Mike Shoeman and Misha Zubarev, two of the key personnel behind American Actor, the pilot for a new reality TV show, graciously agreed to update ReelTalk visitors by participating in an e-mail interview concerning their intriguing project. Zubarev served as director of the pilot’s finale presentation held on December 11, 2007, and Shoeman wears several hats as creator, co-producer and acting coach for the show.    

QUESTION: How would you describe the American Actor show?

ZUBAREV: American Actor is a show where audience members can expect to have involvement in the action happening on screen. Not only will they have a chance to vote for their favorite(s) as in American Idol, but the creator, Mike Shoeman, also added another interactive element to the show, “audience suggestions.” While viewers watch the show live, the moderator will prompt questions about suggestions for the characters the actors should portray next. Anyone who has a computer at home can type in their “audience suggestion,” and if the moderator approves, that suggestion has a chance to be used live, on screen, completely unexpected by the actor who will have to take that suggestion and make it as real and as entertaining as possible, in the time allotted to them. As the pilot’s live show director, this idea excites me because it creates a much stronger bond and involvement between us and our viewers at home, and this can potentially be the first interactive reality show on TV.  

QUESTION: What pleased you most about the final session of American Actor?

SHOEMAN: The live audience was really into it!  It felt very rewarding to see the audience hanging on the edge of their seats and cheering loudly. The competition itself kept everyone guessing.  There were two split decisions during the contest and everyone had their favorite actor they were rooting for. So the television show itself had lots of twists and turns.

ZUBAREV: Mike is exactly right; the live audience added a big kick to the live show with their presence and excitement! Even though both Ariel Schwartz (executive producer) and myself were sitting in the control room and never had a moment to step outside of that, I got a very strong sense of the energy that was coming from the audience inside. I think that this energy excited the actors as well, and it augmented some of their performances.

QUESTION: Who won this first contest?

SHOEMAN: Nick Reeves won a very close race.  He was voted into the Top 3 by our guest panelists.  He tied for second place in the semi-finals.  Nick tied with Brian Gallagher (3rd place overall) with the live audience votes and we had to poll a panel of former American Actor contestants to break the tie.  In the finals, Nick won the live audience votes and runner-up Jonathan Dickson won the online audience votes.  Again, we had to poll another American Actor panel and Nick won the championship. 

QUESTION: Why do you think he ended up winning?

SHOEMAN: Nick earned high points for his comedic abilities as well as a knack for improvisation.  He also won the judges acclaim for his film sequence where he demonstrated good listening and teamwork skills.  Looking back at the competition, Nick Reeves was one of the most consistent performers.  He took 3rd place in a 50-actor monologue slam competition.  From there he took 1st place in the Love Scene Round playing a mentally challenged character.  In the Improv Round, Nick was teamed up with Jonathan Dickson (who would later end up being Nick's last challenger) where he took 1st place once again in a comedic Alien Battle scene.  Once again he took first place in with teammate Joshua Sinclair Ray (4th place) which was an action sequence where the characters came to blows in an action scene.  During the live show, Nick played a flamboyant SNL character, a drug addict on the brink of death and finally taking part in an "anything goes" sequence where the Final 3 actors reenacted scenes from The Godfather, Star Wars, Sex in the City and a dozen more.  His final challenge was to give an Oscar speech about the challenges an actor faces to become successful.

QUESTION: Was the winner surprised?

SHOEMAN: I think he was.  Again, there were two split decisions and it was anyone's ballgame.

QUESTION: What kind of response did you receive from the live audience and the Internet visitors?

SHOEMAN: The live audience was amazing!  At several moments they cheered for minutes at a time adding an extra half hour to our broadcast!  Unfortunately, the internet went down but viewers were still voting.  We were working with 4 cameras and I think it was a little much for the broadband connection.  I look forward to working with a network and having enough technical support to truly make this an interactive experience.

QUESTION: What does the future hold for American Actor?

SHOEMAN: We're speaking with several major networks now.  We hope to set up a weekly broadcast with an interactive element never seen before, like choosing characters and plots for the actors to enact in real time.

QUESTION: How has your involvement in American Actor helped you professionally?

SHOEMAN:  I've been able to see a little more how the television industry works.  It has also been rewarding to develop a format that takes an audience on a journey.  The jury's still out on any professional benefit -- we're still very early on in the process.

ZUBAREV: American Actor has enriched my understanding of how live reality television works, and directing the live show has played a big part in shaping my future goals as a professional working in the entertainment industry.

To find out more information about American Actor, please click on the following links:

www.newcenturytv.com/amactor

www.myspace.com/mjshoeman