Orange Juice in Bishop's Garden - Director's Notebook, Season 5

OJBG #5

by Otessa Marie Ghadar

This book contains a collection of scripts, illustrations, behind-the-scenes photos and anecdotes from Season 5 of the oldest and longest running teen web series, Orange Juice in Bishop's Garden. It's part recollection, part urban legend, and part pure fiction, and completely inspired by the author's memories of growing up in DC and the enchantment of her youth. The author, Otessa Ghadar, captures teen life as it is lived--dramatic, filled with self-discovery, and the pain of growing up. Together, as a whole, the stories and the characters ring true. Read the book and you'll realize you've either been-- or known-- one of these characters before. Venture into Bishop's Garden and remember what it feels like to have your whole life ahead of you! Best part is, when you're done reading, you can meet the characters by watching the webseries adaptation online (www.ojinbg.com).

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 2013

About the author

A DC native, Otessa has fond memories of its grunge-era. Her teen years were spent serenaded by Morrissey, with much singing into her hairbrush and creating new and marvelous mischief with her best friend. She remembers mix-tapes and Sassy magazines… missing the last Metro, and getting stuck miles from payphones. Her youth was full of teen magic. …and she remembers it as though in Super 8: warm and soft… and potentially set to Donovan music.
These are the things she tries to express in her writing and filmmaking. OJinBG.com

And now for the more "professional stuff":
As one of the web series medium's earliest adopters, Otessa Ghadar is a true forerunner of new media. Since 2007, she has been pioneering the web series format and establishing new ground in the wild west of the web. She completed her graduate film studies at Columbia University's film school in NYC. "Orange Juice in Bishop's Garden" started as her MFA thesis and is now one of the oldest and longest running web series online. Diving into web series production when the idea of internet television was still in its infancy, Otessa had to learn and to adapt to new and changing forms of new media as they were being defined. With her knowledge and expertise, she has now published the world's first new media textbook called The Wild West of Film.

Whether in film or fiction, at her core, Otessa is a storyteller. Returning to her D.C. roots, "Orange Juice in Bishop's Garden" is an example of "writing what you know." It's part recollection, part urban legend, part pure fiction, and completely inspired by her own memories of growing up on the cusp of the Internet era. Her stories embody the rebellion of the '90s grunge era while tackling social issues that surround youth. The first four seasons of OJBG are available in paperback and as ebooks online. Season 5 of the special edition "Director's Notebook" — which contains the script along with special illustrations, behind-the-scenes photographs, and director's notes — is also currently available. The director's notebooks for seasons 6 and 7 will be available soon.

Otessa and OJBG have won much acclaim and recognition, including:

1st Annual Washington, DC Web Series Festival Award Winner Innovator Award, Filmfest DC
DC Office of Motion Picture and Television Development July Filmmaker of the Month
DC Office of Motion Picture and Television Development
Official Honoree of the 18th, 17th, & 16th Annual Webby Awards in the Drama Category
32nd Annual Telly Awards – 2011 Bronze Award Winner
2013 LA Web Festival Award Winner — Outstanding Lead Actress, Ellen Winter
2012 LA Web Festival Award Winner — Best Supporting Actress, Donnis Collins
2011 LA Web Festival Award Winner — Outstanding Drama Series & Outstanding Cinematography in a Drama Series
2013 HollyWeb Festival Official Selection
Indie Intertube — Best of 2010 Nominee
2nd Annual Indie Soap Awards – Nominated Outstanding Ensemble
Showcased during the 27th Annual Washington, DC International Film Festival (Filmfest DC)
Showcased during 2013 OUTlander Spring Festival at SXSW
2011/2012/2013 Dinah Shore Weekend – Battle of the Web Series Participant
Recognized by the Human Rights Campaign for making a positive contribution to the LGBT community
KoldCast TV distribution

Check out more at OJinBG.com

Reviews

[Eva]

This has been my first go at reading a script and it was enjoyable.

I loved having the series of photos to put the vibe and a sense of the various characters and time period into context.

Since I'm reading about their lives as of Season 5, I would like to learn about about Season One and how the various characters have changed over time.

Thank you to the Otessa for sending a PDF of the script for Season 5.

[Tanya]

I thought this Director's Notebook was really neat. It is a combination of script book and scrap book. It was great to see how close the cast members are and I liked Otessa's notes on things. I love that she includes directions on how to play the classic card game "Go Fish." The behind the scenes anecdotes on the locations and crew members were nice too. It's very helpful that a full cast list with photos is provided for people who haven't seen the show.

I felt bad for the character Sarah because this season was a rough one for her. I sort of felt bad for Alex as well.

*I was given a copy of this book for free by the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

[Gina]

I received this book as a first read. It was an interesting compilation of scripts, photos, interviews and notes. A cool behind the scenes look at putting a show together.