We did this event hoping to raise money to teach writing to kids. We’re kind of, you know, into writing. If you listen, and you’re against helping schoolchildren with their homework and expanding their literary horizons, then certainly do not click the donate button. Everyone else, please click. Throw in a buck, or five bucks. We think we might be able to raise enough this way to cover all of 826NYC’s costs for a month which would be incredible and also incidentally blow their minds. Help us do that! Help us shock them with the generosity of strangers on the Interweb. –click here to donate
- Joss Whedon & Ira Glass
About 826NYC
826NYC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Our services are structured around our belief that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success. With this in mind we provide drop-in tutoring, field trips, after-school workshops, in-schools tutoring, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications. All of our free programs are challenging and enjoyable, and ultimately strengthen each student’s power to express ideas effectively, creatively, confidently, and in his or her individual voice.
Knowledge@Wharton: To what extent was the original impetus behind “Dr. Horrible” to serve as an experiment for how web-based content can generate revenue?
Whedon: It was equal parts that and the love of the silly. The concept originated as an audio podcast that I would do myself because I was hungry to write some songs and I liked the idea of the character.
And then the Writer’s Guild went on strike. I tried to make some deals with Silicon Valley companies and song studios to create jobs and put out product. But it took so long trying to make a deal with these companies up north, that I missed my window. So I said, “I’ll just do it myself — if that’s okay with my wife.” And because I could not afford to do a huge, lavish production we did it with a ton of favors.
We were, at the time, very much in the spirit of the strike. By the time we finished writing ["Dr. Horrible"] and had everyone lined up, the strike was over and we all had shows to scramble to do. But we found a window to shoot it. It became us goofing around and just having a great time making a piece of art that we all enjoyed.
Once we finished … it was equal parts ethos and capricious glee. We said we were going to roll it out for free and then put it on iTunes. We just steamrolled past everybody’s idea of how you market and of how long it takes to do these things. We had people [drawing up] contracts in days that usually take months, because we were tired of people sitting around.
Ultimately, though, we were still in the mind of: This is a bit of a lark. The strike was over and so we wanted to do right by everybody, but we weren’t thinking it would be a grand statement. We thought it was going to be cool.
So despite the freezing cold and snowy night in New York we still had a great time at the Dr. Horrible Sing-along at the Paley Center. Many people braved the storm to sing their hearts out. There were laundry bubbles and evil mustaches…
Dr Horrible Sing-Along Goodie Bag
…Some interactivity included a sea of waving red glowsticks during part in when the on-screen crowd is doing the same (sans glowsticks). Also, as Dr. Horrible grows huge during Brand New Day we were instructed to “Stand up and crush the ant-like people around you”. Fun.
See the Buffyfest website for full details & video interview with Clinton McClung.
