Oasis
Award-Winning Docu-Series on High School Life
that Aired on Cable
In 2015-2016, I was a Co-Creator of a broadcast docu-series for The Tattler that played in Montgomery County Public Schools and the DC-Maryland-Virginia region via cable.
We created entertaining and informative adventure-based content for students by students, exploring life outside the classroom — student life, cultural experiences, and social satire.
More often than not, the team ticked-off our own bucket-list items while on the job (see: Sensory Deprivation below). Here are some of our favourite episodes:
Cold Case: "Any case without a primary investigator or that has stayed unsolved for three or more years."
Paying a visit to the MCPD Cold Case Squad, #OasisSquad learned about the Bradford Bishop case, a murder case right from Bethesda that had remained unresolved for over forty years, even making the FBI's Most Wanted list.
Detectives talked about the case, showed examples of evidence they had collected, and reflected on the nature of working on cold cases specifically.
Per an invite from the Georgetown University Iranian Cultural Society, #OasisSquad visited Nowruz celebrations at the university. The Persian New Year celebrations imbued the afternoon with delicious food, lively performances, stunning attires, and warming companionships.
We spoke with attendees - from undergrads learning Persian to famous TV anchors from Afghanistan - asking them to teach us about the customs and traditions of the celebration, and to reflect on the event as cultural identity.
What we called the "beauty sequence," STYLE consisted of short montages set to music of eye-candy events such as gallery exhibitions and performances.
Renwick Gallery: "Wonder"
After two years of renovations, Renwick Gallery reopened its doors with an exhibition which transformed the entire museum space into a single immersive artwork exploring human interpretations of "Wonder".
New Year at DC Chinatown
The Year of the Monkey celebrations at Chinatown DC, in below-freezing cold.
Artomatic
Artomatic takes empty, abandoned, or soon-to-be-demolished buildings and transforms them into temporary art exhibitions and performance spaces.
#OasisSquad paid the Artomatic 2015 space, a four story office building in Hyattville slated to be the HQ of Capital Park Police, a visit in the late hours of a Wednesday evening. After walking twenty minutes from the last stop of the Orange Line, we found a quiet yet massive space featuring more than 500 artists
OPINION was when #OasisSquad took the limelight. From mockumentaries to spoken word poetry, OPINION explored journalistic issues with an irreverent eye.
An aggressive owl has been terrorizing the Bethesda community along the popular Capital Crescent Trail.
Armed with witness testimonials, expert advice, and $5 flashlights, #OasisSquad sets out at 9pm during the owl's peak mating season to ask the creature what's motivating its actions.
"But did you forget that rap means rhythm and poetry?"
Stress culture is real.
To escape from the relentless grind of classes, extracurriculars, and college application, #OasisSquad took a break at Hope Floats Floatation Therapy.
As graduation neared for the Class of 2016, #OasisSquad seniors reflected on their favorite high school memories: Being a part of stage crew, organizing homecoming, and bringing drugs to school...
#OasisSquad followed the cast and crew of the 2016 Teen Performance Company of Round House Theater as they entered tech week - the stressful and demanding last week of rehearsals before a show opens.
The show, the 14th Annual Sarah Metzger Memorial Play, "Good Kids" written by Naomi Lizuka, followed a sexual encounter gone wrong and its public aftermath. Set in a high school in a world of Facebook, Twitter, smart phones and YouTube, "Good Kids" was loosely based on the Steubenville High School rape case.
#OasisSquad interviewed the director, actors, and crew members about how they balance school with the show, and the joys and frustrations of tech week.
BACKPAGE featured two comedians shows: The Lerner Permit, produced in-house with #OasisSquad, and How To Sound Smart by Stella Green.
The Lerner Permit with Misha Lerner
October 2015: "Waiting for the Bus"
November 2015: "Micro-Aggressions"
December 2015: "Grapefruit"
February 2016: "Doctor's Office"
March 2016: "Bernie"
May 2016: "Prom"
Akin to the Colbert Report, Misha takes on an alternative personality in these ending segments — as a grumpy socialist with petty bourgeois tendencies — and complains about his brushes with society and the less enlightened around him: From micro-aggressions and Bernie Sanders, to ordering grapefruits at diners...
How to Sound Smart with Stella Green
November 2015: "How to Live Forever"
December 2015: "Santa Claus"
February 2016: "Scientific Theories"
March 2016: "Using Comparisons"
May 2016: "Barons"
Powerhouse Stella Green teaches you how to sound smart — by inundating your conversation adversaries with pointless yet highly specific trivia.
A charismatic host and talented artists, Stella will teach you everything from spontaneous generation to immortality, all with the goal of dominating the war that is conversation.
#OasisSquad
The 2015-2016, inaugural #OasisSquad consisted of:
Executive Producers: Nina Barker (@ninabaeker), Jeff Fan (@byjefffan), Caroline Soffer
Associate Producer: Alyssa Craig
Advisor: David Lopilato
Original Music: Sariya Ismail (@sariya_wav)
Hosts: Misha Lerner, Stella Green
Guest Appearances: Janey Friedman, Daniel Villar
The series won a Special Achievement in Directing Award and a Student Producing Award from the Cindy Awards, and a Finalist designation from Ghandi Brigade Youth Media.
The first season of Oasis proved to be such a success that MCPS-TV has requested an additional season: #OasisSquad 2016-2017
