Writer, editor, and manager, Tim Quinn was born in Liverpool, England. He started his career as a clown at Blackpool Tower Circus before working on BBC TV’s Good Old Days music hall series where he wrote scripts for top comedians. It was a small jump from there into the world of comic books where he spent many happy years as a scriptwriter on such noted UK titles as The Beano, The Dandy, Sparky, The Topper, Buster, Whoopee!, Bunty, Jackie, Dr Who Magazine, and Whizzer & Chips before heading to the United States to work for the mighty Marvel Comics Group as both editor and Head of Special Projects. Through those years he also produced many daily newspaper comic strips and interviews with such names as Klaus Voormann, Derek Taylor, Sir Tim Rice, Jeffrey Archer, Willy Russell, Eddie Izzard, Sierra Boggess, and Chyler Leigh.Tim has worked as a writer for the Guardian newspaper, as well as editor for America’s oldest publication, The Saturday Evening Post, and as producer for LWT’s The South Bank Show TV documentary series – that included among others, a show on the history of Marvel Comics! For many years Tim ran a publishing company with his wife Jane and Gillian Baverstock, the elder daughter of noted children’s author, Enid Blyton.Additionally, Tim and Jane ran Mighty Quinn Management, as agents and managers to many musicians while putting on huge charity shows featuring members of Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. These days, Tim’s the Editor-in-Chief for the Merseyside charity, Liverpool Heartbeat, creating literacy-based comic books for schools across the region. He’s also produced books for New Haven Publishing, who just released The Jolly Bloodbath, a piratical novel for children written by The Brothers Quinn, Tim and his younger brother, Jason, who’s a well-known comic book writer. Also, look for Tim’s autobiography, Argh, also from New Haven Publishing.

Tim Quinn, Writer-Editor-Artist-Manager-Episode #231

The brilliant singer-songwriter, David Pomeranz, has achieved success in virtually every entertainment medium. His songs have been recorded and performed by a long list of major artists including: Bette Midler, Kenny Loggins, Cliff Richard, Freddie Mercury, Kenny Rogers, Glen Campbell, Lou Rawls, John Denver, Missy Elliott, and Barry Manilow, who had international #1 hits with David's “Tryin’ to Get the Feeling Again,” and “The Old Songs.” David's concert performances have delighted audiences worldwide. His recording and songwriting projects have earned him a total of 22 platinum and 18 gold albums, selling over 40 million records worldwide.At 19, Decca records signed David to a multi-album solo contract. He subsequently toured extensively with artists like: The Carpenters, Steely Dan, Air Supply, Randy Newman, Rod Stewart, The Doors and many more. David’s solo albums include: "It’s in Every One of Us,” "The Truth of Us,” “Time to Fly”, “New Blues,” “On This Day,” and “The Eyes of Christmas.”He’s performed sold out concerts at The Kennedy Center, Hollywood Bowl, London Hippodrome, Universal Amphitheater, and hundreds more. David has written music and lyrics for major Motion Pictures like: "Big” and “King Kong." On TV, his songs have been featured on "Will and Grace,” “The Summer Olympic Games,” "Boston Legal,” “American Idol,” and Showtime’s “Elvis Presley’s Graceland,” for which he composed the score. He’s also contributed songs to the hit London Musical, “Time,” starring Cliff Richard and Sir Laurence Olivier. For the Charlie Chaplin-based musical, “Little Tramp,’ David wrote music, lyrics, and co-wrote the book with Steven Horwich. He also composed music for the Dickens classic, “A Tale of Two Cities” with lyrics by Steven Horwich and book by Steven Horwich and David Soames. And he composed the Tony-nominated musical, “Scandalous,” with Kathie Lee Gifford and composer, David Friedman.Beyond all that, David also hosts “SongSessions with David Pomeranz,” a popular podcast in which David talks shop with some of the most iconic songwriters of our time. Guests have included: Richard Marx, Melissa Manchester, Barry Mann, Paul Williams, Barry Manilow, Alan Bergman and more. SongSessions can be found at davidpomeranz.com and on major apps and platforms. 

