Storybeat With Steve Cuden

Melanie Zanetti, is an award-winning Australian actress of both stage and screen, who divides her time between Australia and the United States.         Melanie voices the role of Chilli, in the popular, internationally renowned, Emmy Award winning animation series, Bluey. Her most recent feature films include Raven’s Hollow, which was written and directed by Christopher Hatton, who has been a guest on StoryBeat, Gabriel’s Rapture, Love and Monsters, and Head Count, which is set to be released in 2024. Aside from Bluey, Melanie’s other TV credits include Young Rock, The End, The Bureau Of Magical Things, and The Leisure Class, which was produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.Melanie began her career in theatre and has played many iconic roles such as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion, Cathy in Wuthering Heights and numerous others since graduating from The University of Southern Queensland in 2007.

Robert Crane is the co-author of eleven books including Crane: Sex, Celebrity, and My Father's Unsolved Murder, My Life as a Mankiewicz, Bruce Dern: A Memoir, and Jack Nicholson: The Early Years. He contributed a short story called Wingding to the recently published story collection, Beyond Where the Buses Run: Stories. Robert is also the co-writer of Hostage for a Day, a Fox Television film directed by John Candy. And he wrote for Playboy for twenty years, including numerous celebrity interviews. Robert also happens to be the son of the late TV icon, Bob Crane, who was best known for playing Colonel Robert Hogan in Hogan’s Heroes during its six-season run. 

Michael Elias is an award-winning writer, actor and director who’s written film, television, theatre and fiction.            His new novel, You Can Go Home Now, is a timely and thoroughly entertaining psychological thriller featuring a female cop on the hunt for a killer while battling violent secrets of her own.  I’ve read You Can Go Home Now and can tell you it’s a deeply engaging mystery with a lot of heart. Michael is also the author of the novel, The Last Conquistador.            Born and raised in upstate New York, Michael moved to New York City after graduating from St. John’s College in Annapolis to pursue a career in acting. He was a member of the Living Theatre and acted at The Judson Poets Theatre, La MaMa, and Caffé Chino. Michael then transitioned to Hollywood and with Frank Shaw wrote the screenplay for The Frisco Kid starring Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford. With Eve Babitz he wrote Envoyez les Violons.  And then he began a long writing partnership with Rich Eustis. Together, they wrote the scree

          George Stevens, Jr. has crafted an extraordinary creative legacy over a career spanning more than 60 years as a screenwriter, director, producer, playwright and author. He’s enriched the film and television arts as a filmmaker and is widely credited with bringing style and taste to the high-profile, national television events that he has conceived. In doing so he’s lived one of the most profoundly influential American lives ever.             As a writer, director and producer, George has earned many accolades, including 15 Emmys, two Peabody Awards, the Humanitas Prize and 8 awards from the Writers Guild of America, including the Paul Selvin Award for writing that embodies civil rights and liberties. In 2012, George received an Honorary Academy Award for “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement.”             George served for eight years as Co-chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities following his appointment by President Obama in 2009.            He’s the Founding

            Ken Fallin began his career creating witty pen and ink caricatures for the long-running satirical revue, “Forbidden Broadway”.  Intended as an homage to the legendary theatrical caricaturist, Al Hirschfeld, this concept was so successful that Ken continued to design artwork for the show’s phenomenal thirty-year run.            Ken’s instantly recognizable, intricately detailed pen and ink celebrity portraits have been published internationally by such diverse and distinguished publications as The Wall Street Journal, In Style Magazine, The New Yorker, The Hollywood Reporter, L.A. Times, Washington Post, Politico, and Barron’s.            Ken has produced stylish and eye-catching art for major ad campaigns, posters and specially commissioned corporate gifts for HBO, Showtime, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Opera Company, American Express, CBS News, Walt Disney Productions, and Microsoft.            A TV commercial that animated Ken’s drawings for CNBC’s “Squawk Box” was nominated for an E

