All day event

Lisa Hamil is a casting director and producer, whose films span a diverse landscape of themes, genres and languages. Among her recent accolades, "OKA," which Hamil cast, premiered at the 37th Annual Telluride Film Festival in September, 2010 and opened in theaters last year. Her professional expertise in the film industry has been sought out and featured in publications such as BACKSTAGE, E! ONLINE and on the CBS Series BIG SHOT LIVE. She is currently in post production on her debut feature “Right Next Door” which she co-wrote and co-directed with her partner Nicholas David Brandt.

Why is it that actors still believe in the 21st century that sending a full 8X10 with a resume and cover letter is the only way to introduce ones self? Wait, maybe you don’t, but maybe you’ve swung all the way over to believing that Social Media is the only way…because it is so cheap, easy and fast. We would presume that your first time submissions (introduction) to ongoing submissions to web sites, post cards, thank you notes, gifts, demos and press kits there is a lot to discuss. Let us help you change how you think and therefore what vehicle you actually choose to promote yourself. There are dozens of ways to do self-marketing as an actor with a photographic image. From letters, cards, color paper, ads, flyers, demo reel jackets, and odd-size mailers, what shall you choose and why?

Valerie Chiovetti graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Communication and the intention of working as a television news reporter. Call it insanity: She scrapped that game plan, loaded up the car and drove out to Los Angeles to find a job in “The Biz”! Many humbling production assistant gigs later… Valerie found herself training in the mailroom of Abrams Artists Agency but quickly landed a desk assisting one of the busy commercial agents. Two years later she was privileged enough to join her mentors as one of their co-workers when she was promoted to Commercial Agent.

The rest, as they say, is history!

For the record: Valerie enjoys strong espresso, stronger martinis and less-than-boring bios. :O)

Stanzi started her career in film as a casting assistant and associate on such films as "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", "The China Syndrome", "1941", "Tom Horn" and US casting "Meatballs" with Sally Dennison. She then went out on her own and did the West Coast casting for "Those Lips, Those Eyes" and "Thief". Among Stanzi's many film credits as casting director are: Motel Hell, Strangers Kiss, The Terminator, The Return of the Living Dead, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Casual Sex, Feds, and Mr. Payback.

Stanzi also cast the television series "The New Lassie" and "Harry and the Hendersons." Stanzi then retired temporarily to raise her two children.

In 2000, Stanzi began teaching with Dee Wallace, heading the children and teen classes. In 2002 she formed her own studio, Stanzi's Kidz, continuing to teach children and teens. She also does private coaching.

In 2004, Stanzi formed Trio Entertainment Group Management with partner Kelly Heffernan. They manage children, teens and adults for acting, commercials and VO and Equity. They also manage a limited number of screenwriters.

Stanzi grew up in Stockton, CA and received a BA of Fine Arts from the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

Amy Macnow is a Los Angeles native with a twenty year extensive background in entertainment. She’s worked with influential management firms, casting companies, production companies and talent agencies including Triad Artists Agency(which became part of William Morris), Shapiro/West & Associates, where she worked with Jerry Seinfeld and Litke/Gale/Madden Management where they worked with Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston among others.

She now owns Envoy Entertainment, a personal management company started by Barbara Gale fifteen years ago with a history of representing name clients over the years such as David Schwimmer, Stockard Channing, Ed Asner and Gary Cole among many others. Amy began as Gale’s assistant, and now runs the company - charting the careers of well-known actors while taking on the developing careers of new actors .

"I love working with actors - developing careers of those actors already working and finding new actors just starting out in their careers, helping to guide them to work and success!"

CARMEN AIELLO grew up in Littleton, Colorado with a single Mother from having lost his Father at a young age. Since his youth, Carmen was engaged in theatre and dance through his teen years as well as having toured with professional youth theatre companies throughout the nation. With his French Mother as his sole supporter, inspiration and parent; Carmen was surrounded him in the arts and around actors as much as possible. He followed his dreams at an early age and performed at The Denver Center of the Performing Arts and Arvada Center for the Performing Arts in AEA productions.

Carmen became a professional performing artist in Chicago where he went on to cast over 40 AEA stage productions with Next Theatre Company, Theatre Wit, Raven Theatre, The Piven Theatre and Red Orchid; working next to Guy Van Swearingen and Michael Shannon (HBO's Boardwalk Empire). His shows were nominated for Best Ensemble and were critically acclaimed by The Chicago Sun Times, New York Times and Chicago Tribune. As an actor, Carmen performed in dozens of productions which won the prestigious Jeff Award for ensemble and production. Carmen innovated classes teaching his own acting career strategy and audition technique's at Piven Theatre under the artistic direction of Jen Green. He stopped acting professionally in order to fully commit to the actors journey.

