I spoke with Sam Hamilton a couple of weeks prior to the debut of his miniseries, Greenstick. During our chat I became extremely excited (and impatient) to watch the show. I thought it would be best to watch the debut episode of Greenstick first before writing up our interview. It was a two-parter that ended on a cliffhanger, so I waited till the next episode to find out more. Guess what happened? I got sucked in, again…
It’s now been a good two months since the finale of season one, and I’ve only just collected my thoughts and put the proverbial pen to paper. In a way, my slackness is a compliment – I just really liked Greenstick.
Sam is a driving force behind the show. He wrote the script and produced the miniseries. To get it off the ground, Sam started a crowdfunding campaign through Pozible to raise a modest sum. The funding target was exceeded, showing that there was real interest in a project like Greenstick.
Put simply, Greenstick is a web series based around the themes of youth depression and how young people deal with grief and loss. The substantial, homegrown cast includes characters who are 17 or 18 years old, they’ve just finished year 12 at high school and are trying to figure out where to go from there. Sam elaborates; “The show starts a few weeks after the characters finish high school. Suicide is a big theme of the show, and as a direct result of this we also try to cover themes of youth mental health and substance abuse.”
I asked Sam about his inspiration for the show. “Growing up, there weren’t that many shows I related to. I wanted to create a show that was relatable to older teenagers.” Pondering some more, Sam added; “Every single story (in Greenstick) is drawn from personal experience, even if it is often embellished in some way. I think a show like this would have been really useful for me at that time.”
Growing up, Sam was always interested in writing, but it took some time for him to get serious. “From year 11 onwards I started putting together proper pieces, beforehand it was mainly bits and pieces, mostly embarrassing stuff!”
When talking about the future, Sam has a clear goal. “My main ambition would be to write for a commercial television series, or be a producer.”
In the meantime, Sam hosts a radio show on Syn FM, which he likens to a real life episode of Greenstick. “People call in about a variety of things, some of it is pretty heavy; we talk about topics like mental illness and sex, mainly with a youth focus.”
Sam has the ability to pull the community together, evidenced by the fact that I didn’t interview Sam alone, Greenstick actresses; Laura Lillywhite and Felicity Townsend joined us, illustrating the group effort that made Greenstick a reality. Felicity quipped; “Sam sourced volunteer make-up artist and graphic designers to help with the show, everyone pulled together to make it happen.”
In the time post my interview with Sam, Felicity and Laura, I’ve been keeping up with all things Greenstick. A second series has been promised. I for one, am looking forward to it.
You can watch episode one here.
Like Greenstick on Facebook.
Words: Carl Thompson
Photo: Sean Porter
banyule100.com 
Fantastic series