Each fall, seniors enrolled in the television and film arts (TFA) program’s TFA 450 class are tasked with writing, producing, directing, and marketing an original half-hour television pilot. This year’s project, Spares, premiered on December 6 with a screening in Warren Enters Theatre.
“Over the past decade, TFA students have successfully created original half-hour TV pilots as their capstone project,” said Jeffrey Hirschberg, professor and director of TFA. “This essential professional experience has helped our students launch their careers in the entertainment industry.”
Spares is described as “a Y2K coming-of-age story in which a closeted teen finds love and sisterhood in an underground all-girls bowling team after being sent to a conservative town to suppress her rebellious nature,” and is considered one of the most ambitious pilots the program has undertaken, both in scope and budget.
This year’s pilot was supported in part by a donation from Buffalo State alumnus and award-winning television writer-producer Kyle Bradstreet, '02, '04, who has donated generously to the TFA pilots for the past several years.
Post-premiere, students submitted the pilot to television and screenwriting festivals. Last year’s pilot, Be Happy, was selected for the Buffalo International Film Festival. To learn more about the premiere, follow “Spares TV Show” on Facebook and Instagram.