Meet Casey Gorab

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Casey Gorab a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Casey, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I love this question because everyone’s answer to it is so unique.

When I was in school, we’d occasionally have motivational speakers come in to talk to our class. Every time, I’d say to myself “I want to do that for people one day.” I always knew I wanted to help people, validate people’s feelings, and be the reason someone feels confident in themselves.

Also when I was in school, I was regularly auditioning for Broadway shows, national tours, and film/TV. I booked a national tour when I was 11 and continued to pursue a career in musical theater throughout high school. I also taught myself how to play piano in high school and instantly started writing my own melodies. It got to a point where expressing myself through music became like a second language to me.

So how does this all connect, and what exactly do I do now anyway? Well, for a while, all of these remained separate parts of myself. I performed in musical theater, I also liked to write music, and I also wanted to help people. It wasn’t until college that I really found a way to connect everything. When I wrote my first musical theater group number for a high school theater company, I noticed the performers seemed more confident after singing it. Around the same time, I scored my first film and noticed that viewers were able to empathize with the characters so much more after my music was added. I finally realized that writing music is my way to bring validation to others and spread empathy.

With all that being said, my purpose is to initiate connection and validate others through music!

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a composer for film, media and musical theater! My goal as a composer is to write music that helps people understand feelings that are tough to articulate verbally.

I mainly work with filmmakers and theater companies and write music to help them tell their stories. I also collaborate with songwriters and help bring their songs to life with orchestration. I make it a strong priority to build a close relationship with everyone I collaborate with, and I have a unique variety of skills coming from a musical theater background that can set me apart from others.

One of my current projects that I am especially excited about is the new musical that I wrote. It is called “5 Out of 10” and it is about high schoolers navigating relationships and identity. We just completed our first reading and are continuing the development process as we speak!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. Flexibility – Plans will always change and projects will always have unexpected turns. While it is always good to have a plan, you should always allow room for that plan to evolve or change.

2. Time Management – It is so important to pace yourself and learn how you are able to be the most productive. This is a skill that I will always be revising as I learn and grow, but I recommend setting a stopwatch when you begin to work and keeping track of roughly how long certain tasks take you! That way, you’ll have an idea and will be less likely to overbook yourself.

3. Kindness and Empathy – At the end of the day, if you are kind and take the extra time to get to know the people you work with and fully understand the project you are on, you will automatically stand out. Always try and meet in person or over the phone when you are able to. Connection is not only good for the soul, but good for maintaining long term professional relationships as well!

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am always looking for filmmakers and playwrights to collaborate with! Feel free to reach out via email (caseygorab@gmail.com) or social media! (@caseygorabmusic on all platforms)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.caseygorab.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caseygorabmusic/
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-289521787