Meet Kelly Wallace-Barnhill and Lindsey Gentile

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Wallace-Barnhill and Lindsey Gentile.

We met in 2008 in an Upright Citizens Brigade improv class in New York City and fell in love. When we met, the lightbulb inside of our tiny brains turned on and we thought, “Are we really doing what we moved here to do? And more importantly, are we happy doing what we’re doing?” The answer was no. And the solution was to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps to pursue what we love and to DO IT OURSELVES.

We started hosting a successful monthly variety show, inviting some of New York’s best stand-up comics, storytellers, and sketch groups to perform. This show allowed us to consistently write and perform original material and tap into the pulse of New York’s underground comedy scene. We took the momentum from our variety show and turned our sketches into the two-woman play Kelly and Lindsey Do New York which we performed all over the US at various comedy and Fringe festivals. That play eventually turned into a web series with the same title.

When we moved to LA we started working on Timber The Series, which is based on exaggerated versions of our real-life dating experiences on Tinder and other dating apps.

A little about Timber: In the series, Kelly and Lindsey endure embarrassment, awkward attempts at romance and a great deal of disappointment as they swipe their way through a gentle kisser, a humper, a kid who may not be of legal age, and an old bag.

The first season screened at many festivals, including Austin Revolution Film Festival, where Kelly was nominated for “Best Actress”, and Best Shorts Film Festival, where Timber the series won an Award of Recognition. It was also included in Big Vision Empty Wallet’s Kickstart Diversity Program, which supports projects by women, people of color, and LGBT creators.

We premiered the second season at the Hollywood Comedy Shorts Festival in April and it’s currently making the festival rounds. Our second episode, “The Humper” was recently featured on Whohaha.com.

We would love for you to take at look by heading over to our website, Timbertheseries.com to watch the series!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been a very fun, exciting and bumpy roller coaster ride. We have been friends for more than ten years and we have lived together, worked together, produced together and traveled the world together. Producing your own work is really hard. You need to raise money, which consists of asking everyone and their mother to donate to your project, which is always a struggle, and you need to rely on others. We are writers and actors and we have had to learn how to become efficient producers. This does not come naturally for us. We have had to learn how to edit both for film as well as for an upcoming podcast. We have had wrangle actors and crew and make sure everyone is fed and happy, while also remembering to learn our lines and focus on the artistry of the project itself. We have juggled many hats which is very exciting but it can also be exhausting. If you would like to be our intern, we will hire you and pay you in sparkling water and hugs! Until we’re rich – then we’ll buy you a yacht. Promise.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
We have bits that we perform live at comedy shows and we have two different web series and a podcast coming soon.

The web series Kelly and Lindsey Do New York is basically Lucy and Ethel meet Ren and Stimpy – two dumb but industrious broke girls looking for a little sex in the city.

Then we have Timber The Series – based on real online dating disasters, which we think is relatable to just about everyone, whether you are single or not.

Our podcast Fuck You I’m Smarter is coming soon. It’s a school themed game show where we compete with a guest with to be valedictorian, with games like “Name That Boner”, “Vag Or Sac”, and “Shakespeare Quote Or Nicki Minaj Lyric”.

We are proud to be loud, honest, and funny female voices. We aren’t just talking about dating; we are talking about our education, growing older, our relationships with women and so much more.

We are writing about things that everyone can relate to, whether you are a dude or a lady. We want people to feel as though we are just two of their girlfriends. We are real, down to earth, and a little bit crazy in the best way ever.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Molly Pearson is a producer that was our mentor from day one. She taught us to produce our own work and that we don’t have to wait for others to give us a green light. Our moms have always been our biggest supporters and have been by our side through sex scenes, poop jokes and so much more. We also started Timber the series with our dear friend Natasha Malinsky who had so many bad dates our first season could have easily had 100 episodes with all of our stories combined. Our Timber director Shawn Depasquale also helped us write the series and led the way. We had an amazing cast and crew that was the backbone of Timber the series, and we love them all. They all get a yacht one day.

Contact Info:

• Website: timbertheseries.com
• Email: timbertheseries@gmail.com
• Instagram: @timbertheseries
• Facebook: @timbertheseries
• Twitter: @timbertheseries

Image Credit:
photo by Mandy Pacheco Photography

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