David Pomeranz, Singer-Songwriter-Episode #230

The brilliant stage, screen, and voice actress, Melinda Peterson, has been performing professionally for more than 40 years. She was introduced to audio theatre in 1990 when she played all 17 of the female roles in Proctor & Bergman’s Power which aired on NPR as a regular segment of John Hockenberry’s Heat. Since that time she has contributed voices to NPR Playhouse productions, including working with all-star casts on We Hold These Truths and Empire of the Air for Other World Media, as well as performing with the legendary Firesign Theatre on The Great Internet Broadcast for the Toyota Comedy Festival in New York. And she’s traveled several times to Dublin to participate in Crazy Dog Audio productions for RTE, Ireland’s public radio service. Melinda is most proud that she was Norman Corwin’s very favorite Lucretia Borgia in his The Plot to Overthrow Christmas. She’s also led the casts of Agatha Christie’s BBC Murders playing Agatha Christie herself. Melinda has performed at regional theatres across the country and is a member of the Los Angeles’ classical acting ensemble, The Antaeus Theatre Company. She lives in LA with her husband, the great Firesign Theatre writer and performer, Phil Proctor, who’s also one of my favorite guests ever on StoryBeat. I’ve been privileged to interview Phil twice on this show. 

Melinda Peterson, Actress - Episode #229

The brilliant singing duo of Maripat Davis and Richard Osborn,burst onto the cabaret scene with sold out California engagements at The Gardenia in Hollywood, and Sterling’s Upstairs at Vitello’s in Studio City. Their first show, entitled Let’s Fall In Love, featured a potpourri of classic American love songs from the 30’s, 40’s and beyond, taking a fun and sentimental look at the many moods of love from first blush to a lifetime love affair. Their second show, Moonlight and Love Songs, took them on a romantic journey through many of the memorable songs from the silver screen, past and present. In addition to numerous appearances at The Gardenia, they’ve also performed at: the Ten20 Club, and The Vermont in Los Angeles; the Central California Cabaret Series with Broadway star Luba Mason; Billy Reed’s, Azul's, the Annenberg Theater in Palm Springs; and the Laurie Beechman Theater in New York.Maripat began her performing career at the age of six. She’s also an actress and dancer with credits in theater, film, TV, concerts, nightclubs, cabarets, radio and records.Richard, too, is an actor with an extensive background in musicals, as well as classical and contemporary theater.Maripat and Richard’s shows highlight their strong vocals, gorgeous harmonies, special arrangements, and an on-stage chemistry punctuated by moments of great humor. Their shows run the emotional gamut from lighthearted to poignant. The common thread uniting all of it is a celebration of life, love, and romance.Please be sure to check out their beautiful album, “Here’s to Love.”

Maripat Davis and Richard Osborn, Singing Duo-Episode #228

Please enjoy this Encore StoryBeat Episode, featuring John Davidson, one of the most extraordinarily gifted entertainers of this or any era. John’s probably best known for hosting the TV shows, The Hollywood Squares, That’s Incredible!, and as the guest host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson some 80 times, more than any other singer.  John has also hosted his own daytime talk show, many beauty pageants, the Tom Jones summer replacement series, as well as The Kraft Summer Music Hall with regular performers no less than George Carlin, Flip Wilson, and Richard Pryor.  As an actor, John has appeared in dozens of TV shows including The Streets of San Francisco, Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. And he starred opposite Sally Field in the TV series The Girl With Something Extra. You’ll also know him from the Disney films: The Happiest Millionaire and The One And Only Genuine Original Family Band! He can also be seen in Airport 80, Edward Scissorhands, and The Squeeze. But it was John’s performances in the major showrooms of Las Vegas that established him as one of America’s foremost entertainers. If you have the opportunity, you must see him live! Over 50 years ago, John made his Broadway debut in Foxy, starring the legendary Burt Lahr. Later, John would star in State Fair, and win a Theater Guild Award for playing Curly in the Broadway revival of Oklahoma! As well, John played The Wizard in the Broadway musical Wicked.  He’s also toured the US in multiple Broadway musicals. And he’s released 13 albums on the Columbia Records label.John and his wife, Rhonda, created the geography card game, BORDERLINE USA. He’s also written a book and a play. And most recently, he’s been entertaining America as a troubadour/singer/songwriter/storyteller with his original songs, his jokes, his guitar, and his backup singers, The Inflatables!For more, please visit johndavidson.com.

