One Plant City native has turned a rough day in middle school into an award-winning web television series.
Pietro D’Alessio took inspiration from his childhood to create “Proper Manors,” a soap opera based on his experience with a middle-school bully.
“I told my mom I was going to start a show about Plant City and about how wicked this kid was,” D’Alessio remembers.
He outlined five story lines. Then, he put the idea away. Every year, he brought the shuffled pages of an unwritten world out of their hiding place and added characters and additional plots.
With six older sisters, D’Alessio became obsessed with soap operas. He often found himself wrapped up in all the stories and used that inspiration to fuel his own script. His wild imagination fostered by a love of the arts only pushed him to pursue the idea even further.
“I looked at my life as a soap opera,” D’Alessio says. “I look at who would be the characters, who would be written out, who would be a love interest.”
Fast-forward to high school. D’Alessio introduces himself to the new kid at Plant City High School, Jef Phillips, while skipping class. The two hit it off, starting a friendship that still exists 29 years later.
But, it wasn’t until they were in their 20s that D’Alessio shared his show idea with Phillips.
“At the time, I thought it was a fun little hobby to work out his frustrations,” Phillips says. “It was his outlet.”
True, at the time it may have been a hobby for D’Alessio. His career in the entertainment industry had taken off a long way from his starting days acting in Plant City Entertainment’s productions.
After moving in 1992, to Chicago, D’Alessio quickly snagged a recurring role on the syndicated television series, “The Untouchables.” His breakthrough introduction to the industry was soon followed by more film, television and theater roles.
Several years later, D’Alessio moved to Hollywood and entered the production side of the business. He found himself with steady work as a casting director and producer on a variety of projects.
When he returned in 2001, to Plant City, D’Alessio opened his own production company, Yo Soy Irini Productions. But after two years, he returned to Hollywood and then took an extensive break from the industry to travel throughout Europe and work on his writing.
It was Phillips who drew D’Alessio from Los Angeles to Utah after his travels. The two begin to collaborate on D’Alessio’s long-standing show idea in 2009.
“He brought it up again and wanted to do it,” Phillips says. “So, we did.”
With Plant City in mind, the duo modeled a soap opera world based in Proper, a small American town. The show focuses on the Sorrento family and the two main characters, Joey Sorrento and Jef Knights.
They are best friends trying to navigate the teenage years after high school. But, their families and other notable community members have different plans and goals for them.
“In every small town, there are goals and desires that everyone has for their children,” D’Alessio says. “Everyone knows each other; secrets don’t stay hidden for long.”
In addition to Plant City, D’Alessio used his family background as inspiration, namely for the infamous Sorrento family. As a Catholic Italian growing up in a Southern Baptist sphere, D’Alessio saw many comical and dramatic differences between himself and his peers.
His favorite character, Blanche Crawford Sorrento, is based on his mother, Genevieve Smith D’Alessio. Genevieve was a school teacher at Marshall Middle School and has been a strong guidance throughout D’Alessio’s life.
“Blanche is my guilty pleasure,” D’Alessio says. “She’s every primetime and daytime soap matriarch rolled into one.”
Many of the other characters also are based loosely on Plant City residents.
“I’m excited to see those characters and places come to life and for people to recognize them,” D’Alessio says. “It’s vitally important to people to remember where they came from. Plant City was the best place to grow up.”
“Proper Manors” premiered in 2012. After several episodes, the production took a 13-month hiatus to tweak the script and cast. Those first episodes won 10 Filmed in Utah nominations, the Utah equivalent to the Emmy Awards, including a Best Actress win for Anne Sward.
The hit online drama was picked up by Interfusion TV’s Salt Lake City affiliate.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
ACCOLADES
The fourth episode of “Proper Manors” attracted online recognition and was voted the No. 1 online series by fans of We Love Soaps.
Viewers also named series regulars Anne Sward (“As the World Turns”), Walter Platz (“Napoleon Dynamite,” “S. Darko”) and Hunter Gomez (“National Treasure,” “Family Guy”) their favorite performers of the week. Special guest star Melinda Chilton (“Rid of Me,” “The Office,” “Hitchcock”) also was singled out as a top performer.
The first three episodes of the first season premiered in 2012 and garnered 10 Filmed in Utah nominations, the Utah equivalent to the Emmy Awards, including a Best Actress win for Sward.
WANT TO WATCH?
To watch episodes of “Proper Manors,” visit propermanors.tv.