We had the pleasure of interviewing the very talented Kate Hackett, creator and star of Classic Alice web series. Classic Alice is a unique, fun, and inspirational show on YouTube. Kate herself is extremely charming, so it was our pleasure to interview her about the series. We love her passion for her project and for literature. She currently has an IndiGoGo campaign to produce more Classic Alice, books eight and beyond.
Check out Classic Alice web series on Youtube and please enjoy our interview below.
Mandi: How did you come up with the concept to have your main character live her life according to novels?
Kate: I was asked to write a book-recommendation YouTube vehicle for myself to host, but that didn’t really float my boat. So, I proposed an alternative: what if we shot something in narrative form, but kept the hosting aspect by making it a vlog.
Our show, unlike other popular literary-vlog series, would follow characters who are purposefully reliving classic literature. We wanted to encourage kids to pick up books that had some substance (IE, if you like Twilight, you’ll love Wuthering Heights kinda thing!).
Eventually the company moved to a different project, but I decided to make the show on my own, with an amazing team of course! And here we are.
Mandi: Your show has a lot of support on Youtube, 10,000 subscribers is a wonderful accomplishment. What have you done to make sure your show stands out amongst all the content on Youtube?
Kate: We make it professionally and with a LOT of care. Everyone on the team is there because they believe in the show and want it to do well. It does take a lot of time, but it pays off: we shoot a TV-quality web series and people notice that!
Mandi: How much of your show is a collaborative effort? Do you write all the episodes? What influence does your director Josh Compton have?
Kate: I wrote all the episodes, though I did have Ross Mihalko help with the Wind in the Willows arc. Josh’s opinion is really important to me, so I listen to his notes and his input from preproduction through post! He may have a take he likes, or a set up that is really interesting that I may have never thought about.
Mandi: You have over seventy episodes up on Youtube. Which one is your most favorite?
Kate: Probably “I Could Have Danced All Night”, the one where we get all fancy and go to a ball, because why not have a ball at a university?
Mandi: What’s one thing people would never guess is true about you and/or Alice?
Kate: About me? I can get pretty messy, but I reach a threshold of clutter. So it builds up slowly over about two weeks, then I spaz out and reorganize my life.
About Alice… The first story she ever wrote was on a crappy old wordprocesser. It had clip art and the font was like, size 16. She is deeply ashamed of it.
Mandi: Did you do an Indiegogo campaign for your first season? Or did you fund it all yourself?
Kate: Book one was funded independently and acted as a kind of “pitch” or “pilot” for the rest of the show.
Books two through seven were Kickstarted & now we’re looking to make more!
Mandi: You’re raising $60,000 for a second season. Besides paying your actors and crew, what are some things you’ll do differently?
Kate: I want to move us away from the one-set-up situation we have going on, at least a little bit. I’d like to bring actual television to YouTube instead of ‘vlogging’ style shows.
Mandi: What’s your best pitch for people to go watch and invest time in your show? Why should people donate to your Indiegogo?
Kate: We have a lot going for us: We’re educational; Our production team is all women; We have a female-friendly show; We celebrate LGBT in a positive, but not a white-washed way.
Even if the vlog format isn’t for you, it’s really important to show Hollywood that women DO and CAN sell products and it’s important to us that social issues are played out in entertainment — not so we can soapbox at anyone, but so that conversation can begin!
Mandi: What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?
Kate: Thanksgiving food. It’s — I mean, it’s embarrassing how much I eat.
Mandi: On a personal note, my co-editor and I both went to Boston University and I was a film major. What is one thing that you value from your days at Boston University?
Kate: Ha! SMALL WORLD!
I really value getting to be the youngest member of “Bay State” (BU’s soap opera) ever; it was a really great opportunity to play and work with people more experienced than me and I made lots of great friends.
Mandi: Is there anything else you’d like to share about your show?
Kate: I REALLY hope we make our goal — there’s something of a pipe dream at the end of that 60K that I hesitate to mention in case we don’t get there, but it’s “extra” content, a great arc, and it stars someone our fans already love.
It truly was an honor for us here at BuzzChomp to dive deeper into the Classic Alice web series. We love this unique Youtube TV show! We’re rooting for Classic Alice’s IndiGoGo campaign to succeed! Make sure you check out their Youtube Channel, but be aware you’ll end up binge watching for hours. Go now to IndiGoGo and help #SaveAlice.
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