The incriminating evidence: IGF does Wikileaks!

So, there’s tons going on behind the scenes in I Got Fired-land, but of course I can’t talk about it here. So perhaps because I’m feeling guilty for not being as open as I really want to be, and in the spirit of Wikileaks, I am posting the actual postcard that got me fired.

A couple of the reviews of the NYMF production mentioned that the idea that I was fired over a typo was unrealistic. And while, there were lots of reasons for my being shown the door (some of them good), the reason they gave was indeed a typo in a postcard. So, here is the actual postcard including the dastardly typo! Can you find it? (portions of the postcard have been blurred to protect the guilty).

Check out the new orchestrations by Doug Oberhamer for the opening number! The band is going to ROCK! TICKETS GO ON SALE WEDNESDAY!!

Hi everybody! 

We are rapidly approaching the I Got Fired in Vermont benefit concert! We’re working on booking folks to come sing at the event… we’ve already booked my High School rival and nemesis James Blanchard (booo) who stole lots of my parts over the years. Be prepared for a knock down drag out fight to determine who is the real Joseph and which one of our coats is truly amazing and Technicolor.

Now, we need to get some butts in the seats to see the action… um… and fund my show. So, Liz has been working tirelessly to get the local press to cover the event. She’s awesome. I’m going to post this photo of me on the cover of the Country Courier (in 1999 as a Fat Teenage Joseph) as the kind of press we’re looking for.

RSVP to the Vermont event via facebook here!

Hey everybody!

So, the first round of Equity auditions for I Got Fired was yesterday. What a blast. We saw over 200 extremely talented performers. The first person to sing (at 9:30AM) arrived at the audition studio at 5:30AM… wow. 

I mentioned last week how much being “behind the table” stresses me out, but with the help of donuts and the cover of having several other NYMF shows in attendance, I got through the day just fine.

Some quick thoughts:

• The new “it” (read: overdone) song this week are “Here I Am” from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. We heard it at least 6 times.
• I need new headshots. And too many people’s headshots don’t look like them. Everybody says it, but nobody believes it… you are better served by a headshot that looks like you, not by one that looks like a 19 year old supermodel. Its often your non-supermodelish qualities that we are looking for! (Please don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of supermodels, I just don’t have any of them in my shows… hmm….thats an idea…)
• The time pressure is so high (to see as many people as we can), that the folks behind the table only get breaks that last only 2-3 minutes. Its worth it, because saving that extra 5 minutes allows us to see at least 5 more people.
• EVERYBODY can sing their faces off. I don’t know how many times I wrote “great voice” on the back of a headshot.
• I am frequently charmed when people screw up or get flustered. Its a moment when you get to see who the person is, not how “professional” they can act. Often times a technically flawless audition can be a little boring… drop your music or something… I can be really refreshing and appealing for somebody to be their own spastic self in an audition, not some sort of robot (YOU HEAR THAT MUSICAL THEATER TRAINING PROGRAMS??? NO ROBOTS!!)
• Heard some music composed by some of my friends and fellow young writers (Kooman & Dimond, Adam Gwon etc). It was great. 
• Also startling… seeing shows that you wrote on people’s resumes. I saw both Joshua & Scooby Doosical on resumes. It even looks like they didn’t write it in just cuz I was there. Thats a humbling thought. 
• Now I have a stack of 200 headshots, plus 100 submissions of incredible people who I don’t have parts for. Next show: Cast of 400!

ALSO: I will be attending the: NYMF OPEN (Non-equity) CALL FOR I Got Fired: A Semi-Autobiographical Sort-of-True Revenge Musical on Friday (the 27th). Go to MichaelCassara.net/audition to sign up electronically. 

Thats it for now… don’t forget to read the amazing IGF Intern Blog!

Keith

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! I GOT FIRED will play The TBG Theater (The Barrow Group 312 W 36th Street) Perfs on 10/1, 10/2, 10/3, 10/7 & 10/10. Tickets available September 1st!

Hey everybody! We finally have dates… I’m really excited.

Lots going on, we’re working hard on the benefit concert in Vermont… booking acts, contacting all of my old friends and figure out which songs I can possibly sing from the show… since they all have naughty language and the Vermont event will be family friendly!

My interview on the Sissy Gamache show is now on Facebook… as soon as it ends up on Youtube, I’ll post it here!

Lots coming up in development… the creation of an “Interns Blog”… we’re opening “offices” in London & Vermont… we’ve got a wild and fun new marketing campaign that we’ll be starting shortly… our online store for merch is up! (www.igotfiredmusical.com/merch)… we’re continuing to build and amazing producing, technical & creative team… and the first round of auditions will be held on July 20th! Whew!

Click here to download the audition breakdown

Sorry, I’ve been terrible at blogging of late… this also happens to be “show week” for my Joshua: The Musical staged reading at Theater Row. Oy.

Lots more later folks!!

Thanks for dropping by!

Keith 

Hello everybody!

