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Anna Vocino is featured in our MINDSET episode.
Anna recently starred as a series regular on the original semi-improvised show Free Radio on Comedy Central. She has also appeared in FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and a sketch comedy series for SpikeTV. She periodically performs sketch and improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles and produces the cult-favorite podcast Yoda and Me. Anna has discovered that voiceover is a great way to manage her actor mindset sanity, particularly because VO keeps her off the streets in the on-camera downtime. Currently, her voice can be heard in campaigns for Canada Dry, McDonald’s, Disney Princess Bikes, and Transitions Lenses, plus hundreds of TV and radio spots for clients including Toyota, Microsoft, Starwood Hotels, Target, Saks Fifth Avenue, Southern Linc, Sweetbay Grocery, and Capital One. You can also hear her on The Office, recurring on The Young & The Restless and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, plus several video games. Anna was born and raised in Virginia, where things make sense, but has settled into Los Angeles quite nicely with her husband and daughter.
Blair Hickey is featured in our RESEARCHING AND RESOURCES episode.
Blair is an actor and the co-founder of CastingAbout. Blair has been a working actor for fifteen years. He graduated with a degree in theatre arts from Brown University, starting his professional career in New York with recurring roles on daytime soaps and in several “way-off Broadway” productions. Since moving to Los Angeles, Blair has worked primarily in television, appearing in such shows as Heroes, Medium, How I Met Your Mother, Ghost Whisperer, Without a Trace, Ally McBeal, The Practice, and Chicago Hope. In 2004, Blair used his experience and success in actor marking to co-create CastingAbout, an online casting guide that provides actors with accurate, real-time production information on a daily basis. CastingAbout has partnered with Breakdown Services, Ltd., and opened a second office in New York.
Blake Robbins is featured in our SHORT TERM VS. LONG TERM episode.
Blake is best known for playing Tom Halpert on The Office and Dave Brass on HBO’s critically-acclaimed Oz as well as memorable performances on Firefly, 24, The OC, Private Practice, and Without a Trace. Recent work includes FlashForward, The Closer, The Ugly Truth, Rubber (Cannes 2010), and The Only Good Indian (Sundance 2009). As an accomplished stage actor, he’s appeared in both Broadway and Off-Broadway plays and recently won the LA Weekly Award for best performance in a solo play. As a writer he co-authored the book Acting Qs: Conversations with Working Actors with Bonnie Gillespie. He has contributed to both BackStage and Ross Reports and he’s currently working on several film and television scripts. Blake is also an audition coach and career consultant. Recently one of his clients booked a lead role in Scream 4.
Blayne Weaver is featured in our SELF-PRODUCING episode.
Blayne, a native of Bossier City, Louisiana, has studied in New York and Oxford. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in English literature. In 2002 he co-wrote and acted in the critically-acclaimed feature film Manic, which stars Don Cheadle and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Blayne then formed Secret Identity Productions and produced the short film Losing Lois Lane, which he co-wrote, directed, and starred in as Superman. He then wrote, directed, and starred in Secret Identity’s first feature film Outside Sales, which won awards on the festival circuit and was recently released nationwide through Echo Bridge Entertainment. Blayne wrote, directed, and played a small role in SIP’s next feature Weather Girl with an ensemble cast that boasted Tricia O’Kelley, Mark Harmon, Jon Cryer, and Jane Lynch. Weather Girl had an extensive festival run followed by a ten-city theatrical, worldwide television, and worldwide DVD release. Blayne wrote, directed, and stars in SIP’s next feature, 6 Month Rule.
Brandy Gold is featured in our REPRESENTATION episode.
Brandy was born into a show business family. She followed in her older sisters’ footsteps and began acting at the age of one, doing numerous commercials, pilots, a few series, and some feature films. When she was 12 she decided to quit acting to continue her education to work alongside her father, Harry Gold, as a talent agent. She attended Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, where she majored in theatre and minored in business. During the summers she interned at TalentWorks (then called GML). As soon as she graduated, she began working as an assistant to her father. Within a few years she was promoted to agent in the commercial department. Two years later she was offered a position as an agent in the youth department where she would aid in discovering and developing young talent. She remained in this department for close to nine years where she molded the careers of many young actors. Two years ago she became an adult agent at TalentWorks. She loves every aspect of show business, from discovering talent to submitting and pitching, from making a deal to finally watching the client’s performance. Brandy is now working with her father in development.
Breckin Meyer is featured in our AUDITIONING FOR FILM episode.
