This time it’s Melissa Kaiser’s turn at the Oregon Media Central Q&A, which is only fitting since Episode 4 focuses on her character, Alicia.

What do you like, dislike or think is interesting about your character?
I love Alicia. She is trying so hard to maintain a positive attitude and remain hopeful as her dreams slip further out of her reach. She’s a dreamer, she’s earnest, she’s a bit flighty, she’s got a big heart and a bike helmet…what’s not to love?

Do you see yourself at all in Alicia?
I see bits of myself in Alicia, absolutely. Or bits of Alicia in me…I’m not sure which is which. Being a generally positive person, I can relate to her desire to “be happy” — she just takes it to a further extreme. Plus, I don’t know how to play pool, so I cheat like she does.

What do you particularly like about this project?
I love everything about this project. It has been a truly wonderful experience. It’s such a strong script to start with, and then you add this amazingly talented and fun group of people to work with… Chris was great at giving clear direction, while leaving a lot of room to play and discover things as we were shooting. I feel really blessed to be a part of it.

What other projects have you worked on?
I’ve done mostly theatre around town; so this is my first real on camera experience. I’ve worked with Stark Raving Theatre, defunkt theatre, 2boards productions and NWCTC.

Is there anything else we can see you in or that you’d like to promote?
I just joined an event rock band called Twist of Faith as a back-up vocalist. As we have public gigs, I’ll keep you all posted!

The literary blog Reading Local: Portland interviewed beloved writer/barista-in-training/fictional protagonist Mitch!

Have you ever used a co-worker as inspiration for a character in one of your short stories? You think any Rose City Coffeehouse employees will be making an appearance in the novel?

Yes, although I didn’t consciously realize it at the time. I recently wrote a story in which an innocent man who’s mistakenly been sent to hell struggles to find a way out, but is stranded by otherworldly bureaucracy (I like the subtle echoes of Kafka and Milton, but neither The New Yorker nor The Atlantic Monthly agree). The story ends with my protagonist being mercilessly tortured by the devil, who slowly twists off each of his limbs, grills them over hellfire, and devours them in front of his horrified eyes. Only later did I realize I’d modeled the devil on my co-worker, Dirk. Now that I see it, the resemblance is striking.

Why I didn’t write that as an episode, I will never know.

Please Note: This week’s episode had to be split into two parts.

[Update: Fixed it. Now it's one part. Move along, nothing to see here, folks.]

(A long-ish explanation follows. But if you don’t care, please just click over to Part One, and don’t forget to click on to Part Two!)

Episode 3 was a little too long for Vimeo. I’m not sure why the Powers That Run Vimeo feel that Plus members who pay for 5GB of weekly uploads should only be able to upload 1GB files. If we’re paying for 5GB, shouldn’t we just get 5GB to use any way we see fit? Makes sense to me.

It’s curious to me that, as Internet users become more accustomed to watching longer videos online via outlets like Hulu, the principle video sites like YouTube and Vimeo are wrapping size restrictions around their users. Isn’t that a little like insisting on black-and-white just as color TVs become popular?

I tried Veoh, which has no size limit, but for some reason the file upload froze at 93.7% and didn’t budge for another eight hours. Every time I tried to re-upload, it went right back to 93.7% and stayed there.

In response, I may have invented new, radically complex strings of as-yet-unimagined profanities. Should’ve written them down; a few were about fifty letters long, I believe.

The only option I saw was to split the episode into two parts. I wish I didn’t have to, and I’ll continue looking for ways to upload the whole thing as a single file.

In the meantime, please start with Part One and continue to Part Two. Lara’s performance in the second half alone is absolutely worth the extra click! Seriously, don’t miss it.

Plus, this is the episode that introduces Rob, played by Ehren Ebbage, whose music provides the soundtrack for the show. And you get to see a clip of Ehren playing live as Rob (but it’s an Ehren song — did I just blow your mind?), which everyone should see at least once before they die.

When I was approached by the Oregon Media Central blog for a piece about Wage Slaves, it was suggested that an actor’s perspective would be nice to add. Lara Kobrin, who plays Stacy and co-produced with me, threw her hat into the ring with some great answers.

However, since I’m apparently incapable of giving short responses, the blog ran a bit long and Lara’s part had to be cut. But I liked what she wrote and decided to include it here, in honor of Stacy’s episode premiering this week.

What do you like, dislike or think is interesting about your character?
I have a definite love-hate relationship with Stacy. I love her because she’s strong and smart (Chris rarely writes weak female characters). I hate her because her strength and intelligence are overshadowed by her deep-seeded need for acceptance, which manifests itself in her continual saga of “bad choice making” and a lack of impulse-control. Stacy isn’t a bad person. She’s an unfulfilled person seeking immediate gratification from things outside of herself when she should really be working from the outside in.

Do you see yourself at all in them?
I see a lot of Stacy in me, especially the me that existed 10 years ago, or so. I’ve grown-up a lot! But I’ve definitely made my share of bad choices along the way. I understand about trying to find someone to validate your existence– putting all your energy into other people, so you never really have to think about how much you don’t really like yourself.

What do you particularly like about this project?
I don’t just like this project; I LOVE this project. I love the cast, the crew. I love that we created this on a micro-sized budget, with minimal resources. In fact, the whole thing was a labor of love. But mostly, I LOVE that Chris Bolton has created a project that truly speaks in his voice. I have worked with Chris on multiple projects and read many samples of his writing. All have been good, but WAGE SLAVES is Chris getting to say what he’s always wanted in the way he wants to say it. It’s inspiring.

What other projects have you worked on?
Not to be all 2009 or anything, but check out my web site for all kinds of information about me, including past and future projects: www.lara-kobrin.com.

Is there anything else we can see you in or that you’d like to promote?
Currently in rehearsal for A Country Doctor by Len Jenkin @ defunkt theatre here in Portland. Opens August 28 and runs through October 3.

So it would seem, since we made the List of Coolness for today!

Also, Web Series Magazine reprinted Margie Boule’s Oregonian column about Wage Slaves.

Thanks, guys!

Last week I got cold feet. Started wondering if the Pilot episode worked well enough on its own, would people like it enough to come back next week, are my shoes supposed to point in opposite directions… very important questions like that.

What I decided was, I should release the Pilot and Episode 2 together. That way viewers would have a better, fuller sense of what the show is about and how the characters’ relationships will progress.

If I had it to do over again, I would put the Pilot out on its own and debut Episode 2 this coming Tuesday. Where’s my time-traveling DeLorean..?

Instead, Episode 3 will premiere on Tuesday — but I really hope people realize that Episode 2 is on the site right now and available for viewing.

If you’ve seen the Pilot, please check out Episode 2… and come back on Tuesday for the next installment!

The iMarket Strategy blog interviewed me this week about (what else?) Wage Slaves and posted the results.

Click here to read it.

Thanks to Emily for the interview! There will be a post-season follow-up with star of stage and screen Morgan Lee and me, so watch for that. Or just wait for me to post it here.

It’s been a whirlwind week — not only did we debut the first two episodes, but there’s been a wholly unexpected flurry of media interest in the show.

The Oregonian’s Margie Boule wrote a lovely piece about us.

Lara and I were the “hot box” guests on KGW’s Live at 7 last night. Watch us try not to stare at the monitors.

And we were featured on PDX Pipeline.

If you know of any other Wage Slaves media sightings, drop us a line and let us know!

You may have heard by now, the first two episodes of Wage Slaves went live today.

(If you haven’t, please check them out.)

Initially I was only going to post the pilot episode first. But after much hemming and hawing, and a few second and third opinions, I felt that the first two episodes work together as a piece, so I posted the second one as well.

Feel free to watch them one at a time, or back-to-back, or even out of order — it’s really amazing, the freedom we enjoy on the web-coms.

I want to take a moment to issue some obligatory thanks and hallelujahs. First off, to the death-defyingly awesome cast, who sacrificed their weekends throughout the summer of 2008 and nearly sweated to death in my sweltering apartment with the windows shut and the fans off, raising the temperature to about 200 degrees. They were (mostly) stoic and (almost always) without complaint, and whatever works about the show can probably be attributed to them (whatever doesn’t work is entirely my fault and no one else’s).

Extra special thanks to my co-producer, Lara Kobrin, who kept working tirelessly long after the rest of the cast got to go home and gripe about their A-hole director.

Ehren Ebbage put his entire album Ten Cent Souvenir at my mercy, including the instrumental versions, and I abused the privilege by packing the show with his music. I couldn’t help myself — I love it too much! To hear more, visit his website and buy the album from iTunes. You won’t be sorry.

Shannon Buck provided the incredible artwork adorning the walls of the Rose City Coffeehouse. Her paintings are ever-present in the background, but deserve to be featured in their own show. I’d have bought them outright if I had the money. Click here to see more of her work.

Michael McRae of Cooper’s Coffee selflessly let us borrow a bunch of equipment, starting with the coffee urn and cash register, right up to the gigantic espresso machine without which we couldn’t have transformed a house into a coffee shop. There aren’t thanks enough to give.

Tavis Sarmento held a boom mic almost every day of the shoot, often for 10 or more hours, and never once uttered a complaint (in my earshot, anyway). In addition, I adore his paranoid customer Tom in Episode 1 and have much more I’d like to do with him in Season 2. I dearly want to fly Tavis back to Portland for the next shoot.

Scott Hart handled the sound recording and provided immeasurable guidance on such technical matters as gels for the lights, how to remember to turn your refrigerator back on when the shoot is done (hint: keys), and above all else, what the hell a C-47 is (ain’t tellin’).

There are many others who helped with the production in numerous ways, small and large — including Cynthia Lopez, Scott Spradling, Levi Buchanan (who loaned me his camera after mine died mid-way through filming the pilot), Esteban Ortiz, Serenity Ibsen (who photographed the logo of the coffee cup with the ball and chain), Matt Knapp, and Lin Sorensen (without whose counsel the scripts would never have gotten past their first drafts) — and probably others I’m forgetting.

This website was designed and maintained by Amy Goodman, who does an amazing job of making it better than I could have imagined.

There, I’m done gushing. Except to thank YOU, Dear Viewer, for checking us out. And please come back every Tuesday through August for another new episode!

Just one day shy of the premiere, here are some glimpses of what to expect.

Stacy (Lara Kobrin) “trains” Mitch (Morgan Lee):

“Wage Slaves” Preview from Chris A. Bolton on Vimeo.

Mitch meets Dirk (Leif Norby):

“Wage Slaves” Preview #2 from Chris A. Bolton on Vimeo.