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

This episode was recorded LIVE on Facebook. In this episode, we talk about: •  4 Tips on How to get a Mentor • How to cultivate a relationship with a Mentor over time Episodes Referenced: Episode 1 - Stan Brooks - From the Mailroom to Hollywood Producer & Director Episode 21 - Linda Mendoza - From page to Comedy TV/Film Director of Scrubs, The Good Place, Blackish, and more If you like this episod...

Here is a Highlight Reel with advice from top DIRECTORS of Season 1 including Stan Brooks, Kristin Hanggi, Linda Mendoza, and Jason Ensler. In this episode, we talk about: •  How one future Director stood out working in the Mailroom •  How one Director made the jump into Narrative Television •  How to transition from Producer to Director •  Are you waiting for permission to Create? How one directo...

People kept asking for more information on me (thanks guys!). Since I can't interview myself, I asked my good friends of the popular Voices of Misery podcast if I could use some of their interview for a Bonus Episode. In this episode, we talk about: •  How I started acting and my first outside school gigs on The Rosie O' Donnell show and the Off Broadway play "I Never Saw Another Butterfly" •  Bes...

Linda Mendoza is an Emmy nominated, Comedy Director Extraordinaire. Her credits are extensive, directing episodes of Scrubs, Gilmore Girls, The Mindy Project, The Good Place, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Ugly Betty, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Grownish, The Chris Rock Show, Girlfriends, The Bernie Mac Show, The Tick, Liv & Maddie, 30 Rock, and many, many more. She has also been the go to Director for many C...

Scott Feinberg is an Awards Columnist for The Hollywood Reporter. He is also the Host of the incredibly popular podcast "Awards Chatter," where he has interviewed over 350 incredible guests including Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Oprah, and Denzel Washington. He is considered by many as an Oscar Oracle, helping many people (including myself) win their Oscar pools. Having previ...

Naz Perez is a TV Producer, Host & Podcaster. She is a true Renaissance Woman, juggling hosting responsibilities at Rotten Tomatoes, Dodger Stadium, E! Daily/Nightly Pop, T-Mobile, and the 'I don't get it' podcast. She is currently working her dream job at Rotten Tomatoes, hosting the tri-weekly show "The Ketchup," covering Movies and Television, and the weekly show "Binge Guide" covering what to...

David Grae is a Writer and Executive Producer of Television. He's written for Joan of Arcadia, Without a Trace, Gilmore Girls, Castle, and Madam Secretary. At the latter, he moved up to Executive Producer of the 6 season show. He was second in command to Creator and Show runner, Barbara Hall. He started off writing spec scripts and directing his Off-Off-Off Broadway play 'Moose Mating' in NYC, bef...

Erika Karnell is an Agent with BRS/GAGE Talent Agency, representing actors in TV, Film, and Theater. BRS/GAGE clients include Series Regulars and recurring actors on Station 19, Claws, and Madam Secretary, as well as Guest Stars on NCIS: New Orleans, Elementary, Gotham, and Mr. Robot. BRS/GAGE Talent agency clients have appeared in almost every Broadway musical, including The Lion King, Aladdin, H...

Jason Ensler is an Executive Producer and Director of some of your favorite TV shows. After graduating USC with an MFA in Cinema/Television production, Jason directed PSAs for a friend's marketing company and his alma mater, Brandeis University. That led to being part of a creative team at NBC 2000, promoting campaigns for NBC shows like The West Wing, Scrubs, Frasier, The Olympics and The NBA. Ev...

Elizabeth Van Metre is currently an Alert Desk Anchor/Reporter/Fill-In Anchor on Channel 13. Upon graduating college, she got an editorial internship at a Tabloid, researching storylines, collecting information, attending red carpets, and transcribing interviews. She was offered a full time reporting job shortly after. Subsequently, she worked at The New York Daily News and Entertainment Tonight,...

Damon Lee is an Award-winning Producer and CEO of Deacon Media. Not only has he been the Executive Producer for two of the top five grossing African American themed films of the past decade, but he is responsible for the first and only cross-over from animated web series to live action feature film. His projects have included Beyonce, Idris Elba, Taraji P. Henson, Issa Rae, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfr...

Jonathan Mason is a Theatrical or legit agent at Don Buchwald & Associates in NY (film, TV, and theater). In addition to celebrity clients, he also represents actors in some of your favorite television shows, streaming shows, and films. Buchwald is a top tier bi coastal agency with name recognition, offering representation in commercial, print, digital, branded lifestyle, film, TV, theater, litera...