            Director-producer-author, Sheldon Epps has directed major productions on and off Broadway, in London and at many theatres across America. He’s also had an active television career helming numerous classic shows of recent years.                        Sheldon was first drawn to the stage while at Teaneck High School, and later graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in Drama.             He began his career as an actor studying at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Indiana Repertory Company, the Alley Theatre, the Pittsburgh CLO and The Production Company, which he co-founded and for which he directed various plays.             In 1980, Sheldon made his theater directing debut with the Off-Broadway musical Blues in the Night. It was revived in 1982, this time on Broadway. Since then he’s directed numerous other stage productions on Broadway and in regional theaters including: Scenes and Revelations, Play On!, Blue, and Purlie.            As well, since 1994, Sheldon has directed many me

Andrew Conte serves as the founding director of the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University.  He writes the Pittsburgh Public Editor column at NEXTpittsburgh. And he was an investigative reporter at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, where he won numerous national, state and local awards. Andrew has published several books, including Death of the Daily News, released in September, 2022, Breakaway, and The Color of Sundays, which explores the role of race in the National Football League mainly through how Bill Nunn, Jr. and the Pittsburgh Steelers identified undervalued players at historically black colleges. Netflix has optioned the book for a potential movie, and the Independent Book Publishers Association recognized The Color of Sundays with a Silver Benjamin Franklin Award. I’ve read The Color of Sundays and can tell you it’s a thoroughly researched, fascinating deep dive into how African Americans have become indispensable, elite players in high-profile sports.For the record, Steve and Andy have

Robert Kosberg is best known in Hollywood as, “The King of the Pitch,” for his ability to sell movie and TV stories to producers. After graduating from UCLA’s film program, Bob took a succession of minor entertainment industry jobs, while also writing scripts. He then moved to New York to work for a producer, where he found the time to look for his own material. He found a true story and was able to option it. Upon later returning to L.A., Bob began pitching this one true story idea while creating others. He found what he was always looking for: simple high concepts that no one knew about. A second true story sold to Lorimar that Bob and his writing partner wrote for that studio.Bob discovered that he was best at creating and/or finding great commercial material and then working to package those ideas with talent. Pitching is a major component of his success, which helped to launch his career as a producer.Bob learned that there is great 'power' in ideas. In time, his reputation grew as a "pitc

Jimmy Ryan has been Carly Simon’s guitarist since the 1970s. He’s an American artist, composer, producer, and author with a career that has spanned six decades. Beginning at seventeen, he and his college band, The Critters, had their first top forty hit, “Younger Girl,” which was followed by three charting albums and two more top forty hits, “Mr. Dieingly Sad” and “Don’t Let The Rain Fall Down on Me.”In 1970, Jimmy’s friend, Carly Simon, called him to put a band together for her. She was rising fast on the US and British top 40 charts with “That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be,” as well as her first album “Carly Simon,” on which Jimmy played guitar. Jimmy went on to perform with Carly on most of her future albums and continues to work off and on with her to this day. He's the guitar soloist on many of Carly’s hits, the most memorable being “You’re So Vain,” and the Academy Award winning song of the year, “Let the River Run,” from the movie, Working Girl. Aside from Carly Simon, Jimmy’s also reco

Peter Smith and Laura Smith are co-authors of the book, “My Travels Through the Maelstrom of Punk Rock.”Peter is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Sunderland, in the United Kingdom. Though paralyzed from the neck down, Peter continues teaching students online, while researching and writing about a number of subjects. He recently published articles and books on topics related to disability, postgraduate education, and rock music. He supports a number of students who are completing their Masters dissertations and PhD theses.  Peter is perhaps best known for his great contributions to Artificial Intelligence. Peter’s daughter, Laura, also publishes, sometimes with Peter, on topics relating to disability, rock music and the UK radio show “The Archers,” of which she’s a passionate follower and listener. Laura, who lost her sight at a young age, is a mother of two children and lives in the Northeast of the UK. She’s a qualified social worker, teacher, and a classically trained singing teacher.Peter and Lau

Leigh Marz is a co-author with Justin Zorn of the brilliant book called Golden, The Power of Silence in a World of Noise. Golden is a deeply researched, eye-opening revelation about just how important silence is, how much our world is currently lacking it, and ways to achieve silence that will enrich all of our lives. Leigh is a leadership and collaboration consultant with organizations including Harvard, Google, and IKEA, and she’s led a multi-year program teaching experimental mindsets to multigenerational teams at NASA. Leigh is also a longtime student of pioneering researchers and practitioners of the ritualized use of psychedelic medicines in the West.

