JOANNA LEWIS
Joanna grew up in Pennsylvania, moved to Los Angeles in 2004 and began as an assistant. She got her first writing job on Fairly Odd Parents and teamed up with her writing partner, Kristine Songco during that time. They have bounced back and forth between writing for animation and sitcoms ever since.
Currently, Joanna works at Dreamworks on a project she can not disclose to us at this time!
Her credits include: Sullivan and Son (TBS), T.U.F.F. Puppy (Nickelodeon), Just Add Magic (Prime Original), Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh (Netflix), The Great Indoors (CBS), and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Hasbro).
Joanna loves coffee, but can not have it. She’s a mom and a wife. She also recently started a family Tae Kwon Do class and now her legs hurt.
Her future plans include having her own empire a la Greg Berlanti...and maybe starting a studio with humane work hours, decent benefits, and in-house childcare?! Who knows? We will see.
Alison Coster
Native San Franciscan Alison Coster began singing at the age of 3. Coming from a family of gifted and locally renowned musicians (her father drummer Al Coster and Uncle Tom Coster, formerly of Santana), she inherited the music gene and drive for writing and performing. While studying music theory in Los Angeles, Alison detoured into acting, where she discovered a comedic gift that she incorporates into her performance. She juggled the two careers until she placed a song "Do" in the movie Rome and Jewel (with Nate Parker in the scene where the two characters fall in love).
Since then, she has focused her energy as a singer-songwriter and can be heard on many albums, such as Eric Idol’s Spam a Lot first album (just before the NY play production), and shares credits with many talented writers such as Dany Tomas, an established star in Argentina. Alison and Dany have placed two songs in two movies, including the above-mentioned “Rome and Jewel,” and were hired to compose the theme song for the horror film “The Passing”(2006). She is currently writing, recording, and performing out across the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood, and Santa Monica.
Chrstian Bladt
In college, I interned at "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "Saturday Night Live". (Prior to that, I interned at the White House, but that is decidedly NOT show business...)
Afterward, I was a page at NBC in New York for a year where I met a LOT of famous people and became friends with a lot of people who have better careers than I do now.
After that, the biggest job that I ended up with was on Law & Order SVU. The best part of that experience was having Ice T as a co-worker. I have a couple funny anecdotes about that.
In 2004, I started working on Dennis Miller's CNBC show, which I had a connection with a couple of producers who had also been in the NBC page program. Thus began the better part of a 15 year career working with Dennis. I also met my wife there, who is more famous than I am for sure, so, great advice is to marry up the fame food chain.
-On that show I wrote jokes but also the real writers would put me in these stupid bits, which led to me really standing out to Dennis who loved that I was not particularly good as an actor, but really did everything I could to try and sell those bits.
-That show was unceremoniously canceled. About a year and a half later, I ended up producing Dennis's radio show, which I became the co-host of. I now produce his podcast that sounds suspiciously like the old radio show.
This is a lesson in having your dreams be malleable. In middle school, I wanted to be Dennis Miller and hoped that I could one day anchor Weekend Update on SNL, but instead ended up working with him very closely, which is kind of like the real-world version of what I wanted to grow up and do.
Twitter and Instagram @ChristianDMZ
I co-host Dennis Miller’s podcast “The Dennis Miller Option” on Westwood One. I have my own podcast called The Bladtcast which can be found at Bladtcast.com
Trisha Hershberger
Trisha Hershberger is an online host & producer who has been featured on channels like IGN, Rhett & Link, The Philip Defranco Show, Epic Meal Time, The Fine Bros, ScreenJunkies, Smosh & more. She won two Streamy Awards as a full-time cast member with Sourcefed & SourcefedNerd and now owns and operates her own production company, creating content for Geek & Sundry, Newegg & Kingston Technology, as well as her own Facebook, YouTube (Trisha Hershberger & Nerds With Kids) & Twitch channels. (www.trishahershberger.com)
Cecily Knobler
Writer, radio host, and stand-up comic Cecily Knobler currently writes and hosts "Live from Hollywood," a daily morning-show, where she provides entertainment reports and film reviews for 15 FM radio commercial markets across the U.S. and Canada. She was also a longtime entertainment reporter/film critic for "The Source" on British Armed Forces Radio (B.F.B.S, Radio One). She is accredited with the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) and the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA.)
She has worked as a comedian for over 15 years, appearing in the prestigious "New Faces" show at the Montreal "Just for Laughs" Comedy Festival. She has worked in clubs all over the country, including The Comedy Store (Los Angeles), The Hollywood Improv, Dallas Improv, Stand Up New York, and The Palace in Seattle.
As a writer, she is a longtime contributor to US WEEKLY magazine, American Curves magazine and previously had her own columns in Los Angeles Magazine and The NoHo L.A. News, where she discussed politics and relationships. She was a writing consultant on VH1's Tough Love and wrote host copy for Mark Burnett's YouToo TV. She has a non-fiction book entitled She’s Crazy, He’s a Liar, which combines funny, personal dating stories with relationship advice. It's available in major bookstores and on Amazon. In 2016, she also released a book called Five Thousand, Three Hundred Miles, a romance novel.
She has often filled in as a guest junketeer on Good Day, Sacramento, and The Reelz Channel. She has also provided on-camera press interviews to Universal Pictures for their PR campaigns. Previously, she co-hosted the KZLA Morning Show in Los Angeles, where aside from banter with her partners, she produced a movie review segment called "Girl on Film."
Cecily made weekly appearances as an entertainment reporter for MSNBC’s television show, Scarborough Country. She was a longtime cast member on VH1’s popular TV show Best Week Ever as a commentator on pop culture, politics, and film. Cecily filmed two television pilots for the E! Entertainment Network in Los Angeles. She has appeared as a commentator for various networks, including A&E, VH1, G4, and WE. Additionally, she appeared on Logo's The Gossip Queens as a guest entertainment reporter.
As a story producer, Cecily worked on NBC's Ready for Love and Food Network's Cupcake Wars, where she also wrote host copy.
Luke Null
Luke Null is an American comedian and singer who was a Saturday Night Live cast member for its 43rd season. After leaving SNL, Luke recorded his first comedy album: Guitar Comic! Which you can find on all streaming platforms. Luke was also a musical comedian at the iO Theater in Chicago.
Shawn McDaniel
Moved from Las Vegas to LA 8 years ago. I used to work for my dad as a kid growing up doing concrete, hated it! I used to perform as Elvis Presley in High School and it sprinkled on into my career as I got older. Worked on the strip in my Elvis suit and asked for tips in exchange for pictures.
Always had aspirations of being in the “industry” one day. Whether it was acting or something else. Eventually, I got my hand on a camera my mom got for a school play I was in that she wanted to record. I took that camera and started making little movies with my action figures when I was younger. I showed them to the family and I think that started the world of filmmaking for me.
I went to some school in Vegas and LA for film/TV but no traditional college schooling. Working as an editor for an Ad agency in Vegas until it ran out of work for me. I eventually moved to LA when I was 25 and started working at Apple. While I worked at Apple, I shot a ton of Spec commercials as I thought they were fun little snippets of a story to tell and were easy to make. In a desperate rush to get back into making movies, I teamed up with Michelle Romano and we produced The Look short film. Was an absolute mess however we did get some nominations from France and won for Cinematography.
My Death co was on the mind for a while as I was visualizing this character in my mind for a long time. I eventually teamed up with Ben after speaking with various writers and now here we are.
My Death Co Social media - @mydeathcoseries and @shawntcb
Also, MyDeathco.com.
