Getting to know people who live and work in the borough

This week we speak to two women hoping for some help to get their new online comedy series 'Turn Me Online' off the ground.

Suzie Preece, 26 is an actress and Hannah Lane, 26, a freelance writer/director.

How long have you lived in Ealing and whereabouts do you live now?

Suzie - I live close to South Ealing station

Hannah - I lived in Northfields for 26 years but have now moved to Wimbledon but really miss Ealing. Especially how green it is.

What are your favourite pubs/restaurants/shops?

We’re a really big fan of The New Inn and The Red Lion. The New Inn was the place Turn Me Online started as a small idea over a couple of glasses of wine

Hannah - I used to go to the Red Lion with my dad and look at the film memorabilia and hope that one day something I made would get on to the wall.

What do you like about the area?

We like how green Ealing is and that there is always something going on. Having the blues, jazz and comedy festival every year in Walpole Park is so much fun. Ealing feels separate from central London and yet well connected to it as well. 

What do you think could be improved?

Crossrail! Being able to get into central London faster will be amazing.

Do you have any hidden gems - special places you love and would recommend?  -

Suzie - I'm a a big fan of The Garden Café for a sneaky greasy spoon fry up and the mansion previously owned by the Rothschild family in Gunnersbury Park during the summer months.

Hannah - India India is the first place I eat in whenever I comes back to Ealing to see ther family. The food is amazing and the service is wonderfully friendly.

Maxims has always been the place to go when you’re celebrating something.

Where did you get the idea/inspiration for your comedy?

Suzie - The idea for Turn Me Online came about when I asked Hannah to write an original monologue for my Bristol Old Vic showcase. After I graduated from drama school we started thinking more about the monologue and the character of Alice and thought it would be a great idea to work together and make a web series.

We’ve been friends for years and always wanted to work together. This project was the perfect opportunity! We have always based the main character around our own personalities. Alice is in her mid twenties and not sure what she wants out of life. It is a character that we hope speaks to a lot of other people out there. Turn Me Online is an original comedy web series, following the story of Alice trying to find her perfect man online.

Is it set locally - will we see any familiar sites?

We shot part of episode one in The New Inn and hopefully will film more of the series in there too! We also have been filming in our houses in Ealing but hope to shoot a bit more outside now that the weather is improving. It would be great to take advantage of the wonderful restaurants and parks that Ealing has and give them a starring role.

Who do you think it will appeal to?

Our show is aimed at audiences aged 20-35. It is very much about life as a singleton in London and features some “quarter life” issues that are common place with people in that age bracket these days. We based the main character on ourselves and our lives.

Is comedy difficult to get right?

Comedy is very difficult to get right and during the writing process we created and rejected countless ideas. There were some which we still think are good but weren’t sure would translate to others! Comedy is so subjective. We just wrote and wrote and when we both laughed at something we kept it. We hope that other people will laugh too.

Who are your favourite comedians or which comedy programmes do you enjoy?

Tina Fey and Caitlin Moran are two of our comedy favourites. They are both incredibly funny women and great comic writers in different mediums. It’s been a very long road for women in comedy and the world is only starting to see that we can be just as funny as the men. Tina Fey and Caitlin Moran have been huge inspirations to us as writers and as women in the media world.

What do you need to complete the filming and how can people help?

We need money, please! We’re trying to raise £3000 to finish the series but are also looking for restaurants, bars and offices in Ealing that would be happy to let us film in them. We’re not the BBC so obviously our budget is small especially as most of the money we raise will need to go towards feeding people! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/turn-me-online/x/7368488

Will it be on tv?

Sadly it won’t be on TV just yet but we are hoping that we might get a commission to make a longer series for TV. See the pilot episode here

You will be able to see the whole series on our website www.turnmeonline.com and sites like Daily Motion or BlipTV when it is finished.

What will you do after this?

We hope to get Turn Me Online into some of the web series awards and festivals that happen worldwide and have already got some plans in mind for a second series. After this we also hope to get a writing/ acting agent and find more opportunities in the industry. Hannah has other scripts she has finished writing and would love to see them get made too.

If you had a slogan to 'sell' Ealing what would it be?

It really is The Queen of the Suburbs. I think it’s a classic but suits Ealing perfectly.

Do you want to be featured in 'My Ealing'?

If you live or work in the borough contact editor@ealingtoday.co.uk

21st May 2014