We’ve all seen her: A woman, sometimes single, sometimes married, cavorting, dancing, and laughing up a storm with a gay man (or a gaggle of gay men) in bars, at clubs, at parties. She’s been immortalized forever in television and through pop culture (think Grace Adler and Karen Walker on Will and Grace, or comedians Kathy Griffin and Margaret Cho). In the olden days, she used to be known as a fag hag. Today, she’s more often known by the far more innocuous and catchy term “fruit fly.” And in a little over a month, she’s going to have her own web series, aptly titled FruitFlies.
The new series is the brainstorm of Collingswood native daughter Meg Maley, a graduate of the Baldwin Wallace Music Conservatory, who ditched the quaint community that is Colls for the bright lights, bustling streets, and dazzle that is New York City.
Like many performers, Meg dreamed of stardom on Broadway when she headed to the Big Apple. But her life took a bit of a detour as she embarked on a career hosting series like Alley Wire, about New York’s start-up and innovation community, and PetParents TV, which showcases the tales of animals and their humans.
As Meg explained when we chatted by phone late last week, at heart she’s a storyteller. In fact, she loves telling stories. She loves learning about people and their lives. She loves connecting people. And when she moved to New York, she thought theatre would be the avenue whereby she would pursue those passions. But along the way, she discovered the world of hosting, which provided her the chance to follow her dreams but in a totally unexpected yet fulfilling way.
And like many other performers, Meg found herself surrounded by gay men. Lots of gay men, including three gay roommates. It’s not surprising considering the fact that she hails from Collingswood, which an acquaintance once told Meg, is “the gay center of America.”
So it only seems fitting that two major elements of Meg’s life — her hosting career and her love of gay men and all things gay — converge. And what better way than a web series about fruit flies like herself?
FruitFlies, hosted by Maley, will debut on January 17, 2014. Webisodes will run two to three minutes and will air on a biweekly basis. The series will offer advice to make women more fabulous. Topics will include dating tips, information on events in New York City, and practical how-to advice. Providing the advice will be a diverse array of gay men from New York City, including businessmen, attorneys, and even some drag queens. The series is meant to appeal to a diverse audience, including straight women and the GLBTQ community.
Filming for the new series begins this coming week and a fundraising campaign is under way to raise capital to finance the project. Money raised will go toward the purchase of video equipment and microphones, and toward videography costs. The fundraising campaign ends this Sunday, December 22.
For more information, check out FruitFlies’ Web site at Fruitfliesny.com and to see a promo for the new series. And be sure to bookmark the site as new webisodes will be posted there. You can keep up with FruitFlies and Meg both on Facebook and Twitter.