John Davidson, Singer-Actor-Host-Episode #164-ENCORE

Bill Mumy is an actor, songwriter, recording artist, producer, voice-over artist, musician, photographer, and writer. Entering the world of professional entertainment at the age of five, Bill has worked on over 400 television shows and is best known by fans around the world for the creation of many memorable roles, including: the iconic heroic boy astronaut, Will Robinson, on the long-running classic TV series Lost in Space; Anthony Fremont from The Twilight Zone; and Lennier from the popular science fiction series Babylon 5, in which he co-starred for five years. As a prolific songwriter and recording artist, Bill has produced numerous solo CDs, as well as being half of the infamous novelty rock recording and short filmmaking duo, Barnes and Barnes, best known for the classic demented song and film Fish Heads. He’s also worked with the pop group America off and on for over 30 years, composing, producing, and performing with the band. Bill has also served as a consulting producer on the long-running hit TV series Ancient Aliens. He’s written scores of comic books and television shows. And he’s collaborated with his Lost in Space co-star, Angela Cartwright, on three books. Bill’s autobiography, Danger Will Robinson: The Full Mumy, was recently published by Next Chapter Entertainment. It’s filled with fantastic stories and photos from Bill’s remarkable career in show business. Check out:ncpbooks.comBillMumy.com

Bill Mumy, Actor-Singer-Songwriter-Producer-Writer, Episode #227

Author, screenwriter and journalist, Stephen Rebello, majored in literature and psychology, ultimately earning a master's degree. Subsequently, he became a clinical social worker at a Harvard-affiliated teaching hospital in Boston. But it was during a vacation in Los Angeles that Stephen secured an in person interview with legendary director, Alfred Hitchcock. To Stephen, the interview seemed like a natural progression of the telephone calls he’d had with Mr. Hitchcock while growing up. The interview, which turned out to be Hitchcock’s last before his 1980 death, was published originally in Boston’s The Real Paper, and subsequently syndicated worldwide. That led Stephen to writing for magazines like: American Film, Cinefantastique, Cosmopolitan, GQ, Movieline (where he was Editor at Large), Playboy (where he was Contributing Editor), The Saturday Review, and others.Stephen’s book, Reel Art: Great Posters From the Golden Age of the Silver Screen has been honored as one of the best ever written about Hollywood. His second book, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, has been translated into eight languages, and was adapted for the big screen as Hitchcock, starring Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren and Scarlett Johansson, for which Stephen did several screenplay rewrites.He’s written three "making of" books for Disney Animation, worked on story and screenplay development for various Disney animated projects, and developed for ABC-Disney a live-action musical version of the animated classic Sleeping Beauty.Stephen’s critically acclaimed 2020 bestseller, Dolls! Dolls! Dolls! Deep Inside Valley of the Dolls, has been optioned for development for the screen. 

