So You Want a Job is an improv show I created and developed in 2017, inspired in part by playing the card game Funemployed with fellow improvisers Leila Carrillo and Sundar Sarangan, and Donald Trump’s campaign promise to “Bring the jobs back to America,” because the show debuted on his Inauguration Day, and I needed to find some humour in his presidency so I didn’t get depressed about it.
The reality TV style of the format, interviewing three different people for a job selected by the audience, allows me to cast different improvisers in each show, so I have the ability to play with different improvisers whose work I admire but may not necessarily get to perform with otherwise. Casting choices are generally made because I have some kind of relationship/friendship with the improviser, I want to work with them, and I think they’re able to build strong characters. I am open to working with other improvisers, but making a connection with me so we can build a rapport is going to give someone the best chance of being part of the show. I do have a long list of performers I want to work with in the show already.
With the show’s format being rather unique, it is something I’ve begun submitting to improv festivals. My festival-bound cast usually includes most if not all of Diana Brown, Leila Carrillo, and Shirley Chan. The show’s first festival was Improvaganza, the Hawaii Festival of Improv, and will also be seen at the Alaska State Improv Festival in Juneau in April 2018.
Episode – Guest Cast (Date | Theatre/Producer)
Episode One – Adrian Bosada, Matt Haley, Jeff Stein (January 20, 2017 | Leela, San Francisco)
Episode Two – Diana Brown, Leila Carrillo, Shirley Chan (March 24, 2017 | Leela, San Francisco)
Episode Three – Leila Carrillo, Nonie Kimpitak, Sundar Sarangan (April 14, 2017 | Moment Improv, San Francisco)
Episode Four – Casey Busher, Shirley Chan, Casey Trujillo (May 19, 2017 | Leela, San Francisco)
Episode Five – Diana Brown, Adrian Bosada, Casey Trujillo (July 8, 2017 | Leela, San Francisco)
Episode Six – Diana Brown, Leila Carrillo, Shirley Chan (July 18, 2017 | SF Barprov)
Episode Seven – Casey Busher, Leila Carrillo, Casey Trujillo (Oct 3, 2017 | SF Barprov)
Episode Eight – Diana Brown, Leila Carrillo, Shirley Chan (Oct 5, 2017 | Improvaganza, the Hawaii Festival of Improv)
Episode Nine – Adrian Bosada, Jill Eickmann, Marcus Sams (Nov 4, 2017 | Leela, San Francisco)
Episode Ten – Marcia Aguilar, Diana Brown, Shirley Chan (Feb 4, 2018 | All Out Comedy Theater, Oakland)
Episode Eleven – Marcia Aguilar, Diana Brown, Shirley Chan (Feb 6, 2018 | SF Barprov)
Episode Twelve – Diana Brown, Leila Carrillo, Shirley Chan (March 6, 2018 | Endgames, San Francisco)
Episode Thirteen – Diana Brown, Shirley Chan, Marcus Sams (April 26, 2018 | AS IF – the Alaska State Improv Festival)
Episode Fourteen – Diana Brown, Leila Carrillo, Shirley Chan (May 6, 2018 | All Out Comedy Theater, Oakland)
Episode Fifteen – Adrian Bosada, Shirley Chan, Marcus Sams (June 1, 2018 | Moment Improv Theatre, San Francisco)
Episode Sixteen – Diana Brown, Leila Carrillo, Shirley Chan (Sept 19, 2018 | The San Francisco Improv Festival)
Episode Seventeen – Diana Brown, Casey Busher, Christopher DeJong (Nov 4, 2018 | All Out Comedy Theater, Oakland)
Episode Eighteen – Andrea Barello, Dana Cory, Christopher DeJong (Jan 19, 2019 | Leela, San Francisco)
Dominica May 