JOHNNY…
Johnny Giacalone has worked in the entertainment industry across a variety of mediums as an actor, writer and producer. Johnny co-wrote, co-produced and co-starred in the independent com edy feature, 30 Nights of Sex to Save Your Marriage. 30 Nights has been acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films for streaming on Amazon Prime. The film has also received streaming distribu tion in 8 foreign countries. Johnny also co-wrote and co-produced the award winning short films 30 Nights (that inspired the feature) and Sleeping Dogs Lie. He is the author of several screen plays including the Gotham International Screenplay Competition Winner for Best Comedy Fea ture 2011, The Saturday Night Club. Johnny was a season long recurring on SONY Playstation’s Powers. Other TV & Film highlights include: The Accountant, How I Met Your Mother, Legends, Ironside, Soul Man, and Law & Order. Johnny has performed at theaters across the country in cluding standouts; Manhattan Theater Club, The Public’s New York Shakespeare Festival, The McCarter, The Mark Taper Forum and Hartford Stage. Johnny’s has appeared in improv and sketch comedy at such venues as: UCB, IO West & Second City. He is a company member of New York’s Ensemble Studio Theatre. He attended Vassar College, the National Theatre Institute and Improv Olympics West. He writes a travel and food blog; there’s johnny: wanderings and wine .
Johnny was born in Middletown NY where his parents lived on a hippie commune. Communal living not being for him, he moved to Brooklyn at age 3. Johnny attended Poly Prep and Vassar College. After college he moved back to New York City where he spent many years working as an actor and sometimes restaurant professional. Johnny has lived in Los Angeles for the past 12
years with the same magical artist and restaurant work combo. He’s also peppered in living and working in television and at various regional theaters in Atlanta Georgia, Portland Maine, Hart ford Connecticut, Princeton New Jersey, and Pittsburg PA. Johnny is a film buff, a baseball fanat ic, weekend softball warrior and an accomplished long distance runner. He is the proud and de voted owner of 12 year old Lab mix named Harlow.
MANDY...
In Ms. Madden's second grade open house when other kids showed off their artwork and told knock knock jokes, Mandy sang a powerful a cappella version of “What I did for Love” from A Chorus Line. The crowd (aka Mandy's mom) went wild. Her fate was sealed.
She has been performing ever since. After earning a BFA in Musical Theater from Ithaca College, it was on to NYC to sing and dance and establish her voice over career which pays the bills 'til this day.
As an actress she has appeared in dozens of plays and musicals, independent films and tv shows including: CSI, MadTV, Medium, The Real O'Neals and The Bill Engvall Show. She has also co-written and co-starred in the feature comedy film 30 Nights of Sex to Save Your Marriage which has been acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films for streaming on Amazon Prime.
She was a writer on the Web Series The Young Hillary Diaries, and her screenplay Stalkers, Inc won the Gold Prize in the World Series of Screen Writing.
When she is not narrating audiobooks or having fake sex onscreen, Mandy is the creator/director/star of the long running LA cabaret Miscast: Right Singer, Wrong Song. The show, now in it's 9th year has featured over 250 iconic songs, sung by more than 60 brilliant, yet inappropriate singers and all proceeds benefit Project Angel Food.
On the personal front, Mandy is a happily married mom to Casey, her 9 year old son. She directs elementary school students in Musicals and if anyone needs it, she can recite the entire final episode of The Golden Girls and cries every time. EVERY TIME.
Below are the social media accounts the film and we would love a shout-out. Thank you so much!!!
www.facebook.com/30NightsMovie/
www.instagram.com/30_nights_movie
www.twitter.com/30_Nights
www.30nightsmovie.com
Amber Carvaly
Mortician/Comedian/ Probably a lifetime waitress
Licensed for 7 years
Ran Undertaking LA for 4 years: A funeral home that encourages the family to be more hands on with the body.
Was featured in VICE, The New York Times, VOX. Featured in Buzzfeed Video for being a makeup artist as well as Trixie and Katya and Keeping Up with the Kardashians. So basically I did a lot of cool stuff and now I may just a general waste of space as I took all my love and energy for creating healthy funerals and have poured that into abrasive feminist comedy which is just slowly costing me all of my followers on a day to day basis.
@morticianinthekitchen
Sears
My name is Lissa Sears, I’m a breast cancer survivor living with MS that realized I’m actually a comedian & actor. I started doing comedy 4 years ago, was recently on an episode of Baskets on FX/HULU, I have my own line of CBD coming out, I have a videocast called The Gays Of Our Lives, there’s a documentary being done about me called Stand up Fall Down Comedy, I just won The Indy Star’s readers choice award for Indianapolis’ Best Comedian and I was picked to be a runway model for the Pink Ribbon Connection for survivors. I also just got my first keynote speaker gig which is more of what I want to do because o can help more people.
•Voted Indy Stars Readers Choice Best Comedian 2019
•Co-Host ~ The Gays Of Our Lives
http://lissasears.com/index.html
Facebook- Homosears comedy
Facebook- The Gays Of Our Lives
YouTube channel- Homo Sears
Renee Gauthier
Four time Emmy Nominee Renee Gauthier is a comedic triple threat - stand-up, writer and producer. Hailing from Chicago where she was a well-known member of Chicago's Second City, since then she has traveled the country opening and performing with iconic female comedians like Aisha Tyler and Amy Schumer.
She made her feature film debut in Lionsgate Entertainment's Turkey Bowl playing Dana- released select theaters and now available on all streaming services starting November 15, 2019.
Renee's extraordinary writing and producing skills have been tapped by many celebrities including Chrissy Teigen for Lip Sync Battle (Emmy Nominated), Kevin Hart for his YouTube hit What The Fit and Zachary Levi for the 2019 MTV Movie and TV Awards. Currently she is working on writing for Paula Abdul's Vegas Residency.
She was also featured as a "New Face" at Just For Laughs, recurred as a panelist on Chelsea Lately and she is often recognized as that "funny American assistant" on Victoria Beckham's Coming To America reality show on NBC. Being "dad less," Renee created a podcast called Dead Dad's Club where she invites comedians and other celebrities to talk about their "dead dads."
Nadia Vaeh
Atlanta native and IMA “Vox Pop” winner, Nadia Vaeh found her way into artistry through modeling and joining a local Atlanta circus. She started singing in their productions, but this was not the beginning of her artistic roots.
Nadia’s love of music and singing began at the age of two and was nurtured by her parents who placed her into a traveling youth choir when she was in middle school. She created small productions with the neighborhood kids and sisters while growing up. Her mother was a poet who passed on her love of words, which later fueled Nadia’s talent as a lyricist. Nadia’s life took an unexpected turn at the age of 17 when she lost her mother to suicide.
She dismantled her high-school band and strayed from songwriting and singing for years, other than the occasional karaoke. After this tragic loss, she went down a path of self-sabotage and destruction and used relationships and partying to ignore her pain. When she finally decided to begin again with artistry, she was a shell of a person and looking to anyone and anything for answers to deal with her heartbreak. “I made a lot of missteps when I first began my career and had to learn a lot of things the hard way.”
With her endless resilience, she has grown into a performer, has had her music recently played on international radio, and is looking forward to sharing more of her music here in the U.S. and around the world.
Vaeh loves to pull inspiration for her music through many genres and sounds from all over the world and has been heavily influenced by island sounds from her time spent in the Netherland Antilles island, Curaçao. She also draws from the roots of her father's homeland of Lebanon and has an affinity for middle eastern music.
She has written well over 100 songs born from the things she has experienced. Her songwriting is not only personally healing but is also a platform to help others heal and make waves with social matters. Her success is a result of a strong work ethic inspired by the successes of other great artists she admires. Having written in several genres, her fascination lies with pop because as she put it, “You can tell a story with an important message through pop music and create positive shifts in the world around us as well as just a person’s mood”
Sally Mullins
is a proud Floridian by way of England who has done stand-up in LA for 21 years. You can check out her special Sleazy Does it on Amazon and Porn Mom Podcast on all platforms. She was also featured on the cover of Hustler Magazine earlier this year as both a comic and pornographer. When Sally isn't busy with both her hustles she rescues dogs, cats and ex-boyfriends.
Gregory Hollimon
Known For His Television & FilmWork in Comedy Centrals Cult TV Show ‘Strangers With Candy’ As H.S. Principal Onyx Blackman.
He Has Also Performed In TV Series E.R., MAD TV, The Colbert Report, The Fugitive, A Family Thing, Denis Learys Comedy SIRENS. He Will Be Seen Soon In The Alex Beh Film WARREN . A Chicago Native, Greg Grew Up In The Chicago Housing Projects Of Cabrini Green (Back In the 60’s When The Projects Were Good) He Got his First Taste Of Improvisation At Players Workshop and Went On To Tour And Work With Chicago’s Famed Second City Where He Feels He Earned His Stripes. ‘Through Improvisation I Became An Actor’ He Contends. He’s Performed In Productions at Lifeline Theatre, Steppenwolf, Court Theatre. This is Gregorys First Appearance In An Annoyance Production.
WENDY WILKINS
Back on the circuit with her sassy, average gal/been around the block style, comedian Wendy Wilkins has been doing stand-up for over 28 years. Hailing from upstate New York with a home base in Los Angeles, Wendy is a favorite with audiences and twenty-eight-year-old Tinder boys. It’s what happens when you give up comedy after falling in love and having it ruin your act. Now that she’s divorced, she’s back – in all ways.
Growing up a marching band kid in a house with sport coach parents, Wendy’s boldness kicks ass on and off stage. In LA, she performs at the IMPROV, ICEHOUSE, WESTSIDE COMEDY, and FLAPPERS. On the road, she’s played THE LAUGHING TAP in Milwaukee, THE COMEDY HEIGHTS in San Diego, and THE IRVINE IMPROV in Irvine, Ca, featuring Bagg, Eddie Pepitone, Damon Millard, Laura Hayden, and Mary Kennedy.
In August 2020, Wendy was a part of the Burbank Comedy Festival and, in 2019, performed at the Valley Comedy Festival and Laugh Riot Grrrl Festival. She’s also been a finalist for the Funniest Female in Southern California (2009), the winner of the 2nd Uncle Clyde’s Comedy Competition (1998), and took 3rd Place in the Funniest College Student in the Hudson Valley (1992) at the legendary BANANA’S COMEDY CLUB in Poughkeepsie, NY.
You can check out Wendy on numerous podcasts such as Storyworthy, Screwed Up Stories, Disorganized Religion, Writer’s Therapy, Around the Bagg with Ian Bagg, Austin Film Festival, Joe on Joe, Movie Night, etc. Can You Help Us Get Famous? You can also find her jokes on Laugh USA on Sirius XM, published in the LA Weekly, and featured in the Judy Carter humor books.
Beyond stand-up, Wendy is an award-winning filmmaker, screenplay, and television writer. When asked, she also acts as a senior staff writer/director for the satirical futuristic news website – www.Omnarchy.com.
Screenwriter Bio
Escaped from the hick area of upstate New York, Wendy Jean Wilkins is an award-winning screenwriter, filmmaker, and comedian who been in Hollywood for over 28 years. While kicking ass working on television sets, Wendy has been a Warner Brothers Writers’ Workshop Participant, an ABC/Disney Writing Program Finalist, a Final Draft’s Big Break Contest Top-10 Finalist, a Women In Film: NY/Meryl Streep Writers Lab Finalist, twice an Austin Film Festival Second Rounder and in 2019, was named one of ISA’s Top-25 Screenwriters to Watch.
She’s also placed or awarded in over 50 other writing competitions.
Wendy’s hottest feature script is the road picture comedy WHERE THE MEN ARE, which won Best Comedy Screenplay at the 2019 Creative Screenwriting Awards and the 2018 Creative World Awards. Her keenest original pilot, HOMETOWN, a dramatic/sci-fi script, won the ISA Fast Track VI Fellowship and the 2018 Space & Time Film Festival screenplay competition. Her most futurist post-apocalyptic pilot, ONE MORE DAY, won the best screenplay award for the 2020 Space & Time Film Festival and the 2019 Sherman Oaks Film Festival. Her sexiest pilot, a half-hour dramedy script, COOZE, was a finalist for the 2020 Creative World Awards as well as the 2020 Seriesfest/Kyra Sedgwick Big Swig contest. And her snappiest short script, INSIGNIFICANT, won Best Dark Comedy short screenplay at the 2019 Houston Comedy Film Festival and the 2018 Austin Comedy Short Film Festival.
In 2015, the script for ONE MORE DAY was produced into a radio drama and currently has over 42,000 listens on YouTube.
Dive into one of Wendy’s satirical articles on the Dystopian news website Omnarchy.com, a senior staff writer/director. Or catch her on stage in Los Angeles and across the country performing stand-up to very drunk crowds. It just reminds her of every family Thanksgiving she’s ever had.
Henri Hebert
Brian Kiley
Brian has appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman” a whopping seven times, four times on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and twelve times on “Late Night with Conan O'Brien”.
He also has been a staff writer for Conan O'Brien since 1994 and is currently the head monologue writer. He has been nominated for 16 Emmy Awards and he is the winner of the 2007 Emmy Award for Writing in a Comedy/Variety Series.
Al Bahmani
Legend.
Jimmy Brooks
Jimmy Brooks has worked in television production for over 15 years on such television shows as According to Jim, Rules of Engagement, The Soul Man, and Hot in Cleveland. He currently serves as the Associate Producer on the hit Netflix sitcom The Ranch, starring Ashton Kutcher, Dax Shepard, Elisha Cuthbert, and Sam Elliott.
Amanda Salvatore
Amanda worked in musical theatre before moving to LA. She now co-hosts the podcast Guilty Pleasure, which has been featured on Vulture.com’s weekly best of comedy podcasts round up. Amanda has spent three years as a writer and performer for The Ruby’s house team The Vanities. Most recently, she worked in the writers’ room on NBC’s Trial and Error. Amanda has studied improv and/or sketch writing all over the country, including with UCB, IO West, The Magnet, and The Nerdist School.
Max Shifrin
Max is CEO of Shifrin Management and Producer of the “West Hollywood Brunch” comedy showcase at the world-famous Comedy Store.
Bobbie Oliver
Los Angeles comedian Bobbie Oliver is one of America’s funniest comics. Her act is smart and irreverent, and she never shies away from personal experience or edgy material. A native of Covington, GA, the city where the Dukes of Hazzard tv series was filmed, by way of Athens, GA, the hippest little city in the South, Bobbie’s Southern charm wins over audiences wherever she performs, never catering to the stereotype of “Southern comedy.”
Bobbie has appeared on ABC, TNN, The Style Network, WeTV and Entertainers with Byron Allen. Bobbie was called one of the “best comics in America” by the New York Post. A regular on the Los Angeles comedy scene, Bobbie has performed at The Improv, The Ice House, The Comedy Store, Jon Lovitz Club, Flappers Comedy Club and clubs across the country, including Zanies, The Punchline, Nick’s Comedy Stop, The Laughing Skull and The Riviera in Las Vegas, and has been heard on Sirius XM Comedy Radio.
Bobbie has performed at tons of colleges (including UCLA, USC, UC Irvine, UGA, Cal Tech, GA Tech and more) and corporate events (such as NASA, IBM, City of Hope, Congressional fundraisers and more). Bobbie has won many comedy contests and festivals including the Hollywood Ha Ha Festival, LA Superbowl of Comedy and was one of the LA winners in the national World Series of Comedy. Bobbie has appeared on billboards in Hollywood and on the cover of Pasadena Weekly twice.
Bobbie owns Tao Comedy Studio in Los Angeles and published The Tao of Comedy: Embrace the Pause in 2013, recommended by Maria Bamford and Wendy Liebman.
Her new comedy special Bobbie Oliver: Greatest Hits is now on Amazon Prime!
Social Media:
Bobbie Oliver
Tao Comedy Studio
Laugh Riot Grrrl L.A.
@thebobbieoliver
@laughriotgrrrls
@TaoComedyStudio
@TaoComedyStudio
Brian McDaniel
Brian can be seen in the Entourage movie, on CBS’ “The Talk,” as a recurring villain on the network show “The Inspectors,” and of course, he was a correspondent on TMZ for eight years. He won Rookie of The Year at The Comedy Store in the 2018 Roast Battle Awards and the award-winning short films "Trophies" and “A Midwestern Methamphetamine Fairytale.”
Brian grew up in Prince George's County Maryland, on the bus ride to school, comedy was the deciding factor in social status. While he bumped down the road frantically scribbling in answers to homework left undone the night before, he was learning by osmosis, picking up on which jokes made everybody laugh and which ones the cool kids used to wall off their clique. High school, college, and twenty years in the entertainment industry have only reinforced that lots of people can tell a joke that plays to their tribe, but being truly funny to all kinds of audiences is where he shines.
Geoffrey Sharp
I moved to New York City at nineteen on my own with one suitcase and a dream. Also, I was starting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. I had to find a place to live on my own. THAT is a story... feel free to ask me about it on your podcast... It involves a punk model, cocaine, the Saturday Night Live afterparty at Brian Doyle Murray (brother of Bill)'s apartment, and a few other twist and turns.
I studied for a year at the Academy, then quit and took acting lessons with a teacher named Dennis Moore. He was outstanding. By twenty-two, I was hired to be in the first national tour of a hit Broadway play - "Brighton Beach Memoirs" The show starred a very young Jonathon Silverman (later famous for the Weekend at Bernie's movies). A year later, I was cast in the original Broadway production of "Biloxi Blues" by Neil Simon. I made my Broadway debut in that show. So by twenty-three, I had appeared in two of the biggest Broadway shows of the nineteen-eighties.
I also did some occasional soap opera work - Another World, As the World Turns, Ryan's Hope. Don't forget to ask me who was in my scenes on AS the World Turns who is now an Academy Award (winning?) I know she's been nominated a bunch of times, actress.
Some of the actors I've worked with: Mathew Broderick, Woody Harrelson, Penelope Anne Miller, Jon Tenney, Alan Ruck, Morgan Freeman, Josh Mostel, and many more...
In the nineties, I quit acting and went back to film school at NYU. Not their prestigious master’s program or anything, just the night school they ran to make money off of poor saps like me. But I learned some stuff and started to make some films.
I had a script optioned, called "I Ate Her Heart," based on a story by a novelist, and I directed an indie film that played at a bunch of festivals that we eventually sold to STARZ. I wasn't making as much progress as I hoped, so I wrote a script that I was sure would sell - and sure enough, it did - and I moved to Los Angeles to restart my career in 2000. The movie was made for Showtime and starred John Laroquette. No idea if I spelled his name right there. Trivia note: Michae Cera has two lines in one scene in the movie. It must have been one of his first movie roles ever. He's like thirteen at the time.
In the 2000's I worked hard and sold some more scripts - I wrote a movie for Disney Channel, and I wrote a pilot for ABC that Howard Stern was my producing partner on - but nothing really gelled. So I turned to reality and nonfiction television and found a home where I could work a lot AND make money for my wife and kid.
My dream would be to get back to the scripted side of the TV business. Still, I am blessed to work as showrunner and executive producer on shows for National Geographic, Discovery, Travel Channel, Science Channel, CNN, and many more.
I am currently prepping for a workshop production of a one-person show I did a staged reading of last June. It’s called Nazi Time Travel, and it is only partially about Nazis.
Heather Jeng Bladt
Heather’s a third-generation Chinese American who refused to eat rice growing up, despite it being one of the few Chinese things her Americanized parents tried to pass down to her. Instead, she wanted a side of mashed potatoes like the other kids in her super white Orange County, California suburb. But even though she highlighted her hair blonde and poked her eyes to get double-eyelids, she was still Chinese. Not until college did she realize what made her different, made her special, and she’s been writing stories about the underrepresented, with a penchant for strong women and romance, ever since.
Heather was a Staff Writer on the seventh/final season of ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK. Prior to that, she wrote freelance episodes for Season 6 of ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK and the final season of MAD MEN. In addition, she was in the writers’ room for ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK for two seasons and NBC’s THE NIGHT SHIFT for one season as a Writers’ Assistant/Script Coordinator. She also served as Showrunner’s Assistant to Matthew Weiner for the last three seasons of MAD MEN, learning how to be a successful showrunner. She earned her BFA in Writing for Screen and Television at USC’s School of Cinema-Television.
She’s a dessert enthusiast, carnival game expert, a wife, and mother of two half-Chinese kids who she hopes will be proud of their Chinese heritage – at least they love rice!
Chantelle Albers
Though now mainly a film actress, Chantelle has an extensive theatre background that includes musical theatre, summer stock, and straight plays with villainous character roles, strong leading lady, and quirky physical comedy being some of her favorite. After suffering a serious head injury (epidural hematoma) at the age of 4, Chantelle had to re-learn all motor and body skills. It was soon after, she wanted to start performing in theatre. Starting off on stage and studying in the advanced Meisner and Stausberg classes, Chantelle developed a vast array of characters and developed a deep passion for both comedy and drama.
After getting her B.F.A. in Theatre Performance from North Dakota State University and relocating to Los Angeles, she transitioned to film and television and began advancing her skills with stage combat and firearms. To broaden herself even further she also developed a strong passion and love for comedy, bringing a touch of love-able quirk to some of her characters for film and TV. She studied at Second City and with Leslie Kahn & Company where she honed these comedic skills even further and continued to perform in television comedies, commercials, and late night sketch comedy shows.
Having a strong love for the scene study training in her B.F.A program, Chantelle began studying with Joe Palese at The Actor’s Space where she found her creative home for several years. Joe and his amazing gift of teaching and acting will forever be cherished and missed by Chantelle along with his countless students. She also found a close mentor and teacher in Carmen Argenziano at The Actor’s Studio whom she studied under for private coachings. He too will be remembered, cherished, and missed dearly. Having a passion for filmmaking, Chantelle decided to expand her skills beyond acting and started producing feature films as well as plays. This is something she now loves and is very dedicated to, as Chantelle is a big advocate of artists being able to create their own work with their own artistic input.
The 6th Friend was her producing debut and it's something that has sparked a wave of new opportunities in the producing world, as well as the acting world. She still has a deep love for theatre, and has been seen around Los Angeles performing at Theatre of Note’s main stage, The Broadwater Theatre’s Late Night Shows, and The Actor’s Studio. She also is very passionate about charity work, and is a volunteer and foster for The Little Red Dog Foundation in Orange County, where dogs are rescued and brought to their forever homes. Animal rights is something Chantelle is very passionate about and it’s something she would like to start a foundation for in the future.
Growing up on a ranch, some of her favorite things are: western horseback riding, water tubing, swimming in lakes, hiking, the ability to create art, improv, singing mezzo soprano, live music, and her dogs Marley and Eddie- who she rescued off the street in East Hollywood. She's also an avid reader, tea drinker, and a member of SAG/AFTRA.
Brooklyn Stephen
I am a hair and make-up artist originally from North Carolina. I come from a musical theater and dance background. I moved to LA with my Cosmetology license hoping to get into hair and make-up for tv and film, only to find I hate being on set and those hours. I worked with a Celebrity Hairstylist until I couldn't live another day as an overworked and barely paid assistant. I worked at Dimples Karaoke bar for about five years (where I met my husband and started meeting lots of characters) and ended up building a hair clientele based on traveling to them. Now I am married to a Grip, we have a 7-year-old kid we can barely manage, bought a house, and I have a stationary (H)Airstream I have turned into my salon. I love Comedy, singing, going to shows, all things crafty, but mostly, I like not working for someone. Fuck the man. I have some celebrity clients, but I'm not trying to be a celebrity hairstylist. Most Celebrities weird me out; the ones I have or have had in the past are pretty cool. Best not to say names but hints are OK.
My IG is @brooklynstephen
My Facebook is Hair and Make-up by Brooklyn
Melissa Garver
With the exception of co-owning a friendship bracelet start-up with her best friend in second grade and a few roles in her church youth group's drama team, Melissa Garver spent the first 34 years of life believing she was NOT a creative person. Living all over the world and working all sorts of jobs like Network Engineer for MCI Worldcom, Financial Analyst for Goldman Sachs, Program Coordinator for Mayor Bloomberg’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence to bartending, waiting tables, and serving up ice cream in her hometown of Wooster, Ohio. After getting her Master’s degree and working as a Business Development Manager for a large Denver-based corporate law firm, her dog and best friend of 10 years became fatally ill with cancer. Seeking solace, her therapist suggested the Artists Way, which paved the way for traveling Europe and living in England for the next 3 years where she spent her time studying and teaching meditation at a Buddhist Meditation Center and understanding what it’s like to be an outsider. Melissa returned to America and knew she would rather die before going back to corporate America, so she found herself in an intro to acting class and loved it! She moved to LA 3 years ago, trained as an actor, comic and writer, building up her resume along the way. Now with over 30 film, commercial, music videos, stand-up and other performances under her belt, she is now set to join SAG-AFTRA. Her first feature film “The Industry Did It” comes out this spring and she is currently working on a SAG-AFTRA web-series called “Booked-n-Broke”. You can catch her comedy act on Saturday, March 21st at Tao Comedy Studio.
In addition to acting and comedy, Melissa is passionate about equality, diversity, people being nice to each other, meditation, taking care of the planet and uprooting the patriarchy. She doesn’t eat animals and can be overheard saying “Be kind to animals, what the fuck did they ever do to you?” She also teaches meditation classes at KMC Hollywood in Los Feliz.
Instagram: @themelissagarver
IMDB: imdb.me/melissagarver
Scott Blugrind
Scott is a guitar comic and audience warm-up comedian in Los Angeles! He has done Audience Warm-Up on CBS's "Man With A Plan" starring Matt LeBlanc and Kevin Nealon, he was the Warm-Up DJ on 189 episodes of “Friends” plus all of “Joey”, “Girl Meets World”, “Mulaney” and dozens of other shows. He performs all over Los Angeles (and the world!) and also hosts the Open Mic at the world-famous Hollywood Landmark The Rainbow Bar & Grill on the Sunset Strip.
Karen Stein
Karen was raised in New Jersey and Georgia before attending college in Boston as a theatre major. After school she stayed there and was doing PR for Blue Man Group when a friend in photography school asked her to help with makeup on a few shoots. They did a Bride of Frankenstein portrait and she was hooked. Karen quit her job and moved to LA, working for free for anyone who would have her.
17 years later, the hustling has paid off and She’s become a journeyman makeup artist in her union. Karen department-headed 3 seasons of “Teachers” for TV Land and recently worked on “Pearson” (the Suits Spinoff), “Shooter,” “Moxie,” “Brooklyn 99” and she’s just finishing “Swimming with Sharks” for Quibi.
She lives in Woodland Hills with my husband, 5-year-old son, and grumpy old dog.
Kyle Patrick Alvarez
Kyle Patrick Alvarez most recently directed and executive produced every episode of Season 2 of the Amazon series HOMECOMING, starring Janelle Monae, Chris Cooper, Hong Chau, Stephan James, and Joan Cusack. Prior to HOMECOMING, he worked on two Netflix series, directing and producing episodes in the first and second season of the hit show 13 REASONS WHY, and directing the finale of the revival of the seminal LGBTQ show TALES OF THE CITY, starring Laura Linney and Ellen Page.
Kyle’s film work includes two features that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT starring Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Thomas Mann, and Tye Sheridan, premiered at the 2015 festival where it won the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. C.O.G., starring Jonathan Groff, and the first and only film to be made from the work of noted humorist and author David Sedaris, premiered at Sundance in 2013.
Kyle, the openly gay son of Cuban immigrants, grew up in Sacramento and went to school at the University of Miami. After college Kyle wrote and directed his first feature film in 2010, EASIER WITH PRACTICE, which won him the prestigious “Someone to Watch Award” at the Independent Spirit Awards. His other TV work includes the recent spy series, COUNTERPART, starring J.K. Simmons.
Kyle lives in Los Angeles.
Bobbie Oliver
Los Angeles comedian Bobbie Oliver is one of America’s funniest comics. Her act is smart and irreverent, and she never shies away from personal experience or edgy material. A native of Covington, GA, the city where the Dukes of Hazzard tv series was filmed, by way of Athens, GA, the hippest little city in the South, Bobbie’s Southern charm wins over audiences wherever she performs, never catering to the stereotype of “Southern comedy.”
Bobbie has appeared on ABC, TNN, The Style Network, WeTV and Entertainers with Byron Allen. Bobbie was called one of the “best comics in America” by the New York Post. A regular on the Los Angeles comedy scene, Bobbie has performed at The Improv, The Ice House, The Comedy Store, Jon Lovitz Club, Flappers Comedy Club and clubs across the country, including Zanies, The Punchline, Nick’s Comedy Stop, The Laughing Skull and The Riviera in Las Vegas, and has been heard on Sirius XM Comedy Radio.
Bobbie has performed at tons of colleges (including UCLA, USC, UC Irvine, UGA, Cal Tech, GA Tech and more) and corporate events (such as NASA, IBM, City of Hope, Congressional fundraisers and more). Bobbie has won many comedy contests and festivals including the Hollywood Ha Ha Festival, LA Superbowl of Comedy and was one of the LA winners in the national World Series of Comedy. Bobbie has appeared on billboards in Hollywood and on the cover of Pasadena Weekly twice.
Bobbie owns Tao Comedy Studio in Los Angeles and published The Tao of Comedy: Embrace the Pause in 2013, recommended by Maria Bamford and Wendy Liebman.
Her new comedy special Bobbie Oliver: Greatest Hits is now on Amazon Prime!
Social Media:
Bobbie Oliver
Tao Comedy Studio
Laugh Riot Grrrl L.A.
@thebobbieoliver
@laughriotgrrrls
@TaoComedyStudio
@TaoComedyStudio
Cody Renee Cameron
A budding young star, Cody can be seen in MANY films, but most notably El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie and Girl Lost: A Hollywood Story. She is in the Playboy Australia 2021 calendar as Miss February and is kicking ass as a Lady Boss on Only Fans! SO FAMOUS!!!!
Chef Kori Sutton
“Food should inspire all the senses, and the environment should be warm and welcoming”.
- Chef Kori
Chef Kori Sutton discovered her love of cooking early - born in Newport Beach, she learned on her feet in her family’s catering business. Her grandfather was the Executive Chef at the iconic Moulin Rouge and The Brown Derby in Hollywood.
Chef Kori trained at the Culinary Institute of America and completed her internship under renowned Master Chef de Cuisine, Thierry Blouet, at Café des Artiste’s French Bistro in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. She was the only woman allowed in the kitchen at the time.
Since then, Chef Kori has immersed herself in all facets of the gastronomic industry, working at upscale restaurants, hotels, and in private homes for celebrities and high net worth individuals. She has participated in prestigious international gourmet events in Aspen, New York, and Mexico.
Her cooking style is an infusion of Latin and international flavors with the modernization of old-school techniques. She recently launched Mama Kori Salsa, handcrafted and small-batch salsas inspired by the Jalisco-style recipes of her family.
Chef Kori is currently appearing on HELL’S KITCHEN Season 19, airing Thursdays at 8/7c on FOX. She previously appeared on Top Chef Mexico and was a winner on Cutthroat Kitchen.
New websites coming 2/1/21:
IG
@chef_kori_la
@mama_kori_salsa
FB
Email: mamakorisalsa@gmail.com
Matt Dawson
Matt is a Production Finance Accountant and our BIGGEST FAN!!!
Matt’s corporate credits include working within various Television Production Finance Groups at ABC Studios, ABC Family, Skydance and now he’s moved into “the field” as they say, working as a production accountant on various shows as Yellowstone Season 1, The Perfectionists Season 1, Swagger Season 1, DMZ pilot and David Makes Man Season 2. So famous!
Ngaio Bealum
Andre Kincaid
Andre Kincaid was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Majoring in Film and Television Production at La Salle University, Andre wrote, filmed, directed, and performed in several student films. He created and co-hosted a campus radio station program and acted as host for the university’s cable television network. From college, Andre moved to Los Angeles to pursue his passion for the entertainment industry.
After landing various acting roles, including parts on television series like The Unit, Brothers and Sisters, and Chuck, he decided to sharpen his Air Force Reserve production skills. Upon graduating from the United States Defense Information School, Andre began a career as a combat correspondent. While in service making documentaries for the military, he gained invaluable experience regarding the art of writing, filming, and editing. Upon returning to Los Angeles, he used his newly acquired skill-set to reinforce his career as an entertainer, booking several new television roles and writing/producing the online series
The Load and Up Up Down Down. More recently, he has worked on the production side of programs like The Carmichael Show, Hot in Cleveland and is currently a copywriter for the CBS daytime program The Talk.
Marcella Gee
"All things work together for good..."
I started my entertainment career with many forks in the road, but things are coming full circle.
Prior to moving to LA, I earned my bachelor’s degree in Marketing and established a career in the Insurance and Financial industry. There I was involved in public speaking, organizing large-scale meetings with high-profile clients, and of course, investing.
Although I was "successful," I was also bored and not living my true life.
I moved to LA, transferred to my company, and fell in love with the weather and the close connection to the entertainment industry. On a whim, I quit my job and started working as a production assistant for NBC Universal and E! Entertainment. Taking a huge pay cut was tough, but I loved working in a creative environment. After nearly two years, I got my first promotion to Associate Producer and shortly after Field Producer.
I never thought that my experience in the insurance industry would be useful in entertainment, but all things truly work together for your good when you're living your purpose.
Even my experience working in the restaurant industry has also been a major benefit as I now manage a comedy club/restaurant in Burbank, CA. I independently produce live comedy events, sketch comedy for Roku TV in association with Kingman Productions, and perform Stand-up comedy all over LA.
Everything I've learned about public speaking, networking with high-profile clients, planning, organizing, and marketing has brought me to this point in my career. It will continue to propel me forward in entertainment.
Alice Hamilton
You may know Alice as one of Los Angeles’ up-and-coming comedians on the scene with the sparkliest jacket to go with her talents! You can catch her at the Comedy Store, Kill Tony, and many other clubs around town!
Janet Ginsburg
Janet Ginsburg is a writer and producer whose work has appeared on Comedy Central, NBC, CNN, Nat Geo, and countless other outlets that you enjoy watching. Since this is a fame podcast, she will add that she's worked with some of Hollywood's biggest stars and celebrities, including Jon Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld, John Oliver, and Morgan Freeman to name(drop) a few. She has written several books for Random House/Villard and is a former staff writer for The Onion.
WENDY WILKINS
Back on the circuit with her sassy, average gal/been around the block style, comedian Wendy Wilkins has been doing stand-up for over 28 years. Hailing from upstate New York with a home base in Los Angeles, Wendy is a favorite with audiences as well as twenty-eight-year-old Tinder boys. It’s what happens when you give up comedy after falling in love and having it ruin your act. Now that she’s divorced, she’s back – in all ways.
Growing up a marching band kid in a house with sport coach parents, Wendy’s boldness kicks ass on and off stage. In LA, she performs at the IMPROV, ICEHOUSE, WESTSIDE COMEDY, and FLAPPERS. On the road, she’s played THE LAUGHING TAP in Milwaukee, THE COMEDY HEIGHTS in San Diego, and THE IRVINE IMPROV in Irvine, Ca, featuring Ian Bagg, Eddie Pepitone, Damon Millard, Laura Hayden, and Mary Kennedy.
In August 2020, Wendy was a part of the Burbank Comedy Festival and in 2019, performed at the Valley Comedy Festival and Laugh Riot Grrrl Festival. She’s also been a finalist for the Funniest Female in Southern California (2009), the winner of the 2nd Uncle Clyde’s Comedy Competition (1998), and took 3rd Place in the Funniest College Student in the Hudson Valley (1992) at the legendary BANANA’S COMEDY CLUB in Poughkeepsie, NY.
You can check out Wendy on numerous podcasts such as Storyworthy, Screwed Up Stories, Disorganized Religion, Writer’s Therapy, Around the Bagg with Ian Bagg, Austin Film Festival, Joe on Joe, Movie Night, and Can You Help Us Get Famous? You can also find her jokes on Laugh USA on Sirius XM, published in the LA Weekly, and featured in the Judy Carter humor books.
Beyond stand-up, Wendy is an award-winning filmmaker, screenplay, and television writer. She also acts, when asked, and currently a senior staff writer/director for the satirical futuristic news website – www.Omnarchy.com.
ANTHONY DEL BROCCOLO
Anthony Del Broccolo was born in Holbrook, New York -- the geographic center of Long Island -- placing him squarely between the glitz and glamour of Manhattan and the glitz and douchey-ness of the Hamptons. He is neither glitzy nor glamorous but can be douchey before coffee.
Raised by very Italian-Irish Catholic parents, Anthony was an altar boy who got his first taste of rejection when the Priest at his church molested just about every other altar boy but him. He attended the largest public high school in America, where he was only one of 8,000 kids named Anthony. While there, he got his second, third, fourth, and fifth tastes of rejection, all by girls named Theresa.
For Halloween in 4th grade, while everyone else dressed like Batman or one of the Ninja Turtles, Anthony felt the burning desire to dress up like 1930s vaudeville comedian Jimmy Durante. If you're asking yourself, "who is Jimmy Durante?" -- you sound just like his 4th-grade classmates! Even his teacher didn't know who he was, but that didn't stop Anthony from wearing a fedora and a big, prosthetic nose to deliver his classic catchphrase, "Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!" You can more or less draw a straight line from that moment as to why he didn't have a date for prom. And also why he became a comedy writer.