Stephen Rebello, Author-Screenwriter-Journalist-Episode #226

The brilliant jazz musician, Michael Wolff, is an award-winning, internationally acclaimed pianist, composer, bandleader, and now, author. In a long-running musical career, he’s been the musical director for the great Grammy-winning jazz singer, Nancy Wilson, and the award-winning The Arsenio Hall Show. He’s also been a member of Impure Thoughts, Wolff & Clark Expedition, and a co-star with his sons, Nat and Alex, on the series The Naked Brothers Band. Michael’s life story is detailed in his memoir, On That Note, released in 2022. I’ve read On That Note and can tell you Michael writes powerfully and movingly about his time in the jazz world, and his many challenging experiences he’s had while winding his way toward success in both music and life.Michael made his recording debut with Cal Tjader in the mid 1970’s and has since gone on to play and record with some of the greatest jazz musicians in the world, including legends like: Flora Purim and her husband Airto Moreira; Cannonball Adderly; Sonny Rollins, and The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, among many others.He's performed with, and conducted over, 25 symphony orchestras, including those in: Dallas, Fort Worth, Berlin, Atlanta, Memphis and Pittsburgh.Michael’s performed at Carnegie Hall, The Royal Albert Hall, Birdland, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Snug Harbor and Mezzrow, among hundreds of others in the U.S. and around the world.He’s released 21 recordings to critical and popular acclaim. Aside from performing with drummer Mike Clark in Wolff & Clark Expedition, he’s also part of a trio featuring Ben Allison on bass and Alan Mednard on drums. Michael also records and performs in conjunction with jazz radio station WBGO at the Yamaha Piano Salon in New York City.Michael’s a recipient of the BMI Music Award, the winner of the Gold Disc Award in Japan, and the recipient of the Hamptons International Film Festival’s award for best film score for the film, The Tic Code, starring his wife, Polly Draper, Carol Kane, Tony Shalhoub, Gregory Hines and Camryn Manheim. Michael has also composed the scores to other film and TV projects, including The Naked Brothers Band. He also wrote the score for Polly Draper’s 2018 film, Stella’s Last Weekend.

Michael Wolff, Jazz Pianist-Composer-Bandleader-Episode #225

The legendary, highly influential Rock ‘n Roll superstar, Suzi Quatro. Suzi made her stage debut playing bongos in her father’s jazz band, the Art Quatro Trio. At 14, she co-founded the all-girl band, The Pleasure Seekers, with her elder sister, Patti, playing a bass guitar that was as tall as she was. Suzi quickly became the band’s lead singer and front person. They successfully toured for 7 years before changing their name to Cradle. The group was then seen by the successful music producer, Mickie Most. He offered Suzi a solo contract, which eventually led her to working with the hit-making songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, resulting in her first huge hit, Can the Can, which went to number one in Great Britain, Europe, Japan and Australia, and sold 2.5 million copies worldwide.Suzi has sold over 55 million records. Among her numerous worldwide hits are: 48 Crash, Devil Gate Drive, The Wild One, She’s In Love With You, If You Can’t Give Me Love, and Stumblin In, a duet with Chris Norman.From 1977-79 Suzi played Leather Tuscadero opposite Henry Winkler and Ron Howard in the hit TV Series, Happy Days.  Other TV appearances include: Minder, Dempsey and Makepeace, Absolutely Fabulous, and Midsomer Murders.Among Suzi’s many other creative endeavors: she made her critically acclaimed West End debut in 1986 playing Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun. She wrote music and lyrics with Shirlie Roden for the Tallulah Bankhead musical, Talullah Who?, in which Suzi starred.  She’s even had her own radio shows on BBC Radio 2 since 1999. Her bestselling autobiography, Unzipped, released in 2007, was turned into Suzi’s one woman show which premiered at London’s Hippodrome.In 2016, Suzi released a book of poetry called Through My Eyes. In 2022, she released a second volume of poetry entitled, Through My Heart, Steve highly recommends. Through My Heart is powerfully personal, moving, intense, and quite deep. Suzi writes with passion and conviction, very much from her heart.Her first novel, The Hurricane, was released in 2017, and she’s already at work on the sequel.            Suzi continues to tour and release new albums, including 2019’s No Control, a collaboration with her son, Richard Tuckey, who co-wrote most of the tracks and played guitar. On her latest album, Uncovered, released on Sun Records, Suzi covers 6 classic soul, rock, and pop songs. The excellent documentary, Suzi Q, was released in 2019. Because of the attention it’s received, she’s now signed to do a movie of her life. Suzi remains a major creative force to be reckoned with. Her famous quote says it all, “I will retire when I go on stage, shake my ass, and there is silence.”In 2016, Suzi received an Honorary Doctor of Music Degree from Cambridge University, making her officially Dr. Quatro.

Suzi Quatro-Rock 'n Roll Superstar-Episode #224

Holly and Kelvin Reed are an up-and-coming musical theatre writing team who also happen to be married to one another. Their most recent effort, True North: A Magical New Holiday Musical, is slated to open in Orlando, Florida for the holiday season in 2022. Holly writes book, lyrics, and music along with Kelvin, who is a composer.Aside from True North, Holly and Kelvin contributed music and lyrics for That’s What Friends Do for Girlhood, The Musical, and for the grade school musical, Camp McAuliffe.Holly is an award-winning designer and the Owner and Creative Director of Reed Creative Group. She’s also the CEO of the popular MusicalWriters.com. She’s a member of ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild.Kelvin has served as a Music Pastor for over 25 years. He’s a choral director, pianist, composer and arranger and has produced several choral recording projects. His choirs have performed all over the United States, including in New Orleans with Lenny Kravitz. He’s also been music director and keyboardist for numerous high school and community theatre productions. Holly also happens to have designed the StoryBeat website, which she also manages.

Holly and Kelvin Reed, Musical Theatre Writers-Episode #223

Writer-director-producer, Amanda Raymond, is a New York transplant living in Los Angeles. Amanda wrote, produced, and directed the feature films, You Are My Home with Alyssa Milano, which can currently be found on Netflix, and My Favorite Girlfriend, that Saban Films released in the summer of 2022 for a limited theatrical run. Amanda also wrote, directed, and produced the award-winning short film noir thriller From Emily, that was on the reduced list for Oscar consideration in 2020. Amanda’s first novel, Son of Sherlock, was published in 2017. She’s currently at work on the sequel to it.

Amanda Raymond, Writer-Director-Producer-Episode #222

Writer-director, Charlie Peters, was raised in New York City before spending his high school years at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, England, where he was classmates with the director Charles Sturridge and actor Edward Duke.  Charlie then studied theater at the University of Connecticut and subsequently received a Schubert Fellowship to do graduate work in playwriting at Carnegie Mellon University here in Pittsburgh.  While at CMU, his plays were acted by fellow students including Holly Hunter and Cherry Jones.  After graduating, he returned to New York to work as a playwright. His plays have been produced at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club, Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons, The Actors Theater of Louisville and The Edinburgh Festival.  In 1978, Charlie was brought to Los Angeles by Columbia Pictures as part of a program looking for new writers, a program that turned out to be little more than a publicity stunt to distract from the bad PR Columbia had received as a result of its head, David Begelman, embezzling money from various actors.  Charlie’s first produced movie, Paternity, is based on a play he’d written while at CMU. It starred Burt Reynolds and was directed by David Steinberg.  He’s had a dozen other movies pr oduced including Blame It On Rio directed by Stanley Donen, Kiss Me Goodbye directed by Robert Mulligan, and Her Alibi, directed by Bruce Beresford. He’s also directed two of his own: Passed Away with Bob Hoskins, Maureen Stapleton and Frances McDormand and Music From Another Room with Jude Law and Brenda Blethyn. Charlie has doctored over forty other produced movies and many more unproduced ones.  Renee Zellweger won The Golden Bear Award at The Berlin Film Festival for the 2010 movie, My One and Only, that Charlie wrote. Hs most recent film was 5 Flights Up based on the novel by Jill Ciment, which starred no less than Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton.  