Kim Graham has been the Associate Casting Director for the Emmy award winning casting office of Judy Henderson Casting since 2003. She casts for Film, TV, Commercials, Theater, and more. Most notably, Kim cast all seasons of Showtime's critically acclaimed, award-winning Homeland, starring Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin. She has also been an independent Casting Director on numerous projects. In t...

Matt Witten is a Playwright, Novelist, TV writer, and Teacher. He started writing plays, with The Deal winning a Clauder Playwriting Competition in 1989.  He's written four novels starring amateur sleuth Jacob Berns, include Breakfast at Madeline's, Grand Delusion, Strange Bedfellows, and The Killing Bee. His next book, The Necklace is coming out next year with his book already optioned by a huge...

Ron West is a co-founder and principal of Thruline Entertainment, a prominent Management and Production company. Thruline manages incredible actors and writers including Oscar Winner Alison Janney, Eric Stonestreet, Michael Cera, Sarah Silverman, Rob Estes, Lindsay Sloane, Annie Mumolo (Bridesmaids), six time Emmy award winner Barry Julien, director Zak Hilditch (1922), and more. Many Thruline cli...

Kristin Hanggi is a Theater, Television, and Film Director, as well as a Writer, Teacher, and poet. She is well known for directing and developing the international smash-hit Rock of Ages, which received five Tony Award nominations. Kristin was only 31 when she received her Tony Nomination for Best Direction of a Musical. Since then, she traveled the world directing productions of Rock of Ages all...

Serena Kerrigan, also known as Serena F*cking Kerrigan, SFK, and “The Queen of Confidence,” does not wait for someone to give her a role, she creates that role for herself. This incredibly popular Content Creator, video producer, and Confidence Coach has amassed an engaged and loyal following of 70k+ on Instagram and 150k+ on Tik Tok. Only a few months ago, she created, produced, and hosted Let’s...

Arun Narayanan is an Editorial Analyst of Metadata Research and Development at Netflix. He started as an intern for Avi Arad Productions and Michael De Luca Productions while getting his Masters in Film and Television Productions at USC. After many freelance jobs including Background work, quality control for DVDs, media technician work, editing, production, and writing, Arun has always aspired fo...

Adina Pitt is the Vice President of Content Acquisitions and Co Productions at Cartoon Network and Boomerang. She started as a PA on a movie in Puerto Rico, moving her way through wonderful internships and a Masters in Early Childhood Development and Educational Communication and Technology from NYU. This proved perfect for her goal to work in Children’s Entertainment. After 10 years at Nickelodeo...

David Pepose is a Ringo award-winning Graphic Novelist, sporting two successful Comic Book series "Spencer and Locke" and "Going to the Chapel." He started out as a Temp at DC Entertainment, before transitioning to a Literary Assistant at Heroes and Villains Entertainment and writing Reviews for Newsarama (the ESPN of Comics). He also learned a lot from his time writing press releases at CBS about...

Kerri Berney is currently the Director of Multi-platform and Strategic Research at NBCUniversal Media. Kerri is a badass career woman who has worked in several areas of the Television industry including production, public relations, development, and at a literary agency. She shares with us her journey from an intern for Stan Brooks (Episode 1), to a Literary Assistant at Dytman & Associates, to Sc...

Michael Pitt is a Production Manager with over 70 credits in film and television, including Ocean’s 8, Person of Interest, Nurse Jackie, Sex and the City movies 1 and 2, I am Legend, The Devil wears Prada, 30 Rock, and more. He has had multiple roles on set, including Production Assistant, Second second Assistant Director, Second Assistant Director, First Assistant Director, and Production Manager...

Jacklyn Collier and Shawlini Munjunath-Holbrook, or Jacks and Shawl, are the Hosts of Hallmark Channels’ Bubbly Sesh, the official Hallmark Channels' podcast, where they talk about Hallmark movies, shows, romance and relationships. In this episode, you'll learn: - How these ladies took their love of Hallmark movies and turned it into the official podcast for the network. - The benefits of having t...

Stan Brooks is a talented and highly regarded film and television producer and director. He has produced more than 70 films for film and television since 1989, some going on to be nominated and win Emmys. In this episode, we discuss his first job in the industry, working in the mailroom at a company called Filmways. He explains his incredible subsequent journey to becoming a Producer and now, Dire...

What do you look for in a Mentor? Every Monday, NYC Native actress Michelle Miller will be talking to some of the most interesting Mentors in Entertainment, including Directors, Producers, Network executives, Actors, and more. Her guests will share how they started, how they moved up and any advice they have for us today. Every path is different. A career in Entertainment is anything but linear. L...