After writing junk mail for Publishers Clearing House, Anthony teamed up with two other friends to create one of the first comedy websites, STET MAGAZINE. Roger Ebert reviewed it, calling it "brilliantly funny!" (Apparently, Siskel and Roeper had their thumbs up their asses and were too busy to read it.)
He moved to Los Angeles in 2001 with one of his website collaborators to write for the Nickelodeon sketch show, "All That." He is now a veteran writer/producer with over 15 years of television experience, currently developing shows for Warner Bros. He just finished up an 8-year stint as a Co-Executive Producer on CBS's long-running hit series THE BIG BANG THEORY, the #1 comedy on broadcast television, where he started as Staff Writer in 2011.
Before BIG BANG, he worked as a writer on numerous shows, including CHEAP SEATS, LIL' BUSH, DRAKE AND JOSH, and ZOEY 101, starring Britney Spears little sister, Jamie. And yes, he has met Britney. A father of two, Anthony is a native New Yorker and a massive fan of the NY Mets and Jets -- so, please pray for him.
Jak Syn
At a young age my father introduced me to a lot of great music; he was a DJ and had a very extensive collection of disco, Motown, funk, and new wave.
Growing into my teen years, in 1998 I heard ORGY for the first time on the radio and it opened up a whole new world for me, their sound, their visual aesthetic, it hit me in all the rad ways, during that time I began singing while listening to boy bands like The Backstreet Boys and N'Sync.
I began playing music in 2002 back in high school, my first band Death's Die-Ary, which I sang for, was composed of five Highschool friends who wanted nothing more than to play spooky music. Inspired by Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, and Nine Inch Nails, we had A great run playing shows all over LA, at historic venues such as The Whisky A Go Go, The Trubador, CIA and the KeyClub. We had the pleasure of opening for awesome acts Wednesday 13, Bella Morte and Hansel Und Gretyl.
In 2008, attending EBM clubs, I began an industrial Act Reloader with my friend Derek, performing the LA Goth industrial Circuit for a few years, we played many great shows and that act allowed me to express my electronic music side.
In 2010 I met my partner Evie Strange and took a hiatus from music-making, focusing on myself.
It wasn't until 2012 that I started writing music again and began dabbling in DJing for special themed club parties in the Long Beach area, during this time I discovered the sweet sweet sounds of the Synthwave Genre, which opened up a whole new world for me.
In 2014 I debuted my solo music project which went through a few member changes until 2016 when my partner Evie joined on as Synth/Keyboardist, which brought on a whole new dynamic to the music. We have had the pleasure of performing with top-notch artists and being able to tour, traveling to some pretty awesome places.
In 2018 I began working with Samuel Valentine, DJing for Night.Wav LA & San Junipero LA events at the Echoplex, being able to share my love for Synthwave with the public,
I am truly fortunate to be a part of these great events which have introduced me to such great people, opening up so many doors, one of which allowed me to start a Night with my friends called Future Daze at the Que Sera in Long Beach, bringing artists and DJ's in the scene to the LBC.
Moving forward into the future, I see a bright one with great people and all sorts of possibilities. Oh what A future we can build.
Jay Conklin
Short bio:
Jay started editing in 2004 and is going on for nearly 16 years in the industry! In that time he has worked for Bravo, E!, Discovery, NBC, CBS, TLC, and Nat Geo! Some notable shows are the Wahlburgers, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Rock of Love.
Long bio:
I'm from Pennsauken, South Jersey. In high school, I was a solid C student. Book learnin wasn't my thing. I like to say I’m "Street Smart, Book Dumb" (copyright pending). I was the guy who would run around in with a video camera and make goofy little videos that we got put on the morning news. I wasn't part of the morning news team, those were the dorks. I literally made joke videos that aired on the show.
One morning, a woman came into our video class and showed us a video from the Art Institute of Philadelphia. they were making the same videos I was except, they had the entire city as their playground. The rest is literally, history. I went. Had a great time, with all hands-on classes. as a guy not sold on book learnin... hands-on learning was perfect for me. I went. I made some awesome projects. I got an internship in NYC at MTV. working at 1515 Broadway and on my last day, i got to be on TRL as an audience member and got to ask Dave Grohl a question. haha.
I graduated. I worked at a tv station in Philly called channel 48. it was boring but i got to shoot for their local music shows too, so at 20 years old, i was filming bands and artists and getting into clubs you had to be 21 to get into. that was fun.
I started filming music videos for friend’s bands and setting up shows. I was booking bands. I was wearing a lot of hats. It was all fun, but I was destined for more.
So I eventually moved to LA with basically one "friend" and no job. but... I made it work. I got an office PA position and steadily climbed from there.
I started editing in 2004 so I've been editing for nearly 16 years editing. During that time I have attempted to do a lot of other stuff. writing. shooting and pitching my own projects. I have one fascinatingly terrible "Hollywood" situation where I got screwed over by a friend attempting to open his own company. the whole thing reeks of cliche-ness, ugh... I hate that I was involved. But I was trying to do more.
I ran back into editing. It's a good paycheck.
I'm still writing on the side. A friend and I are working on a sitcom concept. we're in no particular rush, but it's sorta my life mission.
Besides all that stuff. Married. 2 kids. 2 schools. This is interesting because it's gotten more and more difficult to keep getting work that will accommodate my hours. My wife is the "union" editor. effectively, she brings home the health care, so I bring home the kids. That's our arrangement. but that's become increasingly more difficult.
Beyond THAT. I run an entire basketball league. it's a passion of mine. I've tinkered with opening a gym one day. as an actual business. but... it's hard to leave what I do full time. because even with the less time I work each year, it's still way more lucrative than opening a business. let alone, going to a bank and asking for a million dollars for a new start-up business. So that's the predicament I’m in now. dealing with the kids and questioning what I want my next chapter to be.
Lauren Bancroft
Lauren Bancroft is a veteran of standup and sketch comedy (currently on the Burbs house sketch team at The Ruby). After working in IT for 14 years, she figured it out and jumped feet first into the life of production. From producing live stand-up shows to video content, she's always looking for another plate to keep spinning. She is the co-founder/host of the Historical Hookups podcast.
Trina Dong
Trina Dong is an actress and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. She was born and raised in Wisconsin and always knew she would leave cheese behind for the big city. After college, she did a stint in NYC as an entertainment PR professional. She conquered her first round of goals and decided to take a leap of faith to pursue being on the other side of the camera. Now you can see her on the current season of “Homeland” on Showtime, in an upcoming short film “Stand Out” that she co-produced, co-wrote and stars in. You can also find her multiple times a week hosting entertainment shows on AfterBuzz TV and Popcorn Talk.
GIOVANNIE
Actress and filmmaker Giovannie Espiritu was nominated alongside Academy Award Nominees Alfre Woodard and Amy Irving for Best Supporting Actress at MethodFest for the Mynah Films feature film Fiona’s Script. Her primetime credits include a recurring role on ER (NBC), Bones (FOX), Gilmore Girls (ABC), and Trauma (NBC). She can be seen as the lead in the Amazon series, “Dyke Central,” which was featured in After Ellen, BuzzFeed, Bust Magazine and Curve Magazine as a top LGBTQ series to watch. She just finished filming, “There Will Always Be Christmas,” alongside Eileen Davidson and can be seen in the horror/thriller, “D-Railed” with Lance Henriksen.