Charlie Peters, Writer-Director-Episode #221

Justin Fenton was a reporter for the Baltimore Sun for 17 years. A graduate of the University of Maryland College Park, Justin worked as a reporter and editor for the student newspaper, The Diamondback, and then started at The Sun as an intern. In 2010, Justin’s reporting led to an overhaul in how Baltimore police officers investigate sexual assaults. He was part of the Pulitzer Prize finalist staff recognized for their coverage of the Baltimore riots that followed the death of Freddie Gray. He was also one of the lead reporters who reported on Baltimore’s Gun Trace Task Force Scandal. Justin subsequently wrote a book depicting the entire case called We Own This City, which was later produced by HBO into a mini-series of the same name. Justin himself appears in two episodes of We Own This City, playing a press conference reporter. Along with several state awards, Justin is also a two-time finalist for the national Livingston Award for Young Journalists. The Maryland Daily Record, the local legal and business newspaper, named Justin as an "Influential Marylander".

Justin Fenton, Reporter-Author-Episode #220

Candi Milo is the busiest actress in voiceovers today. Among her numerous accomplishments, she was honored to take the mantle of the voice of Granny in all Warner Brothers Animation projects after the passing of the legendary voice talent, June Foray. For example, you heard Candi as Granny in Space Jam 2: A New Legacy with LeBron James, and also in various Looney Tunes cartoons.  She’s well-known for voicing Dexter in Dexter’s Laboratory, The Flea in Mucha Lucha, Coco and Cheese in Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, and literally thousands of other well-known characters. She may well be the voice of your childhood. She also happens to be an Annie Award nominee. Not only has Candi performed voiceover work in countless film and TV projects, you may have seen in her any number of on-camera commercials. On stage, she starred with Jennifer Holliday in the first touring production of Dreamgirls, directed by none other than the renowned, Michael Bennett.             Candi has published a dark comedy memoir, Surviving the Odd, which offers a glimpse into her wildly inappropriate childhood as seen through the eyes of a 7-year-old who unravels the story of how her once prominent-but-now-fading comedian/singer father, Tony, left show business in 1968 to open one of the first board and care homes in California – Milo Arms – to care for and shelter developmentally disabled and emotionally disturbed adults. I’ve read Surviving the Odd, and I can tell you it’s a beautifully written, intense and harrowing tale, but told with incredible heart and a lot of funny stuff, too. We’ll be hearing more about Surviving the Odd shortly. Candi has performed as a singer, stand-up comic, and starred in her one-person nightclub show across the country. She also gives inspirational talks about her unusual childhood and how it informed her life as an actor, mother, and passionate advocate for people dealing with mental illness and homelessness. Much like her father, Candi also gives voice to the homeless because too many people pretend not to see them on the street.For the record, Candi has lent her extraordinary voice talent to a few scripts that Steve has written – including playing Zadavia in the Warner Bros. cartoon, Loonatics Unleashed.

Candi Milo, Voiceover Actress-Author-Episode #219

The brilliant actress, Kandis Chappell, has appeared on Broadway in Stephen Sondheim's Getting Away with Murder and Neil Simon's Rumors, and in many of the most prestigious regional theaters across the country.She is an Associate Artist of the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, where she has appeared in more than 30 productions.She’s also worked extensively at South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa, California.Kandis has 3 San Diego Theatre Critics Circle awards, and is a 4-time winner of the best performance award from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. 

Kandis Chappell, Actress-Episode #218

Denise Gossett has been an actress in television and feature films for over 20 years. Denise can be seen in the feature films I Saw the Light, starring Tom Hiddleston, Get the Gringo, starring Mel Gibson, and the Morris Chestnut feature, When the Bough Breaks. Most recently, Denise worked on the romance feature, Gabriel’s Rapture, the thriller, 9 Windows, and a Hallmark movie, Baked with a Kiss.In addition to her acting career, in 2001, Denise founded the extremely popular Shriekfest Film Festival in Los Angeles.  Shriekfest is now in its 22nd year. For the record, a movie that Steve directed and co-produced, Lucky, won the awards for Best Feature and Fan Favorite at the 2003 edition of Shriekfest. 

