Chickago
New York City, New York | Film Feature
Comedy, Musical
Chickago is a dark comedy about an unlikely trio coming together to produce the musical Chicago in their hometown in an effort to find fame and fortune...or maybe just to find themselves.
Chickago
New York City, New York | Film Feature
Comedy, Musical
2 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $24,119 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
152 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Chickago is a dark comedy about an unlikely trio coming together to produce the musical Chicago in their hometown in an effort to find fame and fortune...or maybe just to find themselves.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
This movie is for anyone who has ever tried to make something of themselves in this very daunting and often unsupportive world - packaged in the musical theater vehicle that we all know and love. Chickago is a story of the young professional’s journey to success: equal parts creation and destruction. It’s the undeniable millennial experience of existential dread and depression...plus leotards and music!!
.gif)
Aided by a host of wacky characters, dorky romance and set against a backdrop of a quirky, whimsical New England town, this is the ultimate story of growth, redemption and the tenacity of musical theater kids.
The movie features an original musical with music written by powerhouse duo Joey Contreras and Brian Russell Carey.
Brittany Johnson heads home from New York City to Northampton, MA after being rejected from yet another tour of Chicago, the musical, only to learn that her childhood dance teacher, Marianne, has died. To add insult to injury, her agent also drops her. There she meets Laura, a friend from her days in dance class who is struggling with addiction, depression, anxiety, and regret.
At Laura’s suggestion, Brittany throws herself into any project or idea that comes her way, no matter how ill-advised, like mounting her own local production of Chicago. Laura reluctantly, signs on to help her.
Their production hits every snag possible - from an abysmal talent pool, to diva meltdowns, to a Cease & Desist which forces the women to write an original show, aptly named Chickago. Will their creative endeavors pay off as they prepare to mount a successful one-night-only production of their original play?
You'll have to wait and see!
Think Little Miss Sunshine meets Stick It. Except that nobody is colorblind and no gymnastics. But otherwise very apt. The characters are flawed, yet loveable, with scrappy, can-do spirits.
Glee, but 10 years past their prime. And Brittany & Laura can’t seem to get the rights to any recognizable songs. Does anyone do anything original anymore?!
Napoleon Dynamite Sans High School. Also sans the racial stereotyping.
“Nora Kaye and Whitney Uland are so hot right now...” is what Mugato from Zoolander would say if he were real. It’s true, Kaye and Uland have been compared by film-industry professionals to the likes of Amy Poelher and Tina Fey (no one has specified which is which, however).
And it for good reason, too. Nora and Whitney spent the majority of 2019 touring the global festival scene, as many of their personal and collaborative projects were official selections and award winners in festivals like:
● Geena Davis’ Bentonville Film Festival (where they won Best Pilot and Audience Choice awards)
● Shonda Rhimes’ SeriesFest
● Scotland’s Fringe Festival
● Catalyst Content Festival (where they signed with Abrams Artists Agency)
● And so many more...
They also attended the 2019 Cannes Film Festival with a digital short that Whitney directed and Nora starred in.
Aside from their rising popularity, Whitney and Nora are respected for their unique viewpoint as women in the film industry. They are unafraid to tackle socio-political issues in their projects, like Hysterical Women, a TV pilot about sexual assault in the workplace (yes, this debuted before The Morning Show was a thing). They dive deep into complex human emotions, as they did with My Best Friend’s Husband’s Funeral, a short about women dealing with grief and inspired by Whitney’s experience when her own father passed away.
Perhaps most importantly, however, is that Nora and Whitney are funny. They know how to entertain an audience and still deliver a meaningful message.
After Chickago is made, we will share it with the world! Once it's shot, we will start pitching it to distributors so that you can see it either in theatres or on demand!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Actors
Costs $12,350
Broadway actors don't come free!
Crew + Equipment
Costs $10,000
We gotta have someone making this movie come to life!
Food
Costs $1,100
Apparently people "need" to "eat" and we gotta feed them!
Locations
Costs $2,800
Paying for some beautiful locations to shoot in.
Insurance
Costs $2,100
We'd rather be safe than sorry! And the state of New York requires it...
Makeup Artists
Costs $1,650
Trust us, you don't want to watch a movie where there isn't a makeup artist.
Share this update!