December 2007, Aiello moved to Los Angeles and immediately found work as the casting assistant for Sci Fi's Scare Tactics hosted by Tracy Morgan in three days. Combined, Carmen was the casting assistant for several network, episodic, pilots, music video's and has additionally worked at Talent Agencies and Management Companies.

With experience on both sides of the table, Carmen has cast four SAG feature films this past year including EXCISION which was an official selection of the SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL. Recently Carmen joined Gregg Smith Casting and Jason Fedusenko helping with Dirty Dancing remake for the west coast dance auditions. He currently holds post at Bohemia Group as a Talent Manager garnering over 150 pilot auditions for Series Regular roles. In 2011, Carmen represented and closed two deals for clients in the Academy Award winning movie, THE ARTIST.

Aiello's goal is to help cultivate new talent and revitalize the importance of the careers for emerging actors. Continuing an artistic path, Aiello finds pleasure in stage directing, choreographing and finding work for artists of all kinds in any career position possible.

Kevin E. West is Hollywood’s premiere expert on Business aspects of an actor’s career. Veteran working actor and Founder of The Actors’ Network, Kevin has pioneered many philosophies, now commonly used in Hollywood. Come increase your odds of success at this Non-member public presentation, as well as asking Kevin questions on the subject:

The Art of a Drop-Off: A pro-active career option rarely used by actors out of fear, but incredibly useful when done properly.

“NO PHONE CALLS OR DELIVERIES.” Yep, that is indeed a common phrase found in the Breakdowns for more than 20+ years. It isn’t a new concept, and it will indeed never go away. However, much like so many things in life, there are obvious barriers and presumed ones. When you take the attitude of simply being a professional who is trying to further their career, it takes some of the fear and weight off of the concept, of “dropping your professional materials” off at a legitimate office “for consideration during business hours.” When you ADD that mentality with a proven method for being successful with the act of of a Drop Off, then you’ve added a wonderful new tool to your arsenal that can be implemented sporadically but consistently enough to change your career.(573)

The Actors’ Network was founded in 1991, and back then, no one used the phrase “target list.” But after a few years under the guidance of Kevin E. West, much of what you see talked about and on websites these days was created by The Actors’ Network. Creating and focusing on target lists is a good example of our pioneering spirit. The creation of a target list has nothing to do with mailing and everything to do with who, why, tracking, maintenance and execution. This is done well before you are ready to mail anything out. Remember there isn’t such a thing as the right agent or manager. While there are agents and managers that may appear attractive from a distance, it doesn’t mean that it will be a successful professional alliance. Also, representation is timing. Just because you have a desire to target an agency doesn’t mean they’re currently seeking your specific type. A specific target list is just a starting point that is neither right nor wrong but very specific and focused. Come get great insight on how to arrive at a more effective representation target list.

JACK PLOTNICK (www.imdb.com/name/nm0687443/) is an award-winning actor, director and performance coach. He has appeared in countless TV shows, commercials and features, including sizable roles in MEET THE FOCKERS, GODS AND MONSTERS, and DOWN WITH LOVE. He produced, directed and acted on the 2006 Lifetime Television comedy series LOVESPRING INTERNATIONAL, and has had recurring and series regular roles on shows such as THE MENTALIST, RENO 911, DRAWN TOGETHER, BUFFY, ELLEN, and ACTION. Jack executive produced and starred in the award winning feature film (and cult hit!) GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS, and he recently completed the sequel. He stars in the feature film WRONG, in theaters this coming January, Jack’s highly acclaimed acting workshops and lectures have become hugely popular in Los Angeles and New York City. Fans of his approach include Alyson Hannigan, Zach Quinto, Sutton Foster and Jerry Stiller. His free online book "New Thoughts For Actors" can be found on his website: www.JackPlotnick.com <www.JackPlotnick.com>

As of 2012 this is now an ACTIVITY, which means NO LATECOMERS & NO leaving early!

It is 90-minutes in length.

This is an opportunity to discuss any issues and concerns you may have regarding your career or pursuit. It's a great time to discuss situations that may have occurred or will occur due to your pursuit. Get other actors perspective on your issue so that we all become more prepared and informed about our careers. An issue can be as simple as asking about an acting coach to as difficult as how to handle an agent who is asking you out on a date.