Denise Gossett, Actress-Shriekfest Film Festival Founder-Episode #217

Naomi Beaty is a screenwriting teacher and consultant who works with writers, producers, and directors at all levels to develop their film and TV projects. Naomi has read thousands of scripts and worked with hundreds of writers, first in development at Madonna and Guy Oseary’s Maverick Films, and currently through group workshops and one-on-one coaching. She also worked alongside Blake Snyder on his book, "Save the Cat Goes to the Movies." And most recently, Naomi has published two books of her own, "The Screenplay Outline Workbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Brainstorm Ideas, Structure Your Story, and Prepare to Write Your Best Screenplay," and "Logline Shortcuts: Unlock Your Story and Pitch Your Screenplay in One Simple Sentence."

Naomi Beaty, Screenwriting Teacher-Consultant-Episode #216

Joel Drucker writes literary non-fiction and journalism.  He jokes that he’s “too sensitive to be a hard-boiled journalist – not sensitive enough to be a suicidal poet.”  Joel’s work has appeared in a variety of print and broadcast outlets, ranging from HBO, CBS and Tennis Channel to Racquet Magazine, Cigar Aficionado, and the New York Times.  He’s the author of two books – Jimmy Connors Saved My Life and Don’t Bet on It.  He’s also worked as story editor-researcher on four documentaries.  Tennis is the topic Joel writes about most, in large part a lens through which he sees the world.  Joel is one of the world’s most prominent tennis writers, having authored stories on dozens of notable players and events.  He’s also the historian-at-large for the International Tennis Hall of Fame and one of the co-hosts on a podcast titled “Three – A Show About Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.”  Joel graduated with high honors from UC Berkeley, earning a degree in history – a discipline that greatly informs his work as a writer.    So, for all those reasons and many more, it’s my distinct privilege to welcome the author and journalist, Joel Drucker, to StoryBeat today.  Joel, welcome to the show. 

Joel Drucker, Journalist-Author-Episode #215

Cara Friez is an experienced video producer, editor, and educator. She’s currently the Director of Education for the EdTech company, EditMentor, which teaches the art of video storytelling and the technical skills of video creation within a self-paced, interactive curriculum through a cutting-edge web-based platform.Before working for EditMentor, Cara taught editing in Point Park University’s Cinema Arts department, where she held the roles of Assistant Professor, head of the editing concentration, and ultimately Department Chair.  For the record, Cara and I are longtime friends having worked together for many years in the Cinema Department.Cara’s production credits include working with VEX Robotics, WPXI-TV, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and CBS’s As the World Turns.She’s served on the boards of The Steeltown Entertainment Project, Women in Film and Media Pittsburgh, and was a section manager for SMPTE Pittsburgh. She’s also an Adobe Premiere Pro Certified Expert and an Avid Media Composer Certified User. 

Cara Friez, Producer-Editor-Educator-Episode #214

Actor and Director, Apollo Dukakis, is a member and longtime resident artist of the Pasadena, CA based theater company, A Noise Within.  As a professional actor for over fifty years, Apollo has worked off-Broadway and in many prestigious regional theatres across the country, including: The American Conservatory Theatre of San Francisco, The Pasadena Playhouse, The Mark Taper Forum, The Actors’ Theater of Louisville, The Trinity Repertory Theater of Rhode Island, and many others. Along with his sister, the late Olympia Dukakis, he co-founded the Tony nominated Whole Theatre Company of Montclair, New Jersey, where he was Associate Artistic Director, actor, director, and teacher for fifteen years. In Los Angeles, Apollo was a company member of the acclaimed Antaeus Theatre Company. He’s the recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, the Dramalogue Critics Award, and the Ovation Award. His film work includes: American Heart with Jeff Bridges and The Last Action Hero with Arnold Schwarzenegger. TV appearances include: Seinfeld, ER, Beauty and the Beast, Doogie Howser, L.A. Law,  and many others. Apollo recently won the Best Actor In a Short Film Award from the London Greek Film Festival for the film Mr. Segur.

Storybeat with Steve Cuden

Storybeat with Steve Cuden

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