Breckin’s resumé is as extensive as it is versatile. Breckin recently starred in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past with Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. Prior to that, Breckin has starred in Garfield and its sequel as loving owner Jon Arbuckle. Breckin was in the romantic comedy Kate & Leopold opposite Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman. Additional feature film credits include Rat Race, Can’t Hardly Wait, Clueless, The Craft, Blue State, The Insider, Road Trip, Go, 54, and Prefontaine. Breckin will next be seen in the TNT series Franklin & Bash, a comedy that follows the two unconventional attorneys and lifelong friends who join a corporate law firm where their antics are unleashed. Breckin won a 2009 Annie Award, and, in 2008 and 2009, received Emmy Award nominations as a writer on Cartoon Network’s Robot Chicken, for which he also voices several characters. He has also loaned his voice to the animated series King of the Hill as Joseph Gribble. Also an accomplished musician, Breckin drums for Tom Morello’s solo project The Nightwatchmen. A Minnesota native, Breckin currently lives in Los Angeles.
Brian Wold is featured in our RESEARCHING AND RESOURCES episode.
Brian is co-founder and Internet and marketing specialist of CastingAbout. With experience in public relations, marking, and business communications, Brian has served as an Internet and website consultant for nearly two decades. His clients include small businesses, multi-national corporations, educational institutions, local governments, and even a foreign country. As co-founder of CastingAbout, Brian has used his wide-ranging skills and knowledge of the arts and entertainment industries to develop a user-friendly, customer-focused online resource that is now the industry standard for casting information in both Los Angeles and New York. Brian is an accomplished singer, is a rapidly aging volleyball player, and owns the world’s coolest cat.
Colleen Wainwright is featured in our MINDSET episode.
Colleen is a writer-speaker-layabout who started calling herself “the communicatrix” when she hit three hyphens. She spent ten years as an award-winning TV copywriter crafting ads for brands like Wheaties, Gatorade, and Jell-O, and another ten years acting in ads for cash money. Since deciding she’d blow her brains out if she had to sit through one more meeting about which way the bears danced around the cereal box, Colleen spends most of her time teaching other creative souls how to talk about what they do in a way that wins them attention, work, and satisfaction. She spends the rest of her time horsing around on the Internet.
Gary Marsh is featured in our RESEARCHING AND RESOURCES episode.
Gary began his career as an actor after emigrating from England in 1963. Gary terminated his acting career to begin Breakdown Services in 1971. A 1976 graduate of UCLA, Gary is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He is a supporter of the California Youth Theatre and is a frequent speaker at UCLA. The family of companies that he has created (including The Go Between, Commercial Express, Location Connection, Showfax, Music Report/TuneData, Actors Access, Virtual Casting Network, Extras Access, and Virtual Channel Network) employs over 100 people. Breakdown Services occupies a unique position of trust within the entertainment community since they are the only company given access to virtually all scripts and are charged with the responsibility of accurately synopsizing all roles contained within these scripts both objectively and accurately.
Ivana Chubbuck is featured in our TECHNIQUE AND TRAINING episode.
Ivana is the founder and director of the Ivana Chubbuck Studio and creator of the cutting edge and widely-adopted Chubbuck Technique. The studio maintains a focus on producing and nurturing working actors in a rigorous professional environment. Virtually every year Ivana’s students are well represented at the Academy Awards, Emmys, Golden Globes, and Tonys. Ivana works one-on-one with more than 100 of Hollywood’s premier stars, directors, and writer/producers. In 2004, Penguin Books published The Power of the Actor, which spent weeks on the Los Angeles Times top ten bestsellers list. Ivana’s book is being adapted for use as a textbook in colleges and universities across the country, as well as being translated into a number of languages. Ivana has also been a guest master teacher at the Juilliard School of Drama in New York. She was honored by the Russian International Film Festival with a lifetime achievement award for her contributions to the film industry. Ivana has been featured in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, People, USA Today, Cosmopolitan, Paris Vogue, Portugal N’Style, GQ, Premiere, the London Times, the London Guardian, Elle, and Movieline, as well as in periodicals in a dozen countries. Ivana has also been profiled on Entertainment Tonight, Flash-TV, MTV, Today Show Australia, Holland’s Jensen!, CBC, NPR, Germany’s RTL, VH-1, E!, and the BBC.
Jack Plotnick is featured in our MINDSET episode.
