T.J.'s Influences Pt. 3: Musical

Only one more thing to add for this Influence series (that sounds vaguely like a limited edition perfume line), or at least mine. James and Mitchell and Megan may want to weigh in later. This one was saved for last because I feel it applies to both James and I. The reason for that is these are the heaviest influences on this show.

The first is the awesomeness of Joss Whedon. For those that don't know, Joss is one of thebest screenwriters in Hollywood right now. Naturally, he was in favor of the writer's strike but it affected him in a strange way. He's not just a writer, he's a director and producer. Now, because of his inability to work because of the strike, he got bored. So he figured out a way to get around the writer's strike. The result? Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apEZpYnN_1g

James and I were both affected by this because it was brilliant for starters. It was also the first time that I had seen a musical that a group of people created for fun. Granted, Joss could retire from the DVD sales of just Firefly (WATCH THAT SHOW NOW!) so he's rolling in cash but it was still something he did without a backing studio or another producer, it was all on his dime.

Second, and this one was the heaviest, in 2009 a group of theater major graduates from Michigan produced their own play, filmed it, and posted it on the internet resulting in, now, almost 2 million hits. This indy musical was, the Very Potter Musical.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmwM_AKeMCk

A mutual friend, Jana Zahn, posted this link to her facebook on Aug 23 last summer. James watched it, then he made me watch it and it is amazing. We both became moderately infatuated with it and it was fresh on our minds when we were writing our one act. The rest is history.

-T.J. Mercer