Storybeat With Steve Cuden

Dakin Matthews is familiar to audiences the world over.  He’s an actor, playwright, dramaturge, teacher, director, translator, emeritus English professor, and Shakespeare scholar. He’s been a leading actor in over 250 professional plays—eight on Broadway, including recently Waitress and To Kill a Mockingbird. Dakin is a member of both the Motion Picture and the Television Academies and has appeared in over 30 feature films, including: True Grit, Bridge of Spies, and Lincoln; and over three hundred television episodes, including shows such as: The Gilded Age, The King of Queens, Desperate Housewives, The Office, and Gilmore Girls. He’s been the Artistic Director of four professional theatre companies. His multiple award-winning scripts – adaptations, translations, and originals – have been performed across the country. Dakin won a Drama Desk Award for his Broadway adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV. His eleven rhyming verse translations of Golden Age comedies are currently being published by LinguaText. He&a

Margy Whitmer produced the beloved TV series, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, for many years. After production ended in 2001, she continued on with Fred Rogers Productions, producing live-action segments for Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood through the end of 2018, after which she remained a script consultant on the show through season 6.  Over the years, Margy has also been the liaison for Fred Rogers Productions to PBS’s Ready To Learn Initiative. She co-created, wrote and produced video-based early childhood professional development workshop materials. And she was the project director for two series of picture books, “First Experiences” and “Let’s Talk About It.” She has held production and administrative positions at WQED-TV for both local and national programs, including the “Once Upon a Classic” series and National Geographic Specials. Margy has served on the board of the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, ultimately as board President. She’s been a volunteer reader for Read Together and a steeri

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 docum

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 Christma

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 c

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, fil

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 m

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 se

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 Holly

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,

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

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 hig

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.

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,

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

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, Surviv

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. 

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. 

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."

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