Jack has spent a decade building a career as an award-winning actor, director, and performance coach. He has appeared in countless TV shows, commercials, and features including sizable roles opposite such luminaries in the business as Ian McKellen, Ben Stiller, Renée Zellweger, and Sally Field. His highly-acclaimed acting workshops have become hugely popular in Los Angeles and New York City. Fans of Jack’s acting workshop include Alyson Hannigan, Zach Quinto, Sutton Foster, Andrea Martin, Jerry Stiller, and Anne Meara. His hugely popular website gets around 5000 visitors monthly.
Jeff Greenstein is featured in our AUDITIONING FOR TELEVISION episode.
Jeff grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and attended Tufts University in Boston, where he started out as a computer science major, careened through the art history department, and ended up with a degree in film and dance. This proved the ideal prelude to a glorious career as a television comedy writer. His first job was on the HBO series Dream On, and he stayed with that show for five seasons, garnering several industry awards including a CableACE. He then signed on for the first year of NBC’s Friends, earning two Emmy nominations. That same year, he co-created Fox’s late, lamented Partners, which won critical acclaim but no second season. After that, he joined the staff of Will & Grace early in its inaugural year. He spent six years as a head writer and the fifth and sixth seasons as showrunner, picking up an Emmy for best comedy series, six nominations, and the show’s only writing nomination. After leaving Will & Grace, he joined the staff of ABC’s Desperate Housewives, where he remained for three seasons. After a year spent launching NBC’s acclaimed series Parenthood, he has returned to Desperate Housewives as writer, producer, and director. He’s married with one son; his wife, Lisa Ritter, is co-owner and pastry chef at Big Sugar Bakeshop in Studio City, California.
Jeffrey G. Hunt is featured in our AUDITIONING FOR TELEVISION episode.
Jeff is a television director whose credits include Fringe, Dark Blue, Burn Notice, CSI, Cold Case, CSI: New York, Chuck, and Close to Home.
Jill Kirsh is featured in our BRANDING episode.
Jill is Hollywood’s “guru of hue.” She was named best color consultant in “The Best of LA” issue of Los Angeles Magazine and was recently featured in the image section of the Los Angeles Times. Jill has also appeared in LA Weekly, Entertainment Today, BackStage, and Judy Kerr’s book Acting Is Everything. She has demonstrated her color makeover system on numerous TV shows including LXTV on NBC, The Other Half, KTLA Morning News, and ABC7 News. In addition, radio audiences have heard Jill on The Peter Tilden Show on KABC-AM and The Sheena Metal Experience on LA Talk Radio. Jill has worked with red carpet celebs, news anchors, and young actors who have just arrived in Hollywood. Along with being a sought-after color stylist, Jill is also an actor. Because of her background as an actor, she has shared her knowledge of how actors can use color as a tool to look great for their headshots and to look not so great when they’re working on creating a specific character. Along with continuing to consult one-on-one with clients, Jill has recently launched a DIY version of her color makeover system.
Jonathan Shapiro is featured in our AUDITIONING FOR TELEVISION episode.
Jonathan, executive producer and writer of NBC’s The Paul Reiser Show, graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in European history. He studied at Oriel College, Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar, where he received a second master’s degree in American history. For ten years, Jonathan has written and produced television. He spent five seasons working on David E. Kelley’s television dramas The Practice and Boston Legal, for which he received two Humanitas Awards and one Peabody Award. Jonathan joined Jerry Bruckheimer to create and produce the critically-acclaimed but sparsely watched WB drama Just Legal, and the Fox drama Justice. Prior to writing for television, Jonathan was a federal prosecutor for almost ten years. While practicing law, Jonathan wrote a weekly humor column for the Daily Journal, became an award-winning columnist for California Lawyer magazine, and contributed book reviews to the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. A former adjunct law professor at Loyola Law School, Jonathan has taught criminal law as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law.
Kevin E. West is featured in our YOUR MARKETING PLAN episode.
Kevin is Hollywood’s foremost authority regarding the business aspect of show business. Kevin is the president and founder of The Actors’ Network, the most recognized, trusted, and industry-endorsed actors’ business organization in the United States. Kevin pioneered the guest speaker series concept, a retail discount program for actors, and an ongoing internship program for actors never before seen prior to 1991. He has shared his expertise with the acting community far beyond Hollywood, co-authoring the CD The Actor’s Guide To Getting the Job with Carolyne Barry. The Actors’ Network holds consecutive BackStage West readers’ choice awards and has been featured on Entertainment Tonight three times and on CNBC twice. Its successful alumni include Masi Oka (Heroes), Christopher Gorham (Ugly Betty), and Maggie Grace (Lost). Kevin has spoken at SAG, SAG Conservatory, WGA, UCLA, Chapman University, and talent conventions across the US. Kevin’s acting career spans nearly two decades. Justified, Leverage, Lost, 24, Desperate Housewives, NCIS, Alias, CSI, Judging Amy, Diagnosis Murder, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Matlock are some of his credits, which also include a two-year stint as a stand-up comic and improv artist. He has loaned his considerable talents to charitable events including Runnin’ on Empty and Together We Can, Together We Will.