About This Team
Writers & Directors-
Whitney Uland is the creator and star of Janessica, a viral web series streaming on Amazon Prime. Her script for Janessica’s Guide to New York was selected as a semi-finalist in the 2019 Showtime Tony Cox Writing Competition. Whitney’s work has been featured in the 2019 Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner, and has been included in the official selections of many national film festivals, including NYWIFT’s Online Shorts Festival and Film & Her. Whitney is an alum of UCB improv and the Manhattan Film Institute.
Nora Kaye is the creator of a new play, Baby Goes Down, which premiered in New York City in Fall 2019. She received accolades for her work in the vaudevillian clown show, Beep Boop, featured in Scotland’s 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in the 42nd Festival de Teatro de Badajoz in Spain.
Nora is a lead actor in My Best Friend’s Husband’s Funeral, and was a featured writer, actor, and director in Janessica. Nora is a lead in Happy Camper, a new series in development with Nickelodeon, and regularly performs with her sketch comedy troupe in NYC.
Whitney & Nora's most recent project, Hysterical Women won a bunch of awards that we already told you about. But here are some of their festival laurels.
Producers -
Jon Uland worked for nearly a decade driving growth at major companies like Peloton, Teachable, and Qualtrics, and WMG. He owns an indie record label, Moon Village, and produces live studio sessions for NYC acts.
Arielle Haller-Silverstone is an NYC-based producer, and an award-winning actor and creator. She recently premiered her first short, Sac de Merde, in 2018, which won over 60 festival awards around the world.
Adam Kinyon is a FinTech entrepreneur with roots in Filmmaking. After building a successful mobile app, managing a hedge fund, and hosting a podcast, Adam returned to film production and on-set operations.
Andrew Boszhardt is an actor, filmmaker, and singer. He was the writer, producer, and lead actor in "Pitch Boys," a romantic comedy that premiered in NYC earlier this year. He has another film in development, "The Wicked Wendolyns," which shoots in May as a proof of concept for a feature film. Outside of acting and filmmaking, Andrew loves meditation, running, and playing guitar. His heroes are Dean Martin and Matthew McConaughey.
The Composers -
Joey Contreras is an internationally renowned musical theater and pop songwriter, and NYU alum. Joey’s music is regularly heard in popular New York venues such as 54 Below, Rockwood Music Hall, and Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre.
Brian Russell Carey is a songwriter & composer who plays 11 instruments and counting. He writes and produces songs for broadway actors and singers and works all over NYC teaching master classes and private vocal and audition lessons.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
This movie is for anyone who has ever tried to make something of themselves in this very daunting and often unsupportive world - packaged in the musical theater vehicle that we all know and love. Chickago is a story of the young professional’s journey to success: equal parts creation and destruction. It’s the undeniable millennial experience of existential dread and depression...plus leotards and music!!
Aided by a host of wacky characters, dorky romance and set against a backdrop of a quirky, whimsical New England town, this is the ultimate story of growth, redemption and the tenacity of musical theater kids.
The movie features an original musical with music written by powerhouse duo Joey Contreras and Brian Russell Carey.
Brittany Johnson heads home from New York City to Northampton, MA after being rejected from yet another tour of Chicago, the musical, only to learn that her childhood dance teacher, Marianne, has died. To add insult to injury, her agent also drops her. There she meets Laura, a friend from her days in dance class who is struggling with addiction, depression, anxiety, and regret.
At Laura’s suggestion, Brittany throws herself into any project or idea that comes her way, no matter how ill-advised, like mounting her own local production of Chicago. Laura reluctantly, signs on to help her.
Their production hits every snag possible - from an abysmal talent pool, to diva meltdowns, to a Cease & Desist which forces the women to write an original show, aptly named Chickago. Will their creative endeavors pay off as they prepare to mount a successful one-night-only production of their original play?
You'll have to wait and see!
Think Little Miss Sunshine meets Stick It. Except that nobody is colorblind and no gymnastics. But otherwise very apt. The characters are flawed, yet loveable, with scrappy, can-do spirits.
Glee, but 10 years past their prime. And Brittany & Laura can’t seem to get the rights to any recognizable songs. Does anyone do anything original anymore?!
Napoleon Dynamite Sans High School. Also sans the racial stereotyping.
“Nora Kaye and Whitney Uland are so hot right now...” is what Mugato from Zoolander would say if he were real. It’s true, Kaye and Uland have been compared by film-industry professionals to the likes of Amy Poelher and Tina Fey (no one has specified which is which, however).