Sorry, I have a little post-Tony’s hangover yesterday and didn’t do a blog. I enjoyed the Tony’s this year. It had a pretty good sense of humor about itself (especially some of the stars who weren’t nominated). I liked Sean Hayes a lot. Very happy for Levi Kreiss who rocks his face off every night in Million Dollar Quartet (I’ve seen him do it twice).

I’ve been pounding the pavement this week bringing some really exciting new people on board. Its really cool, each person who joins the team brings something fresh and new to the show and takes away something that I have to stress about.

So it looks like the Launch Party will take place on Monday the 28th of this month. I expect we will have our official announcement on that tomorrow. Expect a facebook invite. Not a “liker” of the show on Facebook yet? Click on the link on the right hand side of this page and join the growing horde of “likers”!

ALSO: Our job posting looking for Interns has gone live on Playbill.com! Check it out here.

NOW! Let me introduce you to our esteemed director of I Got Fired in the first installment of “Who Got Fired”

Steve Bebout (Director)

Steve Bebout is currently the Associate Director of THE ADDAMS FAMILY on Broadway, as well as the show’s upcoming National Tour.  He is also working with Jerry Zaks on the World Premiere of Randy Newman’s HARPS AND ANGELS, which will play the Mark Taper Forum this Fall.  Steve was the Associate Director of 101 DALMATIANS The Musical, and was involved in various capacites on the Broadway productions of BILLY ELLIOT, CABARET and EPIC PROPORTIONS.  Regional and Stock directing credits include multiple productions of BUDDY: The Buddy Holly Story, THE FULL MONTY, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE, ALMOST HEAVEN and THE NIGHT THE MUSIC DIED.  He has directed several Off-Off Broadway World Premieres, and developed many new works, including THE BOOTH VARIAITONS, featuring Todd & Michael Cerveris, which was produced by Steve’s company, The Moonshine Project. As a guest director for NYU, Steve driected URINETOWN and BYE-BYE BIRDIE.  He is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

I Got Fired - The MEGAMIX!! 10 of the songs in 4.5 minutes. Listen if you dare.

(Warning: Lots of Naughty Lyrics)

So I’ve spent much of the last two days creating the donation request package to send to everybody I know who has… what do you call it?… money. Its tough to try and create something like that. Asking somebody else to give you their hard earned money purely to support my dream. It truly is a humbling experience. My only hope is that someday I’ll be in the position to return the favor to other people trying to make their dreams happen.

I’ll be posting the packet up here on the blog shortly. I would not be sad if you sent it to your uncle in Arizona who happens to have too much money and has a true love of revenge theater.

More soon! If I don’t talk to ya before, have a great weekend!

Keith

Congrats to the Blackhawks last night. Great finals. Wish the Flyers had pushed it to 7 games, but it was a great series.

What? Musical theater people can’t be sports fans?? It happens… there are lots of us!

Had a handful of scripts printed yesterday to give out to prospective designers etc. Looking over the script now next to the previous scripts I’ve had printed reminds me of just how far the show has come since the first ever table reading of the show last December.

The first ever cast of I Got Fired? 

Me: Keith

My Father: Steven, Weinberg, Mike

My Mother: Jenny (then named Katie), Maria, Kathy, Chen, Rick (then  named Suzanne)

I’m pretty sure I’ll never be able to replicate that cast. There may have been wine involved, but my mother swears in Spanish like a trooper. The show ran a little over an hour and it was messy, offensive… and a blast.

Good times. Thanks for reading!

Keith

Hello again everybody!

First off, let me tell the David Stone story. It gave me a (nervous) chuckle. For anybody who doesn’t know who David Stone is, he’s a Broadway Super-producer (Wicked, Next to Normal, Spelling Bee etc) who spoke on Sunday at the NYMF Next Link Weekend. He was super nice and super helpful giving us some advice and perspective on what to expect coming out of the NYMF experience. He talked about what he looks for in new show and writers and what he likes in theater itself. 

So, I muster my courage and I ask “So, what would be your biggest turn-off when looking at a new show? What don’t you like to see?”

Without hesitation he responds: “Shows where the same person writes the book, music and lyrics. I makes me a little nervous that the writer is writing in a bubble or is unwilling/unable to collaborate etc”

Um. Oops. I guess I set myself up for that one. Yes, I am writing the book, music & lyrics for IGF. I at least knew enough to keep my mouth shut about the fact that I’m also playing myself in the show. Poop.

In all seriousness, I actually totally agree. It is not usually a good idea to have the same person wear all of those hats. Its a breeding ground for navel-gazing narcissism and flawed indulgent shows. Luckily, I have a great support system of brilliant and creative people who will tell me when I’m doing that. And I even attempt to listen…most of the time. Mr Stone doesn’t actually hate the show (as far as I know), but it is an exciting honor that he at least knows the show exists!

ALSO! I am ordering a whole ton of I Got Fired T-shirts today! So get ready to start getting sick of my asking you to buy one. They will be a major source of our Fund Raising and will be available for $20 from myself, my parents & the production team. They also will be available at the I Got Fired Launch Party which will take place on Fri the 25th of June (lots more details about that later). I will be taking pre-orders shorty.

Talk to you tomorrow! Stay tuned, there is all sorts of stuff coming up.

K