Mormon Media Symposium: Web series ‘Pretty Darn Funny’ entertains

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By: Alex Brown

Making everything-and-a-hot-tamale Rice Krispies, breaking into Deseret Book in the middle of the night to rehearse and resolving cat fights are all in a day’s work for the newly created comedy group, Pretty Darn Funny.

The short online comedy series, sponsored by Deseret Book, follows a Mormon mom who creates a comedy troupe from a rag-tag group of ladies and one man. Pretty Darn Funny explores many quirky topics, everything from facing high school fears, to demanding an audition with the Deseret Book executives, to the Jane Austen obsession.

When Deseret Book approached Jeff Parkin and Jared Cardon about a clean comedy series, they wrote a show centered around some of the people who had auditioned for another show earlier in the year.

The production of the series moved quickly. Parkin and Cardon pitched the concept in October 2011, got the green light in December, completed the first drafts in January, and aired the first episode on April 2.

As part of this creation process, Deseret Book invited women to share their own funny stories, and some were incorporated into the series. Deseret Book’s goal as the sponsor was to reveal a lighter side of the Mormon lifestyle.

According to Parkin and Cardon, about 75 percent of the crew were BYU students.

Many members of the cast and crew members attended the premiere of “Pretty Darn Funny,” including Alison Clark, who played Jennifer Clement; Lisa Valentine Clark, who played Gracie Moore; and Jeff Parkin and Jared Cardon, the executive producers, among others.

Alison Clark loved the fast schedule. While they were filming the Down Town Abbey, Cardon’s wife was going into labor, and Clark remembered hearing Cardon’s conversation with his wife, “How far apart are your contractions?  Just wait a little longer.”

For Lisa Valentine Clark, working on “Pretty Darn Funny” was a thrill. “It’s really an actor’s dream,” she said.

The series can be viewed at prettydarnfunny.com.

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