Travis Draft
Encyclopedia
Travis Draft began his career at Chicago
's The Second City
in 1992 as an observer, working behind the scenes while attending film school
at Columbia College
. After working his way through the ranks at the famed theater, Travis directed and acted in a gonzo
television pilot
in 1994 that chronicled the exploits of three young comedians (Travis, Dave Sheridan
and Frank Hudetz) traveling the country in a van shooting sketches using the unknowing public as supporting cast members. This was accomplished by the use of Glasses cam, eventually leading to the creation of the MTV
cult-hit Buzzkill, the year was 1995.
the ground-breaking, character-driven, hidden-camera show has been recognized as having paved the way for such shows as Jackass
, Tom Green
, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment
and Spy TV
—the latter of which Draft wrote, directed, co-produced and acted in for NBC
. In 2002 He directed Oblivious, a hidden camera
game show
starring Reagan Burns. When Animal Planet
wanted in on the then hot genre he was hired to write, and produce a special titled Animal Pranksters.
It was only natural that Travis was called in for The Sci-Fi Channel's first hidden-camera show—the now infamous
Scare Tactics
. Travis ended up staying with Scare Tactics for three seasons, splitting his time between acting and directing. During that time he was also cast as a regular on the Comedy Central
hit Trigger Happy TV
, and spent his time flying all over the country, pranking people for two different shows.
Travis Draft has now played over 500 characters on TV.
In the summer of 2003 Travis Co-founded Van Stone, a Shock Rock band that had great success but ultimately no marketability.
In 2005 he was cast as homeless rocker "Dirty Don" for a VH1
international show called "Home James". The script-prov show was aired in Brazil, The UK, Japan, Australia and Israel.
In 2006 Travis was hired to write, produce, act and direct Two projects for Playboy TV
. The adult hidden camera show "Totally Busted
" and "Canoga Park" (BBC
's "The Office
meets Boogie Nights
".)
In 2008 Travis returned to work on Scare Tactics for the Sci-Fi channel, and started a new musical endeavor entitled "Knights of Monte Carlo", a tribute to the genre of Yacht Rock
. After a three year hiatus touring with the Knights , Travis returned to TV as a producer of A&E's reality show, "The Hasselhoff's". He shortly exited the show soon after citing "No reality there". Travis has since written and directed a Trigger Happy TV style hidden camera show for NBC "Off Their Rockers " featuring Betty White .
http://www.travisdraft.com has videos of his work.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's The Second City
The Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
in 1992 as an observer, working behind the scenes while attending film school
Film school
The term film school is used to describe any educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training are usually incorporated into...
at Columbia College
Columbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago is one of the largest art colleges in the United States with nearly 12,000 students pursuing degrees within 120 undergraduate and graduate programs...
. After working his way through the ranks at the famed theater, Travis directed and acted in a gonzo
GONZO
, stylized as GONZO, is a Japanese anime studio, owned by the company's corporate parent, the GDH group. In June 2006, it signed a long-term output deal with the anime television network, Animax, which saw Animax broadcasting all of Gonzo's anime titles across all of its networks around the world,...
television pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
in 1994 that chronicled the exploits of three young comedians (Travis, Dave Sheridan
Dave Sheridan
David Christopher "Dave" Sheridan is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He is perhaps best known for his performance as Special Officer Doofy in the comedy Scary Movie .-Career:...
and Frank Hudetz) traveling the country in a van shooting sketches using the unknowing public as supporting cast members. This was accomplished by the use of Glasses cam, eventually leading to the creation of the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
cult-hit Buzzkill, the year was 1995.
the ground-breaking, character-driven, hidden-camera show has been recognized as having paved the way for such shows as Jackass
Jackass (TV series)
jackass is an American reality series, originally shown on MTV from 2000 to 2002, featuring people performing various dangerous, crude, ridiculous, self-injuring stunts and pranks...
, Tom Green
Tom Green
Michael Thomas "Tom" Green is a Canadian actor, rapper, writer, comedian, talk show host and media personality. Best known for his shock humour brand of comedy, Green found mainstream prominence via his MTV television show The Tom Green Show...
, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment
The Jamie Kennedy Experiment
The Jamie Kennedy Experiment is a half-hour-long American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series that was broadcast on The WB...
and Spy TV
Spy TV
Spy TV is an American hidden camera reality television series hosted by Michael Ian Black and Ali Landry. The show was broadcast on NBC in which pranks were pulled on people by their friends. The show was cancelled after two seasons....
