Next In Line

Directed by Roy Lopez roylopez.pp@gmail.comProduced by Ellen Quinnellenquinn01@gmail.com@__ellen__quinn

Roy Lopez. Director

Like many performance artists, comedians face rejection and self-doubt on a daily basis. Some of them seem to be able to deal with it in a healthy way, and for others, it is a soul-shattering experience that leads them to give up on the world and themselves.

What is it about audiences that every time that someone stands on stage they feel like it’s a duel between getting laughs and completely bailing on their dreams?

'Next In Line' started while spending time talking to comedians in various pubs in the inner west suburbs of Sydney. The concept idea originated specifically from the frustration of comedian Seizure Kaiser who spoke to Director Roy Lopez about his reputation in the local scene and the sacrifices he made to pursue a career in comedy.

Empathetic about Seizure's story, it felt like a lot of people can relate to this. We all have to sacrifice something to achieve something else whether that be a dream job, a hobby or a love interest. This idea was the birth of 'Next in Line'.

This documentary is an exploration of comedians and open mic comedy in Sydney. The intention is to connect the audience with local comedians who share thoughts about their experiences performing.

Trailer

trailer fnl 1.1.mp4

The Comedians

We had the pleasure to interview Sid Batshon, Stephanie Broadbridge and Ben Wijngaarden and attended some of their open mic shows.

They shared their personal stories and of course funny experiences of navigating through the comedy world. We hear about their styles of comedy and how they got into comedy.

Ellen Quinn

Ellen started studying film and production in 2019 at SAE Quantum after her interest in photography, films and acting grew tremendously soon after graduating high school. During this time Ellen has utilized these prior skills into short films and quickly gained confidence in leading teams when given the opportunity to direct two short films ‘Stitches’ and ‘Billy’ in her first year of university. Her skills then grew soon after when being in charge of production design, costume and SFX makeup in the short film ‘Rope’s & Stones’. Most recently Ellen took up the role as producer for the short documentary “Next In Line” and is currently creating a short poetic documentary on gendered marketing and is taking part in writing a short coming of age series “The Growing of a Narcissist”