As a filmmaker, she was featured in Elizabeth Banks’ WhoHaHa Media for her parody song, “An Introvert’s World,” and her storytelling has been featured in Ms. Magazine. A three-time Outfest Fusion Filmmaker, she was awarded an Honorable Mention for her short film, “Ultra-Feminist.”
She coaches kids/teens online nationwide through HollywoodActorsWorkshop.com and was named as one of the top 40 Audition Coaches in Los Angeles. Her notable student alumni includes: Daytime Emmy Nominee William Lipton (Cameron on General Hospital) and the Espina Sisters (Hosts of Dreamworks’ “Life Hacks for Kids on the Road”).
In her spare time, she rock climbs and advocates for Domestic Violence Awareness/Prevention and LGBTQ equality. She has served on the Board of Directors for C.O.R.A. (a Bay Area domestic violence hotline and agency) and been awarded a Certificate of Recognition from the Senate for her community service.
WEBSITE: GiovannieEspiritu.com
Kristina Woo
Kristina Woo is a Chinese-American LA-based tv writer originally from Montgomery Township, NJ. She is a Staff Writer on the upcoming Netflix limited series SIMPLY HALSTON, executive produced by Ryan Murphy and starring Ewan McGregor. Prior to being staffed, she was the Showrunner’s Assistant, then Writers Assistant on THE AFFAIR (Showtime), where she co-wrote an episode with showrunner Sarah Treem in the show’s last season. She was also the Script Coordinator on Season 1 of SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS (Facebook Watch).
Kristina was a finalist in the 2017 Humanitas New Voices prize and the 2018 Sundance Episodic Lab with her original pilots “I’d Rather Die Alone” and “Bad Asian”, respectively. “Bad Asian” was also featured in Tisch Other 2019, a showcase of diverse, up and coming TV writers from the NYU alumni community in Los Angeles.
Kristina graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she wrote, directed, and produced short films that have premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, the Menil Collection in Houston, TX, and on PBS and mtvU. Before transitioning to television, Kristina worked in independent film in New York, where she worked at Martin Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions, IFP (Independent Filmmaker Project), and Cinetic Media.
In her childhood, when her mother refused to take her to see “Clueless” in theaters, Kristina went to her elementary school library and checked out the novelization to read in secret. She is a rebel.
David Murrell:
David Murrell was born and raised in New York City. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School and the University of Chicago, currently lives in Queens, and has written a sea chest's worth of TV and film treatments and spec scripts. Access Theater (NYC) and the Cleveland Public Theatre each produced his play DUCTWORK and the Hamptons Film Festival Screenwriters Conference selected his and Jeremy Kareken’s feature screenplay about haunted breast implants, “THESE! Conquered the Earth.” In 2019, the Outer Critics Circle co-awarded David its John Gassner Playwriting Award for THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT.
Jeremy Kareken:
Jeremy is a playwright living in New York and Baltimore. His short plays HOT ROD, BIG TRAIN, and 80 CARDS have been performed around the country and internationally. He served as a speech writer and policy analyst for two presidential campaigns. His awards include the Sewanee Conference’s Dakin Fellowship for FARBLONDJET, and Guthrie/Playwrights Center’s Two-Headed Challenge for THE SWEET SWEET MOTHERHOOD. The Hamptons Film Festival Screenwriters Conference selected Kareken and David Murrell for their horror-comedy script about haunted breast implants—“THESE! Conquered the Earth!” In 2018, PlayPenn shortlisted Jeremy’s new political satire about an illiterate king, THE RED WOOL. Born and raised in Rochester, New York, and a graduate of the University of Chicago, he has taught at NYU, NYIT, the Actors Studio Drama School, and currently teaches at the Acting Studio—New York. A lifetime member of The Actors Studio, Jeremy occasionally acts and for 18 years served as the researcher for Bravo TV’s “Inside the Actors Studio.”
April Baker
April Baker is a talent manager at Stagecoach Entertainment in Los Angeles and has spent more than a decade in talent representation.
As a former performer that started her professional career in Chicago, Ms. Baker now represents actors and actor/writers across the nation.
Ms. Baker has excelled in talent representation working with developmental talent and has done so in the commercial, voice-over, feature film, and television spaces.
Ms. Baker has series regulars, and series recurs on shows such as “LOVE, VICTOR” on Hulu, the “PARTY OF FIVE” reboot on Freeform, “JUST ROLL WITH IT” on the Disney Channel, “NO GOOD NICK” on Netflix, the multiple award-winning “WHEN THEY SEE US” on Netflix, “COOP & CAMI ASK THE WORLD” on the Disney Channel, USA Network’s “QUEEN OF THE SOUTH” and ABC’s “NEW AMSTERDAM.”
She also represents talent in the digital space, feature world, and theater space, including YouTube & SMOSH, Disney’s “CAPTAIN MARVE,”, and “THE LION KING” on Broadway.
Luis Otero
Luis Otero is a Queens NY native who's made LA his home for the last 9 years. A father of the most adorable 20 month old and husband to a gorgeous queen, Luis has been spinning tunes on the DJ scene for the last 15+ years under the name DJ Silence. In addition to music, he tries desperately to not drop the phone while trying to self-tape for auditions. In his spare time, he loves cooking, sports, and smoking weed prior to watching Real Housewives, especially the reunion episodes.
Danielle Reierson
Hello!! Since Dani said this is just for reference, and won't be printed anywhere, I'm sending it rough!
I grew up in the beautiful Pacific NW - in Salem OR, then moved to Seattle, then moved to L.A. in 2006 to act full time after completing four years of acting school at Freehold Theater Lab. Prior to chucking it all to be and actor and stunt performer, I worked in Corporate High Tech Sales, and at Microsoft.
I also started training in stunts in Seattle, prior to moving to L.A. I came here as an "actor who can do stunts" only to find that you were really only allowed to do one or the other. Things have changed now, though, and there is a market for actors who can do their own stunts. I consider it a "special skill" as acting is always my first love.
I am also certified to teach yoga, although I don't actually teach, I am a rescue certified scuba diver, I do motion capture acting, stunts and fighting, hand modeling (I have a very steady pour!!) and lately, I spend most of my free time hiking and rescuing cats. The cat rescuing was a pandemic thing. I have always been a dog person, and then I guess I needed to save some cats.....
Recent wins - I booked my first Superbowl commercial - feels like an L.A. milestone that had eluded me until this year. Here's a link. I'm at the very end running through the wedding and diving over the table the bride and groom are hiding under.... I was kind of bummed that they decided to shoot me from the back - part of the fun of being in a super bowl commercial is all the phone calls you get afterward - but since I did a stunt, it still pays the same!! And my sister recognized my ass. I love doing commercials. The entire down payment for my house came from one long running commercial I booked in 2010.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6CVKs77X74
Also recently played one of the leads in a sci fi feature, called Obscura, where I got to play a combo of Ripley and Burke. If you watched Aliens, you'll know what I'm talking about!! My dream role.
I'm sure I'll think of much better things to have mentioned after I send this. That's why I'm such a procrastinator.
My web site is www.DanielleinLA.com but it sucked and I let it die, thinking I'd redo it during the pandemic, but instead I rescued cats. Before the podcast, I'll try to get it so that it routes to my Instagram page, which is also DanielleinLA. So is my email. Everything is DanielleinLA. :)
Danielle Reierson
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Danielle Reierson
323-545-7285
JaSeika and JaNeika
These ladies are Hollywood powerhouses, having worked on shows such as Fox’s EMPIRE, Netflix’s True Story, HBO Max’s GOSSIP GIRL and they are currently developing Showtime’s MABEL alongside Tyler Perry and Tim Palen!!
Oh, and in their spare time they’ve released a book, LIVING DOUBLE! Can you even??