By Yaki Margulies
An innocent Bar Mitzvah tutor tries to make it in LA as an actor catering to the well-connected Jewish community while learning to fend for himself in a tough town.
Half-hour Series | Comedy
Demo Reel
Synopsis
The real-life adventures of an aspiring actor
After graduating from college with an impractical theater degree and bumbling around his hometown for a few years as a Hebrew tutor, innocent, timid Yaki decides to move to Los Angeles to hit the big time. In order to support himself, he gets a job in Jewish education, tutoring eccentric children of the rich and well-connected for their Bar Mitzvah services. As Yaki tries to find his footing, searching for an affordable place to live, going on bizarre and humiliating auditions, and working with out-of-touch families in their Beverly Hills mansions, he comes to realize that tutoring Bar Mitzvah students in LA might not be the secret doorway into the entertainment industry that he hoped it would be.
The first season follows Yaki in his new life. He acquires more students, each with their own set of difficulties (hiding, rolling on the floor, playing with pets, throwing crumpled bills at him), gets involved with the cult-like fanaticism of the LA comedy scene, grapples with his air-head roommate, Jesse, and builds an occasionally troubled friendship with his romantic interest, Lydia, all while going on terrible auditions (where he has to “be a table or a pear,” act alongside dogs, belly flop onto mats, or stand completely still). These eventually lead him to filming his first commercial, overseas in Lebanon. And after much will-they-won’t-they discussion—each getting friend-zoned and then dating other people—Yaki finally asks Lydia out on a date. The season ends with him officiating his first Bar Mitzvah service.
The series continues with Yaki floundering in LA, coming to terms with the fact that his international beverage commercial didn’t change his career in the way he had hoped. He’s still working as a tutor/punching-bag for rich kids while fame continues to elude him. He struggles with his work and his pursuits, his shady agent gives him bad career guidance, and always trails his friends as they book bigger and bigger acting roles, leaving him feeling excited for them, but also a bit jealous. If only he could get on a TV show.
Through various setbacks and tough interactions, Yaki gradually learns how to stand up for himself and find some confidence, using his sincerity in an insincere town. But his Jewish work is always there to pull him back down, a spiritual job that tries to slowly erode his soul.
Script
Bible