And it for good reason, too. Nora and Whitney spent the majority of 2019 touring the global festival scene, as many of their personal and collaborative projects were official selections and award winners in festivals like:
● Geena Davis’ Bentonville Film Festival (where they won Best Pilot and Audience Choice awards)
● Shonda Rhimes’ SeriesFest
● Scotland’s Fringe Festival
● Catalyst Content Festival (where they signed with Abrams Artists Agency)
● And so many more...
They also attended the 2019 Cannes Film Festival with a digital short that Whitney directed and Nora starred in.
Aside from their rising popularity, Whitney and Nora are respected for their unique viewpoint as women in the film industry. They are unafraid to tackle socio-political issues in their projects, like Hysterical Women, a TV pilot about sexual assault in the workplace (yes, this debuted before The Morning Show was a thing). They dive deep into complex human emotions, as they did with My Best Friend’s Husband’s Funeral, a short about women dealing with grief and inspired by Whitney’s experience when her own father passed away.
Perhaps most importantly, however, is that Nora and Whitney are funny. They know how to entertain an audience and still deliver a meaningful message.
After Chickago is made, we will share it with the world! Once it's shot, we will start pitching it to distributors so that you can see it either in theatres or on demand!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Actors
Costs $12,350
Broadway actors don't come free!
Crew + Equipment
Costs $10,000
We gotta have someone making this movie come to life!
Food
Costs $1,100
Apparently people "need" to "eat" and we gotta feed them!
Locations
Costs $2,800
Paying for some beautiful locations to shoot in.
Insurance
Costs $2,100
We'd rather be safe than sorry! And the state of New York requires it...
Makeup Artists
Costs $1,650
Trust us, you don't want to watch a movie where there isn't a makeup artist.
Share this update!
About This Team
Writers & Directors-
Whitney Uland is the creator and star of Janessica, a viral web series streaming on Amazon Prime. Her script for Janessica’s Guide to New York was selected as a semi-finalist in the 2019 Showtime Tony Cox Writing Competition. Whitney’s work has been featured in the 2019 Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner, and has been included in the official selections of many national film festivals, including NYWIFT’s Online Shorts Festival and Film & Her. Whitney is an alum of UCB improv and the Manhattan Film Institute.
Nora Kaye is the creator of a new play, Baby Goes Down, which premiered in New York City in Fall 2019. She received accolades for her work in the vaudevillian clown show, Beep Boop, featured in Scotland’s 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in the 42nd Festival de Teatro de Badajoz in Spain.
Nora is a lead actor in My Best Friend’s Husband’s Funeral, and was a featured writer, actor, and director in Janessica. Nora is a lead in Happy Camper, a new series in development with Nickelodeon, and regularly performs with her sketch comedy troupe in NYC.
Whitney & Nora's most recent project, Hysterical Women won a bunch of awards that we already told you about. But here are some of their festival laurels.
Producers -
Jon Uland worked for nearly a decade driving growth at major companies like Peloton, Teachable, and Qualtrics, and WMG. He owns an indie record label, Moon Village, and produces live studio sessions for NYC acts.
Arielle Haller-Silverstone is an NYC-based producer, and an award-winning actor and creator. She recently premiered her first short, Sac de Merde, in 2018, which won over 60 festival awards around the world.
Adam Kinyon is a FinTech entrepreneur with roots in Filmmaking. After building a successful mobile app, managing a hedge fund, and hosting a podcast, Adam returned to film production and on-set operations.
Andrew Boszhardt is an actor, filmmaker, and singer. He was the writer, producer, and lead actor in "Pitch Boys," a romantic comedy that premiered in NYC earlier this year. He has another film in development, "The Wicked Wendolyns," which shoots in May as a proof of concept for a feature film. Outside of acting and filmmaking, Andrew loves meditation, running, and playing guitar. His heroes are Dean Martin and Matthew McConaughey.
The Composers -
Joey Contreras is an internationally renowned musical theater and pop songwriter, and NYU alum. Joey’s music is regularly heard in popular New York venues such as 54 Below, Rockwood Music Hall, and Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre.
Brian Russell Carey is a songwriter & composer who plays 11 instruments and counting. He writes and produces songs for broadway actors and singers and works all over NYC teaching master classes and private vocal and audition lessons.