Tyler wants the best of both worlds. In college, he spends his time trying to balance two sides of himself: his fraternity side and his gay side.
“Bro-ing Pains,” a comedic Web series produced by UF students, explores the friendship between a gay man surrounded by straight men in a fraternity.
“Aside from the shows ‘Partners’ and ‘Happy Endings,’ there’s not a lot of shows that look at the relationships between gay men and straight men and how they can have a friendship,” said Jonothon Mitchell, a 26-year-old multimedia telecommunication graduate student.
Mitchell is the writer and creator of “Bro-ing Pains.” He also plays the main character, Tyler, a man in a fraternity open about his sexual orientation.
Mitchell said he can relate to Tyler’s desire to belong and to be accepted in a world that normally isn’t very accepting.
“The overlying theme of the whole series is the idea of acceptance and knowing where you belong and who you fit in with,” he said.
Ansley Gordon, a 20-year-old public relations and theatre junior, plays Heather.
Gordon said her character says what every girl thinks but can’t say. Her no-filter attitude makes her a character almost everyone can relate to.
Trenor Wilkins, a 20-year-old telecommunication junior, is the assistant director in charge of the sound for the series.
Wilkins said the series explores stereotypes and breaks them.
Because the actors and producers involved in “Bro-ing Pains” are students, production depends on their schedules.
Gordon admits it can be difficult to juggle academics and acting.
“When I look back on college, I’ll think of what I accomplished, not how tired I was,” she said.
Skyler Kern, a 23-year-old telecommunication senior, is the director of the Web series.
“What makes it worthwhile is when I’m sitting at work at 2 a.m., and I have someone who I don’t even know come up to me and say ‘I love ‘Bro-ing Pains,’” Kern said.
Mitchell said there will not be a second season to the Web series.
“I want everyone to end exactly where they’re supposed to end,” he said. “I want everyone to end on a high note.”
