Newark, N.J. (Tuesday, May 20, 2008) – New Jersey Ironmen public address announcer, Ed Kalegi, has been selected to perform vocal roles in two movies set to debut later this year. Kalegi will provide his voice in the upcoming baseball motion picture Sugar and the animated film The Champion.
“I love doing all of my live event announcing and other voice-over work, but expanding into movies is something I’ve always hoped to do and feel extremely fortunate to be able to do so,” Kalegi stated. “It’s such a different approach in having to develop a character and then having to express that character only through the use of my voice.”
Sugar debuted at the Sundance Film Festival this past January in Park City, Utah, to rave reviews. It is a fictional story of Miguel “Sugar” Santos, an inspiring Dominican pitching prospect that dreams of making it to the big leagues. Written and directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, “Sugar” follows Santos from his native Dominican Republic through the minor league ranks in pursuit of achieving his dream. Kalegi plays the role of the public address announcer for the Iowa Swing, the Single-A stop for the hopeful Dominican. Playing the role of Santos is Algenis Perez Soto, who received high acclaims for his performance at Sundance.
Kalegi received the role of “Dennis” for The Champion this past March after working his way through thousands of actor submissions and eventual auditions. The Champion is an animated musical comedy, and the voice recordings will be done throughout this summer at the Silver Sound Studios in New York City. The film is scheduled for release later this year or in early 2009.
“The idea of being able to walk into the theater and hear my voice in a movie is something I’ve dreamed about since I was about ten-years-old,” Kalegi continued. “Knowing that I’ll actually be able to do that later this year is simply incredible.”
In addition to his responsibilities with the Ironmen, Kalegi is the public address announcer for the Staten Island Yankees, and he also fills in that role for the Newark Bears of the Atlantic League. He also works as the race announcer and event host for New York Road Runners. Kalegi is also a voice actor, appearing in commercials, narrations and audio books.
The New Jersey Ironmen are currently finalizing preparations for their summer camp programs. Camps will be conducted by the Ironmen coaching staff and players, offering participants the rare experience of learning directly from the pros. All players will receive a t-shirt and a ticket to the 2008-09 New Jersey Ironmen home opener at Prudential Center this fall. For more information regarding camps, contact Assistant Coach Kevin Sloan at 973-757-6323 or ksloan@njironmen.com.
ABOUT THE NEW JERSEY IRONMEN
The New Jersey Ironmen, operated by Jeff Vanderbeek and Michael Gilfillan of the NHL New Jersey Devils ownership group, join the Baltimore Blast, California Cougars, Chicago Storm, Detroit Ignition, Milwaukee Wave, La Raza de Monterrey (MX), Orlando Sharks, and the Philadelphia KiXX in the 2007-08 MISL regular season, which commenced in mid-October and will conclude at the end of March. The Ironmen play a 15-match home schedule at Prudential Center in the Downtown Core Redevelopment District of Newark. The Ironmen are coached by two-time MISL Coach of the Year Omid Namazi and Assistant Coach Kevin Sloan. For more information on the New Jersey Ironmen, visit www.njironmen.com.
ABOUT THE MISL
The Major Indoor Soccer League, a single-entity organization with a coast-to-coast presence, represents the major league of professional indoor soccer, featuring the finest indoor soccer players from 32 countries around the world. The nine MISL clubs competing in the 2007-08 season are the Baltimore Blast, California Cougars, Chicago Storm, 2007 championship finalist Detroit Ignition, Milwaukee Wave, and the defending MISL Champion Philadelphia KiXX, with the addition of three expansion clubs, La Raza de Monterrey, New Jersey Ironmen, and the Orlando Sharks. The standings for the 2007-08 regular season are based on a single table of the nine Member Clubs. The MISL regular season commenced on the weekend of October 19-21, 2007 and concludes on the weekend of April 4-6, 2008. Each Club plays a thirty-match (30) regular-season schedule (15 home / 15 away). The 2008 MISL Championship Series consists of six of the nine MISL Member Clubs competing in three rounds, the Quarterfinal Round (April 11-13), the Semifinal Round (April 18-20), and the Championship Series Final (April 26) at U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee. For more information on the MISL, visit the League’s official website www.MISL.net.