Writer, director and musician Max Myers (www.imdb.com/name/nm0616805/) was born in Iserlohn, West Germany, the son of an English Army soldier and a local Catholic convent schoolgirl. He spent the first years of his life traveling with his family to a variety of postings including London, Germany, South Australia and Gibraltar.

At age fifteen he landed on the mean streets of East London, where he joined a rock-n-roll-band, learned to play a respectable blues harp and did some serious amateur boxing. Later he moved into tour management and sound mixing, working and playing for many famous musicians from such notable European acts as Mungo Jerry, Manfred Mann, Wings, Berlin Rock Ensemble and Moonraker. Eventually he was drawn to the American shores, where he continued to work and play for now-forgotten bands, AR-15, Face Dancer and Objects.

In the early nineties Max relocated to New York and started a music production company, but soon the collapse of Wall Street left him homeless and penniless. He drew upon his early days as an amateur boxer and by his experiences in the violent neighborhoods of East London, he took on a succession of jobs as doorman and bouncer at some of New York's edgier nightclubs. It was in this era that he continued his street education, joining a biker gang and experiencing firsthand the lawlessness and corruption of society's underbelly.

By 1994 he recognized there was no future for him on the streets, so he took a job waiting tables and began his writing career. His first big break came when he landed a development deal with Martin Scorsese's Cappa Productions, under the guidance of Barbara De Fina. Succumbing to the lure of Hollywood, Max moved west where he continues to write and direct.

For your peace of mind, do NOT miss this Topical. A common phrase often uttered by actors is; “I just wanna work.” Well sure, we hear you, and of course we all do. However, one of the largest issues facing the professional performer today is that we look at all possible performance jobs as simply a chance to work. But ultimately, what we’re not realizing nor considering in this thought is that there are many industries that employ actors and they’re not remotely the same. Yet within all of those industries, while they hire actors, the mentality and protocol of each one can be drastically different. From this topic forward do yourself a favor, and start realizing that there is a massive difference in scripted Theatrical work such as Daytime TV and on-camera Commercials because both hire actors...but the folks on the other side of the desk live very different professional lives, and have very different ways of looking at us. Kevin E. West has identified 43 different areas of industry. At some point you’re likely to finally start seeing consistent positive movement in your career when you finally SIT down, and stay still, in a couple of the chairs of our industry as opposed to constantly diffusing your efforts by trying to “just work” and pursue all of Hollywood everyday.

Christopher Debiec (www.imdb.com/name/nm0213425/) is an award winning writer/producer with an impressive twenty-two year track record in all aspects of the entertainment industry. Born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania, Chris began his film and television career in Orlando, Florida working on a wide variety of commercials, music videos, television programs and feature films. Some of his credits include Producers’ Assistant on Sylvester Stallones’ Oscar, Special Effects Assistant on The Crow for Miramax, and Set Costumer on Dead Presidents for Caravan Pictures. Chris relocated to Los Angeles in 1995 and created outstanding relationships within the studio and independent film community. His other outstanding film credits include The Devil’s Advocate and Mad City for Warner Brothers, The Out of Towners for Paramount Studios, and the largest budgeted Walt Disney Studios animated live-action production to date, Dinosaur. In November of 2000, Chris took on the most challenging project of his career. He spent five months in war torn, poverty-stricken Cambodia, as the Production Supervisor on Matt Dillon’s directorial film debut City of Ghosts for MGM/UA. Mr. Debiec’s most memorable position was producing with Academy Award-winning writer/director/producer, James Cameron from 2001-2006. During Chris’ five years with Earthship Productions, he produced the two-hour LIVE broadcast event entitled Last Mysteries of Titanic and the groundbreaking two-hour documentary Expedition: Bismarck for The Discovery Channel, as well as the 3D/HD IMAX films Aliens of the Deep & Ghosts of the Abyss for Walt Disney Pictures. Earthship was nominated for six Emmys and took home one in 2003 for their production of Expedition: Bismarck. Earthship Productions closed its doors in January of 2006 and Mr. Debiec went on to produce with The Osborne’s famed Executive Producer, JT Taylor, on E! Entertainment’s House of Carters and MTV’s House of Jazmin. Other produced reality shows include The Girls of Hedsor Hall & Making Menudo for MTV, Making Monsters for Travel Channel, and Mary Mary for WE. In the spring of 2008, Chris wrote a screenplay entitled Jerzey Tranzit which won best unproduced screenplay at the Hoboken International Film Festival. That same time Chris optioned the reality show presentation Metal & Lace to the London based production company Granada America. Most recently, Mr. Debiec sold Chill, a docudrama about the worlds top Ice Artist, to TRUTV and Road Mamas , a docudrama about three moms, eight kids and one RV on a ten city comedy stand- up road tour to Nickelodeon. Mr. Debiec continues to reside and work in Los Angeles, CA as the Executive in Charge of Production of the Non-Fiction Division at one of the world's largest and most successful creators, producers and distributors of TV and Film, Entertainment One Television.

Kevin E. West is Hollywood’s premiere expert on Business aspects of an actor’s career. Veteran working actor and Founder of The Actors’ Network, Kevin has pioneered many philosophies, now commonly used in Hollywood. Come increase your odds of success at this Non-member public presentation, as well as asking Kevin questions on the subject:

Crafting Your Career - Project Choices: You can spend months and years in Hollywood now, working all of the time, but are those projects moving you forward?

There are literally hundreds of projects per month for which you can submit and possibly be cast in, but where is your focus and why is that focus SO important to not wasting months and years. In the 80s, 90s and through the first 5 years of the 21st century there was a manageable number of projects per week found online combined with the legit breakdowns and married with just “stuff” you may have heard about. But since about 2006, due to the creation of the New Media agreement, project production has exploded. This has left thousands of actors scrambling like mad every day to either submit or work in “something.” But is just working in “something” worth it? Is it getting you closer to being a known and working actor? Or, is it just feeding that need to be cast part of our ego, but not really moving us towards an end result which satisfies the reason we moved to Hollywood in the first place? You can BE an actor anywhere in the world, but if you’re here, you have to ask why you’re here, and the direction you’re going.

You have a lot of options as to what can and might come out of your mouth? Aside from that there are just particular questions that you should ALWAYS be asking in an initial Rep meeting, as well as many questions to ask when you’ve made the decision to be represented and during your tenure as a client. It is so utterly important to be CONFIDENT and COMFORTABLE functioning in a professional meeting before you work with someone as well as being a professional while being represented. It is great to have your work/craft well honed but if your office interviewing leaves much to be desired, you’ll wind up leaving a meeting with a lot of questions. This is not a good place to be…and then almost worse, if they decide to represent you, then you’ll likely never ask those questions because we’re afraid to upset them. It is very helpful to have some tools to combat fear or the anxiety often experienced by actors during an interview. Ever wonder on the way to a Rep meeting what to say, what to ask what to know when you’re done? Did I answer it right? Did I say the right thing? What did I ask them? Or what should have asked them? Did they like me? Was I myself? Do I want this person representing me? Come put all of these to the test to be better prepared for being interviewed as well as interviewing that potential agent and while represented.

TWO HOURS IN LENGTH (Do not park at a meter, park on a side street, as you may not leave to feed your meter) NO LATECOMERS! NO LEAVING EARLY!

-You are not required to bring material. We ENCOURAGE you to attend and take notes.

-You do not have to have a reel or raw footage to attend. However, if you wish to have your footage or edited reel viewed during the session it must meet the following requirements:

-Material must be rendered as a video file, and burned on DVD-R so it may be viewed on a DVD consumer electronic player in the studio. QuickTime and mpg files are not acceptable as they can only be viewed on a computer.

-KNOW your URL if you wish to have Kevin view your Demo online.

-Raw footage MUST BE cued up and/or you MUST time code counter mark so that we can quickly fast forward to the portion for viewing.

This activity combines both the Philosophy of an actor’s Demo Reel, as well as terrific insight on the process to editing a successful Demo Reel.

Attending this activity will give you a perspective on the way industry players view actor Demo’s. Demo Reel Editing may attend when you have material you'd like viewed and on which you would like comments.

Orion Barnes was born in Los Angeles, the second son of two actor parents. He graduated from Columbia College in Chicago with a BA in Acting and during his early career specialized in sword related stunt work and sword choreography for stage and screen. Orion developed a passion for discovering and representing talent after spending several years running the theatrical and commercial divisions at a well-known boutique agency in Los Angeles. He opened Rogers Orion Talent Agency in 2004 in an effort to create an agency that truly embraced the message that nice guys CAN finish FIRST in Hollywood. He dedicates this agency to the memory of his father, Rogers Barnes (yes, the “silent partner” in the company’s name).