IC Students in Sitcom Writing Marathon

What do you get when you take Rick Shaw (sitcom producer of the Nanny), add eight Park School students, lock them in a room for a weekend and provide a runner to keep the pizza flowing? A very funny sitcom—we hope!The students were chosen from 100 entrants, based on essays demonstrating their funny IQ. On Saturday, Nov. 10, and Sunday, Nov. 11, they pick up the gauntlet, forgo some sleep and start the repartee to create unforgettable characters in bizarre situations that we can identify with (on some level). By Sunday evening—voila—a sitcom outline.But that’s not all! Shaw plans a double header, filming the weekend process and pitching it as a reality show.“It’s a marathon session. We are just going to sit there until the job gets done,” said Shaw. “With any luck we will sell the show and start looking for beach-front properties in Malibu,” he addedDuring the spring semester students will take the outline, develop the characters and create the laughs, turning it into a full-fledged sitcom pilot, ready for its close-up—the Hollywood pitch.And that’s a wrap.