Arts & Culture
Aisle 5 Spring 2008 Cast
STV's Aisle 5 Returns with New Season
The Pointer
dneck184@uwsp.edu
STV’s “Aisle 5” will return this fall with a new season of their student produced comedy. The show portrays a group of college students working in a local grocery store. Many University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point students star in the show, which is written and produced by Kacie Otto and John Lendved.
The show’s first season began airing last spring after Otto and Lendved wrote the episodes and selected a cast.
“We didn’t know what to expect at all,” said Lendved. “We didn’t know if people would want to be in the cast, or if we’d ever be able to find a store to shoot it in. The people at STV didn’t even think we were serious.”
The set was found when the owner of Mancl’s grocery in Millidore, Wis, volunteered to let the students use the store.
“I can’t believe the owner lets all these college kids come in and shut the store down so we can shoot this show. He is such a great guy,” said Lendved.
With a new season in the works, the show’s creators have a few things to look forward to. A few major parts have been re-casted, such as the character of Lawrence, as well as all new characters. There will also be a standardized length for all new episodes.
“When we made this show last year, it was our first time doing this. This year we have some things we need to change, such as shooting chronologically and making sure all the episodes are the same length. We’ve gotten better with our writing structure and with writing for TV,” said Lendved.
Another change Lendved is excited for is the switch to high definition cameras and a new digital broadcast system for STV.
“Last year we shot it all without hi-def cameras, and the broadcasting equipment at STV was all analog. It was basically the equivalent of taking the show out to a field and beating it with a baseball bat. Now we will have a much clearer picture,” said Lendved.
The student effort put into the show, to Lendvend, is what makes it so special.
“A lot of college television stations can purchase and broadcast content that is distributed everywhere, but this is a show that is a complete student production,” he said. “We thought people would enjoy it much more if we shot it right here in Stevens Point with real students.”
The first season was received well both on and off campus. Lendved says he’s been recognized around town, especially when buying props for the show.
“It feels great to have people know about the show and recognize us.” Lendved said students should keep an eye open for the show’s premier party, which will be in the DUC theatre in October
