Rich Howells

Guys vs. girls improv comedy night on July 20 will help fund indie sci-fi film ‘Solacium’

Guys vs. girls improv comedy night on July 20 will help fund indie sci-fi film ‘Solacium’
Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page

Men vs. women. Spain vs. France. It sounds like the plot of a movie, but it’s actually raising money to fund one. Wait, what?

Let’s start at the beginning. Scranton writer and blogger Tom Borthwick wrote a short science fiction story called “Living in the Singularity” (which can be read here or purchased in an anthology here) that was adapted into a screenplay by Don McGlynn of local improv comedy group Here We Are in Spain. Director Lindsay Barrasse of Voyager Video has picked up the screenplay and is now adapting it into a “retro-futuristic sci-fi” feature film called “Solacium,” which already has a cool promotional website and teaser videos on its Facebook page.

“The film is going to be amazing. I write a lot about technological progress and its effects on relationships. In this story, people have begun uploading their consciousnesses into a supercomputer where they can be free of hunger, disease, poverty, and so on. The main character, Tim, and his wife, Mary, are both watching their social circle be depopulated and Mary struggles with whether or not to “Integrate” – as the upload is called. Tim is not interested, despite what’s happening around them,” Borthwick wrote on his blog.

“For me, technology is a backdrop. The real story is in the characters and Don McGlynn’s script really helped accentuate that idea. Add to that Lindsay’s vision and the talent of the team she put together, and we’ve got a recipe for something great. Oh, and the actors we’ve begun casting are phenomenal.”

The cast includes McGlynn, Conor McGuigan, Jessica McDonough, and Jennifer Frey.

Now Here We Are in Spain, an all-male improv group, will be facing off against an all-female group, Here We Are in France, in a fun comedy night fundraiser to raise money for “Solacium” at Morgan’Z Pub & Eatery (315 Green Ridge St., Scranton) on Monday, July 20 at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $10 and includes finger foods. The event is for ages 18 and over, 21 to drink.

Drummer Steve Werner will open the night with some original hand pan music. Borthwick will serve as the emcee, while many others involved in the production of the film will participate:

Here We Are in Spain:

  • Don McGlynn
  • Rob Klubeck
  • Pat Martin
  • Matthew Britain Perry Giblin
  • Patrick Daniel Holmes

Here We Are in France:

  • Lindsay Barrasse
  • Dani DiLarso
  • Chantel April
  • Kristen Peterman
  • Jennifer Frey

For more info on the fundraiser, see the Facebook event page. For more on the film, which is set for release in September, check out solaciumcorp.com and the Facebook page.

Listen to Here We Are in Spain on Episode 16 of the NEPA Scene Podcast.