—the latter of which Draft wrote, directed, co-produced and acted in for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. In 2002 He directed Oblivious, a hidden camera
Hidden camera
A hidden camera is a still or video camera used to film people without their knowledge. The camera is "hidden" because it is either not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another object...
game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
starring Reagan Burns. When Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
wanted in on the then hot genre he was hired to write, and produce a special titled Animal Pranksters.
It was only natural that Travis was called in for The Sci-Fi Channel's first hidden-camera show—the now infamous
Scare Tactics
Scare Tactics
Scare Tactics is a hidden camera/comedy television show, produced by Hallock Healey Entertainment. Its first two seasons aired from April 2003 to December 2004. After a hiatus, the show returned for a third season, beginning July 9, 2008. The first season of the show was hosted by Shannen Doherty....
. Travis ended up staying with Scare Tactics for three seasons, splitting his time between acting and directing. During that time he was also cast as a regular on the Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
hit Trigger Happy TV
Trigger Happy TV
Trigger Happy TV was a hidden camera/practical joke reality television program. The original British edition of the show, produced by Absolutely Productions, starred Dom Joly and ran for two series on the British television channel Channel 4 from 2000 until 2002...
, and spent his time flying all over the country, pranking people for two different shows.
Travis Draft has now played over 500 characters on TV.
In the summer of 2003 Travis Co-founded Van Stone, a Shock Rock band that had great success but ultimately no marketability.
In 2005 he was cast as homeless rocker "Dirty Don" for a VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
international show called "Home James". The script-prov show was aired in Brazil, The UK, Japan, Australia and Israel.
In 2006 Travis was hired to write, produce, act and direct Two projects for Playboy TV
Playboy TV
Playboy TV is a premium monthly subscription television channel. Since its launch in 1982 in partnership with Cablevision which eventually sold their share back to Playboy, Playboy TV has become a leading entertainment channel for adult entertainment...
. The adult hidden camera show "Totally Busted
Totally Busted
Totally Busted is an adult hidden camera practical joke series that ran original episodes from 2003-2006 on Playboy TV.-Format:Totally Busted bears a strong resemblance to past practical joke shows like Candid Camera and Punk'd...
" and "Canoga Park" (BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's "The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
meets Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights is a 1997 drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, the script focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, and chronicles his rise and fall from the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s...
".)
In 2008 Travis returned to work on Scare Tactics for the Sci-Fi channel, and started a new musical endeavor entitled "Knights of Monte Carlo", a tribute to the genre of Yacht Rock
Yacht rock
Yacht Rock was an online video series following the fictionalized lives and careers of American soft rock stars of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The series debuted on Channel 101 at the June 26, 2005 screening. It placed in the top five at subsequent screenings until the June 25, 2006 screening,...
. After a three year hiatus touring with the Knights , Travis returned to TV as a producer of A&E's reality show, "The Hasselhoff's". He shortly exited the show soon after citing "No reality there". Travis has since written and directed a Trigger Happy TV style hidden camera show for NBC "Off Their Rockers " featuring Betty White .
http://www.travisdraft.com has videos of his work.
Actor credits
"Untitled Howie Mandel/Rodney Carrington hidden camera project"... pilot- "Canoga Park".... Travis Wayne (13 episodes, 2007)
- Friendly Fire (2006) (V)
- "Free Ride" .... Jamie Aegis (1 episode, 2006)
- Van Stone: Tour of Duty .... Lonnie Van Stone (Pilot, 2006)
- "Totally Busted"....Lonnie Van Stone (1 episode, 2005)
- "Home James" .... Dirty Don (10 episodes, 2005)
- "Trigger Happy TV" .... Various Roles (2003) TV Series
- "Scare Tactics".... Various (2003) TV Series (30 episodes)
- "Spy TV" .... Various ( 26 episodes, 2001–2002)
- Short Cinema (1998) (V)
- "Sexcetera" (1998) TV Series (8 episodes)
- "Buzzkill" .... Various (1996) TV Series
Director credits
"Off Their Rockers"....(2011) Tv series 12 episodes- "Canoga Park"....(2007) TV Series 13 episodes
- "fresh Baked Video Games "....Director (Host wraps, 2006)
- "Totally Busted" (2006) TV Series (8 episodes)
- "Scare Tactics" (2003) TV Series (6 episodes)
- "Oblivious" (2001) TV Series (6 episodes)
- "Spy TV" (2001–2002) TV Series (26 episodes)