SHS graduate Adam Carr launches original webseries

Before Adam Carr graduated from Solon High School in 2004, he participated in Drama Club  Key Club and Music in Motion. Now he’s living in Los Angeles and calling the shots as the writer of the original comedy series “The Call Room.”

“I considered myself kind of a goofy nerd, a man of the people,” he said. “I made it a point to be friends with everyone. I never liked cliques, but I hung out with Drama Club kids and show choir kids. That was my home.”

Drama Club Advisor and Director Kris Ferencie described Carr as an active and contributing member of the club during his time at SHS. Carr had leading roles in shows such as “Footloose,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Noises Off” and “12 Angry Men.”

“He was hard working,” Ferencie said. “He was a person who was very dedicated to his craft. He knew that he wanted to go into the [entertainment] business, whether it was theater or film or TV. That was always in flux as it is for most students when they know they want to do this; they’re just not sure which way they want to go with it.”

SHS English Department head Laura Fitch also remembers Carr’s hard-working attitude along with his tendency to introduce fun pop culture references into AP English 12 conversations.

“Adam was a delightful student to have in class,” Fitch said.  “Not only was he intelligent and conscientious, he brought a wonderful energy to class.  The AP course relies on student led discussion and Adam was a key component of many great discussions.  Outside of class, Adam was well liked and respected by both teachers and students.”

After graduating, Carr attended the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) majoring in Acting in the Theater Film and Television school (TFT). Carr thrived at UCLA, working at the Geffen Playhouse and landing a  role in MTV’s “Death Valley” after graduation.

“[‘Death Valley’] was one of those lucky things, in this business it can take so many years to get something done.”

Carr’s character on “Death Valley,”, Gary the John, was brought back for multiple episodes, only for the show to be cancelled. After this experience, Spider One, the creator of “Death Valley” and vocalist of Powerman 5000, encouraged Carr to start writing his own material.

“I noticed in the room that the actors didn’t have the power,” Carr said. “The writers and producers had the power, they were the ones calling the shots. You have to be a multifaceted performer and entrepreneur with your work. Simply auditioning doesn’t do anything anymore. If you want to make any headway at all you have to make your own content.

Writing and producing original work requires group effort and collaboration, which Carr believes SHS aptly prepared him for.

Carr said. “I really wasn’t book smart, I had to focus and try. That prepared me to collaborate with fellow artists, and respect them. You have to understand that each person is working for the whole. To create the best possible project, it’s in your best interest to treat everyone with respect and to work together.”

With the ambition to write his own material and create original content, Carr turned to his own life for inspiration. Carr’s time working as a telemarketer at the Geffen Playhouse became the inspiration for “The Call Room.”

“There were six of us who were in there making calls, and we referred to it as the call room,” he said. “We were making these calls and I fell for a girl I was working with. It was a giant dramatic, comedic love story that totally crashed and burned over 18 months. I kept a journal about everything: different games we would play, how we would always screw around when we were supposed to be working. It gave me a taste of telemarketing and how terrible that is; it sucks your soul away, but it was a job.”

In order to get his idea off the ground, Carr cashed in favors from everyone he knew and enlisted  friends Craig Tovey and Nic Shafer to direct and produce respectively.

“We launched a kickstarter campaign and we raised $25,000 and shot season one. Considering less than half of all kickstarter projects actually get back it was a great win for us and we got to shoot the show that was in our heads. There’s nothing greater than really making your own stuff or content and being in charge.”

Carr believes that “The Call Room” will appeal to viewers because it is unique and universal, chronicling the hysterical lives of four telemarketers and their boss.

“Although many shows are centered in an office,  what’s cool about this one is there really hasn’t been a show about telemarketers,” he said. “I think telemarketing is universal, you’ve either gotten a call from someone you didn’t want to call you or you had to make those calls. Unless you transition right into your dream job, you have to find some crappy job after college to survive.”

For Carr, that job was his time in his very own Call Room, a phrase which now takes on a very different meaning for him. Creating, funding and producing “The Call Room” is a realized dream for Carr and he encourages SHS students interested in pursuing a career in the entertainment business to never stop creating.

“Focus on making something,” he said. “Don’t worry [if you] don’t have enough stuff, [or if you] don’t have enough equipment, [or if you] don’t have enough money. There’s always going to be an excuse as to why you shouldn’t get something done. You have to be your own champion. You have to willingly get up again and again and again and do it. Don’t worry about the money. Don’t worry about the fame. Don’t try to be the next so-and-so, try to be the first you.”

Carr’s series “The Call Room”  will launch one episode a week starting Wed. Sept. 24 on their YouTube channel and on Vidme. To stay up to date on all things “Call Room” like their Facebook page and subscribe to their YouTube Channel. Anyone with questions about creating original content, producing video, or launching Kickstarter campaigns can email [email protected] with questions.