David McGiffert was First Assistant Director on close to 50 feature films including: all three of the Back to the Future films, Rain Man, Batman Returns, Tootsie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Fisher King, Absence of Malice, Witness, The Firm, Vanilla Sky, King Kong, An Officer and a Gentleman and dozens of others. David began working in film in 1969 when a friend offered him a job as the second assistant director on a movie he was working on. Two weeks later, when that person quit, David inherited the first assistant director position and was tutored by the film’s very patient Director who had, himself, been an assistant director.Subsequently, David worked beside a succession of experienced mentors who put him in the right place at the right time and allowed him opportunities he would not have been able to find for himself. During David’s years as a First A.D. he never stopped learning the job, which is essentially carrying out the director’s wishes for the day’s shooting while guiding and facilitating the f

Jay Moriarty has written and produced some of the most beloved and revered half-hour comedies in television history including: The Jeffersons, All in the Family, Good Times, Maude, What’s Happening Now!!, Dear John, The Royal Family, Here and Now, Cosby, and Los Beltran. And he’s developed and written pilots for networks and studios including CBS, NBC, ABC, Warner Bros., Columbia, and Paramount.Jay’s recent memoir, Honky in the House: Writing & Producing The Jeffersons, sneaks the reader behind the scenes of this classic series for a close-up look at how sitcom sausage is made.Jay and his writing partner, Mike Milligan, sold their first freelance script to Norman Lear’s Good Times and were hired on staff at The Jeffersons where they began movin’ on up from Writers to Producers to Showrunners.Most recently, Jay published Deadeye, a cowboy comedy novel with heart offering a tip of the Stetson to Don Quixote. Jay is also the author/creator of the classic Sherlock Holmes board game 221 B Baker Street, which h

Ruslan K is the Chief Technology Officer of Filmustage, a technology company that is streamlining the film production process using neural network technology.With 10 years of development experience, Ruslan has been able to develop Filmustage technology to automate the script breakdown process, normally a painstaking task that is necessary in the production of motion pictures. A lifelong musician, Ruslan is also well-versed in sound design.  Filmustage.com Filmustage is offering a discount to StoryBeat listeners.  On the Filmustage site, enter StoryBeat30 for a 30% discount.

Mike Byrne created The Beatles Story Exhibition in Liverpool in 1990 with his wife, Bernadette, who was a Cavern Club regular who knew the Beatles well in the early years and became one of the first official Beatles Guides in Liverpool.  Mike was a fellow Merseybeat musician, who went on to work in marketing, theatre and promotions.  He saw the huge potential of Beatles tourism through what Bernadette was doing as a guide and became the manager of Beatle City – an ill-fated exhibition of memorabilia which he took on tour to Dallas, Texas in 1987.Mike was determined that Liverpool would have its own permanent Beatles exhibition, but found the Liverpool tourism board apathetic.  Mike and Bernadette realized they would have to do it themselves, eventually raising funding.  Creating the exhibition presented a multitude of challenges and hurdles, not least of which was securing permission from The Beatles!Their vision was to create an immersive experience that conveyed the feelings and emotions of key periods in t

