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YCDTOTV.com - The Official You Can't Do That On Television Source

"You Can't Do That On YouTube"
(2008-2010)

You Can’t Do That On YouTube (YCDTOYT) was loosely based on the original YCDTOTV show but it only features child actors. It was hosted by 12 year-old Nick Manolakos.  The show had four main stage skits, opposite sketches, and keeping with traditions, green slime was triggered when someone said “I don’t know” and water when someone said “water.” 

YCDTOYT was a Youth Acting for Television Workshop
The Youth Acting for Television Workshop was for kids who wanted to try out acting as they helped to create monthly installments of YCDTOYT. The workshop gave children the much-needed practical experience to become professional actors. Some kids found that acting was not their thing while others said “this is what I want to do and I’m actually doing it!”

The workshop also gave kids an opportunity to write and improvise skits, and try their hand at special effects and other aspects of creating a show. They rehearsed and taped YCDTOYT in 4-hour sessions on two to three Saturdays per month and tried to complete one 12-minute episode every month and post it on a now defunct YouTube channel.

The shows were posted as they were completed so that family, friends, and the world could interact with the show. Some fans sent in scripts that they had written for YCDTOYT, which the producer intended to use.

The YCDTOYT Back Story
The show’s writer, producer, director, editor, camera guy, set builder, sound guy, and lighting guy, Sterling Johnston (http://www.sterlingproductions.ca) was the fire behind the scenes. His “one-man band” type dedication kept the spirit of YCDTOTV alive for the next generation—although he wished that he had a few more dollars to spend and a few more crewmembers to help carry the workload. The show was produced in his home studio in Alma, Ontario.

"As a big fan of 'You Can’t Do That on Television' back in the mid 80’s, I wanted to be on the show, but I was too old.  In 1987, some actors I was working with wanted me to ask Carleton Productions if they could get a look at the studio, so I sent a letter to a few names listed in the YCDTOTV credits," Johnston recalls. "Imagine my surprise when Roger Price called asking me to send a copy of my actors’ work to him in Ottawa! I sent the material and the next week he called me back to ask questions about my filmmaking and writing. Long story short, he offered me a writing job on YCDTOTV. Unfortunately, the show was canceled before I had a chance to move to Ottawa."

Johnston had wanted to develop a Youth Acting for Television Workshop and felt that the YCDTOTV format would work well as an outlet for work kids created in the workshops. In 2007, with YouTube being the fastest growing website on the Internet, he thought, “Hmm. I could make a new show and call it You Can’t Do That On YouTube.”

"You see, I’m a bit upset with the way local television has gone. As a kid, I always wanted the opportunity to work on a show, but there weren’t many opportunities. Some kids had the privilege, but not many, and now it just doesn’t exist at all. There is no ground floor work for anyone with the burning desire to work in television. "

Johnston credits Sheila Marie Biers for keeping the shoot days flowing with as few glitches possible. Biers serves as the show's assistant director, cast coordinator, wardrobe and special props.

"A person requires about 10,000 hours of practical experience mastering a craft to become a professional anything," says Johnston. "If you’re an actor that would be a long time waiting if you didn’t have anything to work on. One third of the people in Hollywood today are Canadians. They’re there because they had the opportunity to get that practical experience. Now a day is coming when there will be no one to fill the shoes of today’s elite—unless we start them off now."

YCDTOYT was available on iTunes podcast search YCDTOYT or for download on their defunct website www.YCDTOYT.com.