Not As It Seems -Welcome to the wild and wacky world

When you get an email out of the blue from a trainee producer at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) asking if you’d like to be a part of a tv pilot called Not As It Seems, what you gonna say….well… YES… of course!

Chloe approached me saying the production was looking for a celebrant interested in appearing in the show for an interview, focussing on the role of a funeral celebrant with the aim of educating a younger audience about death, with the emphasise on the importance of celebrating life in a novel and unique way.

Having had my name mentioned to her because of my involvement in a project with another trainee a few years ago she immediately went looking at my website and socials where she was drawn to my ‘Distinctiveness and enthusiasm’ (High praise indeed!) And in particular one of my catchphrases “A colourful character deserves an uplifting and colourful send-off” She told me that it resonated deeply with the themes and messages of their show.

I was intrigued and so we set up a video call with herself and the other producer Yeggi where we talked through their concept, set design and my role.

THE CONCEPT

‘Welcome to the wild and wacky world of Not As It Seems, the Child-like show for teens with adult themes.

This kids show follows our duo Mr. Thing & Ziggy as they tackle a topic each week in a world where everything is not always as it seems…

With dark humour, adult language and funny looking puppets, our pilot episode follows the theme of death, after Mr. Thing’s Hamster died.

Ziggy and the rest of the gang take a unique approach to teaching Mr. Thing about death through art, storytelling, comedy sketches and experts who teach Mr Thing and the gang along the way.

The aim of our show is to educate a teen audience on the subjects children programmes are too scared to confront. This show is wacky, unique and creative and we would love a cast and crew that embodies that’.

SET DESIGN

The photos speak for themselves really, a cartoon looking set with a wardrobe hiding a door, through which I magically appeared to sit down with Mr Thing and Ziggy for our chat.

And then adjoining that set was the funeral set, a coffin, with a photo of Fluffy and a bleak and miserable rainy backdrop.

MY ROLE

The Celebrant Interview

After the news that Mr Thing’s Hamster (Fluffy) has sadly died Ziggy wants to encourage Mr Thing to open his mind to different possibilities surrounding death and encourage him to feel more open to discussion.

Within this sequence I was revealed through the wardrobe which is built into the set Where Ziggy held a fun little interview. It was a chance for the audience to really learn about death and dying in a way no-one has before.

There were some really thought -provoking questions as we delved into the realities of death and the need for ceremony

What is a celebrant?

What is a funeral & Why is it important to have one?

Why do you think people are scared to talk about death?

Why is it good to talk about death?

How can we make funerals a more diverse and inclusive?

What do you love about being a Celebrant?

How can we support Mr Thing with the loss of Fluffy (The Hamster) How can we make Mr Thing feel more open about death?

After a lunch break we moved onto filming…

…The Funeral

In this segment we celebrated the life of Fluffy – I gave a brief eulogy which was interrupted by a crying mourner. Ziggy then presented the ‘Dos and Don’ts’ of funeral etiquette and got more and more frustrated as the rules were listed with Mr Thing doing the complete opposite and ignoring the correct etiquette (Arriving late, using a mobile phone, wearing bright colours….which to be fair, IS something I totally encourage as you remember a loved one’s favourite colour or style!) Towards the end of the sequence Mr Thing realised he didn’t need someone to tell him what to do and he finally took control of his own grief and mourning.

The show ended with a frantic bit of dancing and clapping and everyone saying goodbye.

Although I have been lucky enough over the years to be involved in the filming of a few tv shows (starting at school when I was part of a tv audience that interviewed the then Grange Hill cast…remember Norman ‘Gripper’ Stebson? ( I did swoon for the actor, but certainly not the character he started off bully Roland before moving onto forming a gang and bullying some of the black and Sikh kids) anyway, I digress…

I was also in the audience as we interviewed a Miss World, and was a supporting cast member in the ATV production of our school play ‘King’

I have been lucky as a celebrant to have been in more recent tv productions of Don’t Tell the Bride and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway with a surprise wedding in the opening episode of the 2022 series.

But this is the first time, being a bigger part of a production and getting a real good look behind the scenes in the galleries as well as on the set.

It IS a long day, with rehearsals and numerous takes for each scene, but it is a fun experience , chatting with the crew and actors and watching something come together.

The NFTS

“For over half a century, the National Film and Television School (NFTS) has developed some of Britain’s and the world’s top creative talent”.

With the main campus in Beaconsfield Bucks, it does have other locations in England, Scotland and Wales.

If you or anyone else is interested in channelling your passions in this field you can find out much more here

I think we can safely say the future in tv and film is safe in the hands of the young creatives coming through their doors.

Thank you to Chloe for that initial email AND to all the team for a fun day out. I can’t wait to see the finished product.

To any other Celebrant, be you a wedding celebrant, funeral celebrant or anything in between, if you are ever offered a gig like this, don’t dismiss it, you never know who may be watching, what you might learn and ultimately who you may be influencing into using your services in the future.