Larry Dorf is featured in our SHORT TERM VS. LONG TERM episode.
Larry is a main company member of the Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles. He is a writer on the new Looney Tunes show for Warner Bros. He booked the part of Alex Gimple (Paul Reiser’s agent) in the NBC sitcom The Paul Reiser Show. His feature credits include All About Steve, Evan Almighty, and Fun with Dick and Jane. On television he has guest starred on such shows as Cold Case, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, and The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman.
Louise Ward is featured in our REPRESENTATION episode.
Louise is a senior talent agent in the motion picture department at United Talent Agency, where she has helped to discover and develop breakout talent, as well as support the growth of more established film actors. Louise’s tenure in the entertainment business began immediately following her graduation from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a position at WBCN-FM, a rock and roll station in Boston. Her record label contacts provided a logical segue into the burgeoning music video arena, and in 1992, Louise accepted a post at Limelight, an LA-based production company representing commercial and video directors. In 1994, she focused her attention on theatrical representation, training at ICM and CAA before joining Bymel O’Neill Artists Management (now Management 360). Louise joined UTA in October of 2009. She counts Channing Tatum, Julian McMahon, Brian Geraghty, Eliza Dushku, and Cobie Smulders among her clients. Louise also served on the board of Women In Film, and was a founding member of Step Up Women’s Network. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, personal manager and ROAR partner William Ward and their three children.
Mark Atteberry is featured in our BRANDING episode.
Mark has been a musician, actor, and photographer. As a musician Mark played and toured with such legends as Count Basie, Rich Matteson, the San Francisco Symphony, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Susanna Hoffs, and Nancy Boy. Since making the switch to acting, he has acted in countless plays, commercials, TV shows, and feature films. His feature film work ranges from The Real Thing starring Jeremy Piven to The Hulk directed by Ang Lee. Mark’s television work includes hit shows The Shield, 24, Nip/Tuck, The Closer, and Dexter. In 2008 Mark received his first best actor nomination for the critically-acclaimed Stained. Currently Mark can be seen in the festival darling The Butterfly Circus and in the soon to be released Miranda July film The Future. Mark is also an award-winning commercial photographer whose clients include NBC, CBS, A&E, CAA, ICM, WME, Venice Magazine, and Big Lots, to name a few. Mark was recently chosen as one of the best headshot photographers in Los Angeles by BackStage and was honored this past year as one of the top 100 documentary photographers in the world. Mark occasionally teaches and lectures on the topics of branding and type. Mark has authored or co-authored several books on the subject including The Working Actor’s Guide and The Stunt Guide.
Mark Gantt is featured in our SELF-PRODUCING episode.
Mark is the award-winning co-executive producer, co-creator, and star of Sony Pictures Television’s webseries The Bannen Way. The series won four Streamy Awards in April 2010: best drama series, best actor, best director, and best editing. The Bannen Way was also nominated for two Webby Awards for best drama and best editing. Originally from Stockton, California, Mark got his start in the business working in the art department, props, and production on over 100 feature, TV, and commercial projects, all the while training as an actor and director. Before creating The Bannen Way, Mark wrote, directed, produced, and/or edited over a dozen short films (including the award-winning Martine), and acted opposite Brad Pitt in Ocean’s Eleven, acted opposite Burt Reynolds in The Hollywood Sign, and appeared in many other films and TV shows.
Mark Waters is featured in our AUDITIONING FOR FILM episode.
Mark, a graduate of the directing program at the American Film Institute, made his feature film directorial debut with the dark comedy indie hit The House of Yes. The film premiered at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, where Parker Posey won a special jury prize for her performance. Mark scored with the back-to-back hit comedies Freaky Friday and Mean Girls. Freaky Friday earned a 2004 Critics’ Choice Award nomination for best family film and brought a Golden Globe Award nomination to Jamie Lee Curtis. Mean Girls, written by Tina Fey, became one of the most talked-about films of the year and won three MTV Movie Awards, including one for Lindsay Lohan as best actress. Mark followed with the fantasy comedy romance Just Like Heaven, starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. In 2009, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, starring Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, and Michael Douglas, was released. Mark recently served as a producer on (500) Days of Summer, which was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards and two Golden Globes. Next up for Mark is Mr. Popper’s Penguins, with Jim Carrey playing the role of Popper.
