#PostGradProblems #Chicago #LivingTheDream #RealLife #WERK

In August of 2013, Kelsey Jorissen was over it. She was over having to ask permission. Two years out of college, she was sick of telling herself that the opportunity to make the kind of film she would want to sit down and watch would present itself when the time was right. So she started writing at the beginning of 2013 and the full length web series called THE DREAMERS was born. Based off of her life and the lives of her friends, all working artists in the city of Chicago, the series follows six characters as they navigate the world of post-grad life. With the characters, city, and story lines finally down on paper, Kelsey contacted Dane Patrick of Dane Company to help her revise the pilot episode and possibly produce the entire season.  After many drafts, the pilot episode was done and shooting was set to begin.
Using the equipment resources at DePaul University, Dane Patrick, Kelsey Jorissen, and the crew were able to shoot the first three episodes. Together they made 120 minutes worth of indie film, using over 15 locations around Chicago, and having over 23 actors appear on the show. With serious drive and a lot of heart, the show's production is rough around the edges at its start, but the technical quality of the show truly finds its footing as the season unfolds. All the while filming, THE DREAMERS began crowd funding and growing a serious fan base through the indie filmmaking platform Seed & Spark. Through blogging, Tweeting, Facebooking, and Instagram hashtagging, THE DREAMERS web series was able to raise funds and reach their crowd funding goal of $9500. The first season of THE DREAMERS became a reality, and the show was a standout pioneer in the indie series world in terms of length and content.
By the end of December, THE DREAMERS had released its fourth episode, having just enough episodes under it's belt to submit the series to the 5th Annual Indie Series Awards held in Los Angeles. In February the nominations for the Indie Series Awards were announced and THE DREAMERS had received two nominations: best writing drama, and best ensemble drama.  After shooting the Episode 10 in northern Wisconsin, Kelsey, Dane, and Assistant Director, Coco, flew to LA to walk the red carpet. The dream team had a blast meeting and networking with other indie filmmakers from around the world.  Walking away empty-handed but not empty-hearted, THE DREAMERS finished filming Season 1 at the end of April 2014.  Season 2 was released in December of 2015 and is available to stream or download. Here's to living the dream!