By Matt Nelson, Special Writer
HIGHTSTOWN — Act Natural Productions, a production company in Asbury Park, recently held auditions for its upcoming comedy-web series called “Tavern on the Lake.”
The show is being named after the bar and restaurant, Tavern on the Lake, at 101 N. Main Street in downtown Hightstown.
The auditions took place Sunday on the second floor of the restaurant. The pilot episode will be shot April 7 from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the restaurant.
Act Natural Productions decided to name its project after the restaurant as a thank you to management for allowing the crew to shoot the project there.
East Windsor resident Scott Glazer is the executive producer of this show.
”Our mission is to get this project done and then send it to networks to see if they can make something out of our idea,” Mr. Glazer said.
Mr. Glazer is working on this show with Nick Reigota, of South River, New Jersey, Will Roman, of New Brunswick, and Mike Dworkin, of Monroe Township.
The crew is basing their project on “Cheers,” the television sitcom from the 1980s and 1990s, which was based in a bar in Boston.
Mr. Reigota, who wrote the script for “Tavern on the Lake,” said, “In ‘Cheers,’ the bar was just as much of a character because it held all the people inside, and they were able to have their moments and get their lines in. Anyone who was on the show had a speaking part.”
Mr. Dworkin, who will be sound engineer for the show, hosts Karaoke Night every Wednesday at the restaurant at 8 p.m.
”I’ve been going to his Karaoke nights for the last three years,” Mr. Glazer said. “His style and professionalism is incredibly entertaining, and every night is always a blast.”
Mr. Dworkin is the owner of Absolute Entertainment, which is the company that does the Karaoke Nights.
Mr. Glazer and Mr. Dworkin used to work on a reality show together, and they have been very close friends ever since.
Mr. Roman’s is technical director.
Post Midnight, 34, of Hamilton, will play one of the main characters named GunJack, who is a war veteran and an alcoholic in denial.
The other characters walk all over him, but he is wise and well-traveled.
Malcolm Coates, 23 of New Brunswick, will play another main character, No Name. This character is a wallflower and soft-spoken, but he is naturally inquisitive.
Mr. Coates said, “What I really like about No Name is he has some social issues, but he is well-spoken. I’m happy to be a part of their film.”
Felipe Vasco, 29, of New York City, will play Joe, who is the DJ. Joe is a strong leader at first glance, but he crumbles at the feet of beautiful women.
”I love meeting new people, and he seems like the type of character who will do that,” Mr. Vasco said.
Melinda, the lead female in the web-series, will be played by Catherine Kovach, 25, of Monroe Township. Melinda has feelings for Joe, and she is pretty, smart, funny and talented.
Ms. Kovach says she was asked by Mr. Glazer to audition for the web series, and Ms. Kovach agreed.
Kasey Hunt, 26 of Fords, New Jersey, is playing Tinkerbelle, who is a crazy drunk that isn’t very knowledgeable about pop culture.
Donnie, who is a potential future character in this series, will be played by T.J. Walton, 22, of East Windsor.
Mr. Walton, who was involved in numerous plays at Hightstown High School and graduated from HHS in 2008, says he was happy to receive a role for “Tavern on the Lake.”
He also took acting courses at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor.
Sarah Lightman, 23 of East Windsor, will play Janice, a bartender who is feisty and is not afraid of keeping the drunkards in line.
Ms. Lightman is a fifth-year senior at Temple University in Philadelphia where she is a theater major with a concentration in musical theater. She expects to receive her bachelor’s degree this spring.
Roric Toomey, 39 of Piscataway, will play the part of Bart, who is a character who irritates others in the film. Mr. Toomey has experience in acting and singing from his days in high school.
Richie Navares of Hightstown, will play Rook, who is known as the sports fanatic in “Tavern on the Lake.”
Chris Poinset, of East Windsor, and Rob Ellis, of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, will play themselves in the web series.
Also, Bryan Gruber, of Hightstown, is playing a character named Todd. Mr. Midnight, Mr. Poinset, Mr. Navares and Mr. Gruber did not audition, but their characters already were cast.
Mr. Glazer said he has a good relationship with the staff of “Tavern on the Lake.”
To find out more information about Act Natural Productions, visit www.actnaturalprod.com, or search Act Natural Productions on Facebook.
To reach Mr. Glazer, contact him at 609-915-9517 or email him at [email protected].