Miata Edoga is featured in our MONEY episode.
Miata is the president and founder of Abundance Bound, a financial education company for actors, artists, and creative entrepreneurs. Miata moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. In addition to numerous stage productions and television commercials, she acted in the award-winning TNT production George Wallace. Nine years ago, Miata realized that in spite of these successes, she wasn’t acting consistently enough to make ends meet. She was going into auditions desperate to get the job, not for the love of the work, but for the paycheck. Certain that this energy affected her performances, she committed to developing strong financial knowledge and applying those skills in her own life. After seeing the powerful difference that financial education made in her own life, she became passionate about sharing this knowledge with others who needed the skills and tools to purposefully build towards financial freedom. Miata has been a guest lecturer at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, the Screen Actors Guild, The Actors Fund, Casting Networks, and The Actors’ Network. She is also a monthly financial columnist for BackStage and Now Casting.
Miles Levy is featured in our REPRESENTATION episode.
For 22 years, Miles has been instrumental in guiding many actors’ careers. Alongside his business partner Randy James, he started James/Levy Management, a company dedicated to developing young talent. Their idea was to bring young actors through the ranks of the entertainment industry. They are recognized as the first company to do so. He has ventured into production as a partner in RabbitBandini Productions with James Franco and Vince Jolivette. Some of his producing credits include The Clerk’s Tale, Saturday Night, and Howl.
Patrick Gallagher is featured in our SHORT TERM VS. LONG TERM episode.
Patrick was raised in Chilliwack, BC. After doing theatre in college, Patrick was accepted into the National Theatre School of Canada. While there, he performed in numerous plays including the world premiere of Nightingale and Whale (with which he also toured to the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC). After graduating, Patrick (with $1000) moved to NYC where he got a job as a tour guide for Radio City Music Hall. Patrick was then offered a role in a play in Vancouver so he moved back. Although he worked steadily doing both Canadian and American television while in Canada (including roles in TV shows such as RoboCop, Earth: Final Conflict, La Femme Nikita, Dark Angel, Stargate SG-1, Smallville, and Battlestar Galactica), it wasn’t until landing a role in Master and Commander that Patrick received his big break. After that, Patrick was cast in the CBC television series DaVinci’s Inquest and the hugely successful film Sideways. That led to Patrick’s first high-profile role as Attila the Hun in the Night at the Museum films. After being cast in the recurring role of the vampire bartender Mr. Chow in the highly-acclaimed Alan Ball HBO series True Blood, Patrick won the role of the acerbic yet lovable coach Ken Tanaka on the world phenomena Fox series Glee, for which he won the Screen Actors Guild Award in 2010. Patrick is an avid reader of science fiction and loves to SCUBA dive.
Paulo Andrés is featured in our REPRESENTATION episode.
Starting out as a performer himself, Paulo graduated from St. Edward’s University with a degree in directing and moved to Los Angeles. In 1993 he joined The Actors’ Network and committed himself to its growth and expansion. In 1996 his devotion culminated in full partnership as he transformed The Actors’ Network into the leading organization for the working actor. In 2002, he opened Network Talent Management where he served a small group of working actors. In 2004, he formed a partnership with Kurt Patino and opened LINK Talent Group. In 2008, they merged with Rachel Rothman to create Rothman/Patino/Andrés Entertainment, expanding to include production development. Paulo proudly served for four years as board president for Common Ground in Santa Monica. He currently serves on the board for Century of Compassion. In 2009, he cycled from San Francisco to Los Angeles in the annual AIDS Life Cycle fundraiser. He has also run five marathons. He speaks across the nation on the business of acting. Paulo placed Masi Oka on Heroes. He reps Shalim Ortiz (Heroes, Maneaters), Marlene Forte (House of Payne), Ethan Erickson (Melrose Place), and Nick Thurston (White Irish Drinkers). His hugely successful commercial client Chad Brokaw is the lovable “Chad the Alltel guy.”
Sara Mornell is featured in our TECHNIQUE AND TRAINING episode.