Kate Linder was cast as Esther Valentine on The Young and the Restless 40 years ago, where she remains a key member of the top-rated daytime drama’s cast. Kate’s feature film credits include: Hysteria, Erased, Miss Meadows, Garry Marshall's Mother's Day, Charlie Matthau's The Book of Leah, and various others.Kate enjoys the best of two worlds -- on the air and in the air – because she never quit her pre-Young and the Restless weekend job as a United Airlines flight attendant, which she says keeps her grounded.Born in Pasadena, California, Kate entered dance classes at 3. By the time she finished high school, she’d appeared in major singing and dancing roles in Promises, Promises, Threepenny Opera, L’il Abner, Jesus Christ Superstar, and many more.Following graduation from San Francisco State University with a degree in Theater Arts, Kate worked part-time at the University, which is where she met her husband, Professor Dr. Ronald Linder, who subsequently joined the Public Health and Medicine fac

Christopher Hatton is a writer-director-producer based in Singapore.  His work ranges from sci-fi to drama to action to animation. He’s created projects in North America, the U.K., Europe and Asia.  He recently completed writing, directing, and producing Raven’s Hollow, an ambitious period thriller based on events in the life of a young Edgar Allan Poe.   I’ve seen Raven’s Hollow and can tell you it’s a terrifically entertaining, beautifully rendered, quite eerie mystery-horror-thriller. Some of Christopher’s other credits include Battle of the Damned with Dolph Lundgen, the robots-gone-berserk thriller Robotropolis, Cyber Wars with genre legend David Warner, Phantom Racer, and the first draft screenplay for what would become Shanghai Noon, among many others. Christopher earned an MFA in Playwriting from the University of Iowa where he took time out from writing plays to submit an unsolicited spec script to Star Trek: The Next Generation, which wound up being produced as a two-part episode.  This was immediat

Hilary Sloane is a journalist and documentary photographer living in the Mojave Desert. She researches, writes, shoots and works as an event reporter for local radio station Z107.7 FM.Hilary was an advertising photo stylist with various skills in production, wardrobe, set design, and makeup for many years in Los Angeles. She worked for, and with, numerous celebrities and well-known photographers and directors until 2008, when she saw an opportunity to leave L.A. and move to Joshua Tree, California. Hilary’s love for photography and writing inspired her to study journalism. She subsequently earned a certificate from Michigan State University. In 2017 and 2018, she traveled with Raleigh International, a British non-profit, as their photographer. In 2020, she joined a group of world-renowned photographers working with consultant, Christina Force, in which they share information and support. Hilary spends her free time photographing local wildlife around her home and dreaming up new projects that will take her in

David Carpenter is the CEO of Gamiotics, a live entertainment software company that enables real time communication between audience and content and is powering the next generation of immersive and experiential entertainment. Gamiotics’ mission is to deliver authentic experiences through audience agency. David is a twenty-year veteran of the entertainment industry and a Tony nominated producer. He got his start many years ago at the renowned theatrical office of The Dodgers. Eventually, he became a Dreamworks Theatricals executive, where he oversaw sales operations for Shrek The Musical.He’s currently a managing partner in the new interactive experience, The Twenty-Sided Tavern, which brings a Dungeons & Dragons style Role Playing Game into the live entertainment space using Gamiotics technology to power audience engagement. In 2019, David was the lead producer of the Broadway run of Slava’s Snowshow. He helmed the off-Broadway record breaking comedy Puffs, which ran for three years in New York and is in

Deborah Grace Winer is a theatrical writer, creator of theatrical revues and concerts, and she’s a leading expert on the American Songbook. Her new collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center--the Songbook Sundays Series at Dizzy’s Club--has been an instant sold out music destination. Deborah’s previous collaborations include Feinstein’s/54 Below, Birdland, and a decade as Artistic Director of the 92Y’s Lyrics & Lyricists™ concert series, steering the venerable series back to audience and critical acclaim.  She collaborates with top-tier artists from Broadway and the music world and works with leading institutions.  Among Deborah’s various books, On the Sunny Side of the Street: The Life and Lyrics of Dorothy Fields, was named by the Wall Street Journal one of the five best books on American Songwriters. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times and numerous other publications.  And her plays have been produced off-Broadway and regionally.  Deborah’s been featured on PBS’ American Masters, as well as