PORTSMOUTH- Locals armed with their creative minds, artistic backgrounds, and cameras are at it once again, as they reunite as Subject To Change Entertainment, bringing a new video production to the community after last year’s fun romp, “Sweded Die Hard” and the following “Magic Pen” short.

Their latest project is called “The Indiscriminate Weight of Mondays,” and breathes life into some well-known characters— well, sort of.

“’The Indiscriminate Weight of Mondays’ is a dark comedy short film that parodies the famed comic strip and cartoon character Garfield,” Subject To Change Entertainment Founder Vincent Herman said. “After a series of stressful, rapid-fire events take place at work, Garf has a mental break, the results of which will change the lives of his co-workers forever.”

Per usual, the script was penned by Herman himself, prior to shooting.

“It really started as a random note I’d made years ago and forgot in the back of a notebook that said ‘guy gets stack of paperwork. Laughs, cries, then screams.’ It really only took on the Garfield parody element from Chelsea, Travis and I just goofing around about Garfield being a murderer and we eventually found a correlation between the two,” Herman said. “Additionally, I was working in a logistics field for six years being underappreciated, underpaid and overworked, and it was making me miserable. So, that all kind of worked its way into the script without me really realizing it until I started editing.”

The Subject To Change crew had a lot of fun with the project, according to Herman, and learned a lot along the way.

“I took away the same thing we take away from every project. We learn new ways to produce the best version of our story that we can. That goes for shooting techniques, special effects makeup, editing,” Herman explained. “We grow every time. There’s an alleyway scene that’s pretty intense that we had no exact idea how to shoot before getting there on the day, but I think we pulled it off, and now we know how to do that.”

The group has already showcased their latest video to the public in screenings.

One of those screenings was held at Portsmouth Little Theatre, where the group spends many hours a year volunteering, filming, and offering videography services to the nonprofit as an in-kind donation. Since then, the group has saved the theatre much-needed funding for future development and maintenance and has increased attendance through marketing materials made by Herman and friends.

“The screening at PLT went really well! One of our best crowds yet,” Herman said. “I think this is the first time we’ve had people lined up outside the doors waiting to get in before they opened. I was getting texts from people asking me to open them early.”

The show has a cast of locals, many of which have extensive local stage acting experience. The cast was determined after public auditions were announced and held by Vincent in the fall.

“This is one of the first times we’ve almost entirely outsourced our cast and we nailed down a really great group of local actors,” Herman claimed. “Adam Lucas, Drew Herman, Greg Bauer, and Austin Scott are all Portsmouth Little Theatre alum who’ve been appearing in a bunch of recent performances on that stage, and are making their onscreen debut in this project. Then there’s Micah Roberts and, of course, the wonderful Subject To Change co-owner, Chelsea Watkins, both of whom have made a variety of appearances in our work, most notably ‘Sweded Die Hard.’ I feel like we got lucky to get exactly the people we needed to fill the shoes of the characters on the page, and people who take direction very well. I entirely expect us to be working with them again.”

Herman said that film in Portsmouth can be challenging, but it is a passion he takes seriously. While the group is deep into screenings of “Mondays,” he is already lost in new stories waiting to come out.

“There are sometimes lulls between projects that can be disheartening, but, once I’m on set or typing out a new script, it floods back why I love doing this,” Herman said. “These screenings are really important for keeping that spark alive too. We had such a great crowd at our first screening. They totally got the project and that’s so valuable to me.”

The artists have several additional screenings planned in the community. They will be at The Landing in Portsmouth on Saturday, February 24, at 217 Market Street. Admission is $6. They will continue the screenings at the Shawnee State University Kricker Innovation Hub on Monday, February 26, at 221 Chillicothe Street. Admission is $6. The currently scheduled tour will close on Thursday, February 29 at the Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center, 825 Gallia Street. Admission is $6 for general admission and $5 for museum members. Showings of all three nights will be at 7 p.m.

Vincent closed the interview reflecting on where he is in his life, artistically and geographically. The artist and Subject To Change founder stated that he nearly left Portsmouth to pursue his dream, but felt like the universe was calling him to create art in a different way.

“Well, I put my dreams on hold for a variety of reasons for nearly two decades, and, honestly, here recently, I had expected myself to be in New York already, trying my hand as a writer out there. It wasn’t until we did ‘Sweded Die Hard’ that those plans changed a bit,” Herman said. “All I wanted to do was create a fun remake with my brother and friends like we’d talked about for years, and then I was going to walk away and ride off to the coast, but it was so fun, and we realized we really could plant our own little flag in film here, that I just couldn’t walk away. Not yet. My hope is that we inspire other people to pick up their own cameras, or even phones, and bring their ideas to life alongside ours. We want to see more film in Portsmouth.”

Learn more about Subject To Change Entertainment and find their event schedule on Facebook.

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2024 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved.