Ed Wallace provides 'Best Seat in the House'

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

By its very definition, the much-vaunted 'best seat in house' is exclusive, expensive and exclusionary and, hopefully, memorable. There can only be so many prime vantage points at an event, and when the show is over, all that remains are the memories.

However, playwright Ed Wallace is planning to take the 'exes' out of the term with his new website www.bestseatinthehousejm.com, developed by Interlinc Communications. With a welcome delivered by Winston 'Bello' Bell, the website focuses on Jamaican culture and sports with a number of channels and programmes available.

Among the video choices are Best Seat in the House (BSH) Original Programming, BSH Sports, Comedy Features, Teenz and Reggae Country, with the current features segment giving access to Sarge in Charge, The Sprint Factory, The Sports Tube, Proud To Be Jamaican and Under the Law.

Wallace told The Gleaner that the website has been up a "couple months, but it was something conceptualised years ago".

Differentiating www.bestseatinthehousejm.com from the slew of other Jamaican-culture websites, Wallace said that while most deal heavily in print, his is video driven.

"Video is challenging, trust me," he said. However, he added, "I think we are ready now. Content is coming in fast and furious. More programmes will be going on weekly from here on."

He said "Sprint Factory is the cutting front-line programme. I think it is an area I think the entire world will gravitate towards."

Access to the website is free, but Wallace said by year end he plans to put up some of the plays he has done for 'pay per view'. A fee will also be charged for a Comedy Clash segment. Among the niche markets that he plans to fill are health and lifestyle, as well as dub poetry. The Teenz section will be run by persons in the target group's age range, as Wallace said "we are trying to create a space for them designed by them".

Wallace said he decided tostart the website because he is a "frustrated producer". With more than 30 plays to his credit, Wallace said commercially theatre was not where it should in Jamaica, as only a few were making any substantial returns.

However, with the Internet "the world is the market, not only Jamaica. There are people all over the diaspora who want Jamaican content. It is more practical to go to the Internet than cable".

Still, he is not ignoring the cable television market and Wallace said "it is inevitable that there will be a cable channel in a couple months. In fact, he had the idea of utilising cable before deciding to do www.bestseatinthehousejm.com and said "cable is really local. The Internet is international".

Immense scope for contributions

There is immense scope for contributions, as Wallace said while the website is "my dream, my vision, what I am going to do is build a team. People have contacted me, saying that they have content. I will accept content from wherever it comes. My thing is to develop it to a point where we can generate income for other people.

One of the few print items currently on www.bestseatinthehousejm.com is a Jamaican-style romance novel and Wallace noted "the idea is to have a chapter a week in the beginning, then every day after that".

His income will come from advertising and Wallace said, "There are many advertisers who are genuinely interested, but the question is always 'how many hits have you had?'"

And while he is building the hit count, Wallace said he still writes plays and movies. However, as a "frustrated producer", the website offers the tantalising chance of a producer's optimal viewpoint - the driver's seat.

"Through the site I can put any idea I have out there, anyone has out there," Wallace said. In the end, though, providing the best seat in the house means providing the best to look at.

"What it is driven by is the best of Jamaica, taking brand Jamaica to the world. That is my vision," Wallace said.