Sara started studying acting when she was 13. After a summer at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England, Sara got her degree from Carnegie Mellon University. After arriving in LA, she was signed by the Kohner Agency. Most known for her recurring role as Carole on Judging Amy and Anita on Becker, a few other credits include Lie to Me, ER, Without a Trace, Dharma & Greg, Six Feet Under, Python, Plan B, Party of Five, JAG, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and George Clooney’s HBO pilot Kilroy. On a break from acting, Sara was asked by her agent to coach another client. It was here that she found passion for teaching, which eventually reignited her passion for acting. She sees teaching as her opportunity to help change lives every day; it is not something she does as a job while she waits to “make it.” By helping actors book, she feels she already has.
Tim Dunigan is featured in our MONEY episode.
Tim has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild for over 20 years and is best remembered for his role of Captain Jonathan Power in Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, a syndicated series that was the first interactive television show in history, and the catalyst for a popular toy line for Mattel. He’s also known for playing the title role of Davy Crockett for Disney and NBC in 1989. He had regular roles on Mr. Smith, Wizards and Warriors, The A-Team, and a multitude of guest star appearances on Murder She Wrote, Cheers, Empty Nest, Beverly Hills 90210, and many more. About 14 years ago, Tim decided to expand his interests into business and finance and became a licensed mortgage broker in the state of California. Tim concentrated on working with and educating prospective borrowers who were self-employed, like actors and directors, to buy their first home or investment property. He was one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation LifeRaft series of free seminars to educate and assist actors on finance, taxes, investing, and other areas of the business of acting. Tim is the senior loan consultant for the First Rate Financial Group in Westlake Village, CA, and continues to help young actors build a solid financial future as they pursue their careers. He also recently got back into doing some performing again by landing his first voiceover job.
Vanessa Claire Smith is featured in our SELF-PRODUCING episode.
Vanessa received her training as an actor and a writer at Webster Conservatory in St. Louis and the Oxford School of Drama in the UK. She moved to Los Angeles in 1999, and has been working as an actor steadily since producing Louis and Keely Live at the Sahara at the Sacred Fools Theatre Company in May 2008. Vanessa both wrote and starred in the original musical Louis and Keely, which went on to win every major theatre award in Los Angeles including the Ovation, LA Weekly, LA Drama Critics Circle, and Garland for best musical. In 2009, Academy Award-winning director Taylor Hackford directed the musical at the Geffen Playhouse where it became the longest-running musical and picked up Ovation Awards for best musical and leading actress in a musical. Since then, Vanessa started a film production company called Pistol Lady Productions, where she produced a feature-length dark comedy Chase the Slut, which premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Pistol Lady Productions is producing a short film as part of a women’s film series called “Girls, Girls, Girls,” and will soon shoot a webseries called NY Bites. Vanessa’s musical Louis and Keely is in development for the 2011 Broadway season.
Yasmine Hanani is featured in our RESEARCHING AND RESOURCES episode.
Yasmine works in business development at IMDb and Withoutabox, a position that merges her passion for business and film. Former voiceover artist and actor, Yasmine is an alumna of the Business/Cinema-Television program at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. After working as an investment banking analyst, Yasmine went on to translate the documentary Voices of Iraq, marking her return to the industry. A sampling of Yasmine’s on- and off-screen credits include Sleeper Cell, Sex and the City 2, Peter Berg’s The Kingdom, and a lead role in Nick Broomfield’s Battle for Haditha.
Zibby Allen is featured in our MONEY episode.
Zibby is an actor, writer, producer, singer-songwriter, and entrepreneur. Additionally, she privately coaches a handful of actors in self-management, sustainable living, and career-building as an artist. Upon moving to Los Angeles in 2001 with no plan, no money, and no contacts, Zibby quickly managed to develop a thriving acting career. She is passionate about helping others do the same. Soon after she arrived in LA, she launched into stage work, acting in many shows including the cult hit Seven Redneck Cheerleaders with the Elephant Theatre Company. Several of her short plays have also been produced at this critically-acclaimed theatre, of which she is a proud member. Plays in other LA theatres include Waiting for Ophelia, in which she played Zellie Cross, a role she later reprised in the independent feature film now on IFC. In her most recent film, Zibby stars opposite Brian Austin Green in the multiple award-winning independent Turning Japanese. Zibby guest-starred in the TV series $#*! My Dad Says for CBS. She has guest starred on Without a Trace and the CBS pilot Eight Days a Week. She also has a recurring role on Grey’s Anatomy and has starred in over 15 national commercials.
