Mentors on the Mic: Your guide to pursuing a career in the Entertainment industry

Veronica Reyes-How is an award winning writer/actor/producer based in NYC. A graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.A in Mathematics, she left a career in technology consulting to pursue acting when an open-call audition resulted in her booking the national tour of Rent. Her big break came when she was one of ten actorschosen for the ABC/Disney Talent Showcase. Mentored by ABC/Disney, she then went on to book credits such ...

Jeffrey Seller's shows have garnered twenty-two Tony Awards, including four for Best Musical, and his Broadway productions and tours have grossed more than $4.6 billion and reached more than 43 million attendees. Jeffrey is the only producer to have mounted two Pulitzer Prize–winning musicals—Hamilton and Rent. He also revolutionized theater accessibility with the $20 ticket lottery for Rent, making theater affordable for many....

Patricia Arquette is a 4th generation actor. She received the Academy Award for her work in “Boyhood,” the critically acclaimed 12-year project from Richard Linklater, for which she also won the Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAG, New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics, and Independent Spirit Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.

Patricia will make her directing debut this summer with GONZO GIRL, a feature fi...

This is a 3 part mini Casting Director series, sponsored by Casting Networks.

We're so excited to bring Emmy winning Casting Director Jule Tucker back on the podcast!

Julie Tucker is a two time Emmy winning Casting Director (7 times nominated). Her list of credits include projects such as Queen Latifah’s "The Equalizer," "The Hot Zone, Anthrax," and the Jennifer Lopez feature film, "Marry Me." Past television credits include: "Damage...

This is a 3 part mini Casting Director series, sponsored by Casting Networks.

Tara Rubin started her company, Tara Rubin Casting in 2001 after working at 

Johnson-Liff Casting for fifteen years. During that time she cast for Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Guys and Dolls, and the daytime drama Another World.

At Tara Rubin Casting she continued those associations and cast other Broadway productions, including Mamma M...

This is a 3 part mini Casting Director series, sponsored by Casting Networks.

PAUL SCHNEE is originally from Wilmington, Delaware and is a graduate of Kenyon College. After graduating, Paul worked at ICM for agent Sam Cohn, then as assistant to director Mike Nichols. He and Kerry formed Barden / Schnee Casting in 2008. Paul is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, T...

Marketing Expert and Podcast Host Abby Zufelt walks us through the rebrand of her podcast, Working Girl Talk, sharing with us her tips on rebranding our projects.

“Branding is one of my favorite topics and as somebody who just went through a really long branding journey, I’m happy to help and share my thoughts on this.”

Some questions we went over include:

1. What is the mission? What do I do? What am I trying to convey to people?

2. A...

Ken Girotti has had a hand in the creation of hundreds of hours of television episodes, pilots, television movies and film and received multiple award nominations. His television movie MAYERTHORPE garnered the best director award from the Director’s Guild of Canada.

Recently Ken has been Executive Producer/Director on FBI MOST WANTED (CBS). He served the same role on ANNE WITH AN E (Netflix). He Executive Produced and Directed both

s...

Scott McCormick, has been an audiobook director, adaptor and narrator for over 10 years. In that time he has directed and adapted over a hundred books and narrated and provided voices for well over a thousand book. He has played many characters through the years including the lead roles in Sir Apropos of Nothing by Peter David and The Ishmael Jones by Simon R. Green. He has also lent his voice to dozens of audiocomic book character...

Khaya Fraites is a voice and film actor based in New York City. She has narrated books such as the full cast versions of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame from GraphicAudio and has performed in video games such as World of Warcraft, Diablo 4, and Blumhouse games’ first release: Fear the Spotlight. You can also catch her in animated shows such as Pokémon Paldean Winds, Quantum Heroes Dinoster and Rainbow High. Khaya is also a filmmaker and...

Joshua: Joshua is a diverse, singing actor who has worked on Broadway and regionally at esteemed theaters such as Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Theatre Under the Stars, Folger Theatre, Triad Stage, and Signature Theatre. His television appearances include "FBI," "Law and Order," "Law and Order: Organized Crime," "Law and Order: SVU," "Lincoln Rhyme," and HBO’s "Paterno." Joshua co-founded and served as Artistic Direc...

A graduate from Aberystwyth University, BEN THOMPSON left Wales and London to settle in New York. Soon after arriving he joined the Tribeca Film Festival where he is currently the VP of Shorts Programming. From the start of his career as a filmmaker Ben has always had a keen interest in short form storytelling and discovered while at Tribeca a passion for programming and presenting short films to new and engaged audiences. He is fa...

Presenting... Part 2 of my Filmmaker Roundtable at the Hampton International Film Festival.

In this episode, we talk to the filmmaking teams of four short films. We delve into the process of creating their films and their experience at the festival.

Including:

• Director Jack Kendrick and Producer Taylor Ervin for TORNADO: A struggling contractor risks his young sons’ wellbeing to cut a sweet deal.
• Director Geneva Peschka and Cinem...

Tom Nesher - Director & Writer

Born in Los Angeles in 1996, Tom Nesher is a graduate of the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School. She directed four award winning shorts, and has created dozens of unique freeform documentary pieces as a journalist at one of Israel’s most prominent networks. Come Closer is Nesher’s debut feature film.

Logline:

When Eden’s beloved brother suddenly dies, she takes desperate measures to fill the void...

Presenting... Part 1 of my Filmmaker Roundtable at the Hampton International Film Festival.

In this episode, we talk to the filmmaking teams of two feature narratives and one documentary. We delve into the process of creating their films and their experience at the festival.

Including:

• Delaney Buffet (Director, Lead Actress, Writer) and Katie Corwin (Lead Actress, Writer) for Adult Best Friends. Nothing holds a mirror up to y...

Carol Baum has produced thirty-four movies, seventeen of them independently. Before becoming an independent producer, Baum was co-president of Sandollar Productions, Dolly Parton and Sandy Gallin’s production company, for ten years, where she produced such hits as Father of the Bride; the Academy Award-winning HBO documentary Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt; Tidy Endings; I.Q.; Jacknife; True Identity; Buffy the Vampire Slay...

Cara Cusumano has been with Tribeca since 2008, during which time the festival has become a globally respected showcase for film and TV premieres, live music, talks, interdisciplinary events, and talent discovery. During her tenure as Festival Director, Tribeca has been called “an annual powerhouse” (Time Out), “reliably and inarguably excellent” (Village Voice), and “one of the most prestigious festivals of the new millennium” (Pl...

Bryan Smiley is President & Chief Content Officer of Hartbeat, the global multi-platform media company founded by Kevin Hart.

Named to Variety’s 2022 “New Leaders” and Hollywood Reporter’s 2018 ”Next Gen” and “Rising Executives 35 under 35” lists, Smiley oversees Hartbeat production, financing, and development, including the company’s 70+ projects in development and more than 20 projects released in 2022 across top tier partne...

ROB DECINA - In December of 2018, Rob Decina was named VP, Casting in NY for CBS Studios. He has contributed to the casting of many shows across several broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms, including: Your Honor, The Comey Rule (SHOWTIME), Nancy Drew & The Dynasty (CW), Diary of a Future President (Disney+), Guilty Party & The Game (Paramount+) and Swagger ( Apple TV+).

At CBS, he developed two programs: a Casting Fe...