented in a confident way.”
What is particularly challenging about working on a no budget websitcom? “Getting people to commit to shoot for no money is always difficult but we have a lovely crew that have gone above and beyond what we asked for,” says Brody.
Another challenge for the series was in trying to ensure people did not interfere with the shooting of the series which took place around Galway city.
“Shooting outdoors with no budget is always challenging because you’ve got no people to keep people away,” says Hennigan. “We were shooting early one Saturday morning on Buttermilk Lane.
“For the most part people were nice, but cameras always seem to attract one or two eejits. One fellow ran in and ruined a shot by parading around with two pints of milk he'd just found. He turned out to be an actor.”
Brody admits that while there is “no money” in on-line comedy, it does provide “a lot more scope and freedom” and is a “good way to build up a portfolio when you go looking for commissions”. There is also a link on the Life Coach website for those who would like to donate for future productions.
However initial responses to Life Coach have been positive and the duo hope it will be the start of something that they can build on and develop into the future.
“We had a lot of positive comments on our pilot episode from a lot of real life coaches,” says Brody. “We hope that they’ll incorporate our theories into their sessions and compensate us royally for it!”
Life Coach can be seen at www.facebook.com/lifecoachtips, mrlifecoach.wordpress.com, and on YouTube. All are welcome to tonight’s launch.