The Message Board

John Raymond Barker

Actor-Singer-Writer-Director. Recent Guest Star on Law & Order: SVU.

The Message Board is an 8-part web series about Broadway Universe, a theatre web site where different people can come together to chat about Broadway, divas, cabarets, chorus boys, politics, internet addiction, gay marriage, religion, sex, suicide and anything that crosses their minds. Perhaps that ranting theatre queen or Wicked-obsessed teen will become your new BFF or your next worst enemy? Maybe that anonymous, alleged “hot chorus boy” will become the love of your life? You’ll never know until you log in.

YouTube was a different world in 2009. I hadn’t yet acquired a HD camera, nor did many of us record dialogue separately. Still, I am fond of the ideas here and the lovely performances my actors gave to me. Each actor was filmed separately, which made scheduling easier than usual. It is flawed, but charming, and it was one of the first web series ever.

Another big difference about YouTube was that there used to be a 15 minute limit on videos. Thus, some are split into two parts (released the same week). I also had some fun stuff to create a bloopers reel.