Storybeat With Steve Cuden

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 Certifie

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 ap

Dobie Maxwell has made a successful living in standup comedy since 1985. Starting in 1990, he’s had several stints in morning radio. Dobie has appeared numerous times on national and regional television. And from 1995 to 2020, Dobie taught his "Maxwell Method of Standup Comedy" at Zanies Comedy Clubs in Chicago to more than 3000 students. Dobie’s a published author of a true crime story about his life called "Monkey in the Middle.'' And he currently co-hosts a critically acclaimed podcast about all things diabetes called "Just My Type." Originally from Milwaukee, Dobie currently makes his home in Bristol, Wisconsin, where he continues to tweak and improve his craft for a post pandemic new normal.

Scott McGee is a Senior Director of Original Programming at Turner Classic Movies.  He’s also a programmer for the TCM Classic Film Festival and the TCM Cruise. Scott frequently presents at TCM events and other film festivals.Recently, Scott authored one of the most enjoyable books about the movies that I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. It’s called, Danger on the Silver Screen: 50 Films Celebrating Cinema’s Greatest Stunts. If you like behind-the-scenes stories of how movies are made, and especially about spectacular stunts and the extraordinary people who pull them off, then I cannot recommend Danger on the Silver Screen enough.

Comedy writer and novelist, John Vorhaus, is best known for his comedy-writing classic, “The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You’re Not.” His writing credits include dozens of teleplays and screenplays, plus seven novels and numerous books on comedy, writing, creativity and poker. John has taught and trained writers in 37 countries on five continents, and created TV shows of his own in Nicaragua, Romania and elsewhere. His latest book, “the little book of STANDUP,” explores his late-blooming interest in standup comedy. John’s a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and a member of the Writers Guild of America. 

Entertainment attorney, Robert M. (“Bobby”) Schwartz ,is a partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office and co-chair of the Media & Entertainment Industry Practice. Over the last 30 years, Bobby has become a nationally recognized leader in large-stakes and often precedent-setting cases, particularly in the entertainment and media fields. He’s represented every major motion picture studio and broadcast network, as well as film production companies, pay TV services, video game developers, record companies, recording artists, producers, writers, directors, and actors. Bobby has had extensive experience and success in copyright, trademark, unfair competition, royalties and participations, First Amendment, defamation, employment, and complex business disputes. He has handled more than 100 class action cases around the country. He’s also handled substantial disputes for companies well outside the media industry.

Alan K. Rode is a noted biographer and film scholar. He is the executive producer and host of the long-running Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival. Alan is also the co-programmer and co-host of the Noir City Hollywood and Chicago film festivals. He’s a charter director and treasurer of the Film Noir Foundation, which is dedicated to resurrecting lost films from the classic noir era.  He’s also a frequent presenter at the TCM Classic Film Festival and other events.Alan’s book, Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film, was published in 2017 to rave reviews.  In April 2018, Alan co-hosted an in-depth Michael Curtiz spotlight series on Turner Classic Movies with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz. He also authored Charles McGraw: Film Noir Tough Guy. And he’s published essays and profiles for a variety of publications including his blog, One Way Street. Alan writes and narrates track commentaries while producing and appearing in documentaries on numerous Blu ray releases of classic films, including the Michael Curtiz documentary featuret

This is a StoryBeat Encore episode!You’re likely already a fan of the actor and bestselling author, Cary Elwes, who you surely know from his many starring roles in memorable, popular films, including: The Princess Bride, Lady Jane, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Saw, Kiss The Girls, The Cradle Will Rock, Justice League, and the Billionaire Boys Club among dozens of others. Cary recently starred alongside Michael Sheen and Natalie Emmanuel in The Last Train to Christmas. He’s slated to star alongside Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 7 for director Christopher McQuarrie. And he’s starring opposite Jason Statham in Guy Ritchie’s next film, Five Eyes. Other recent films include the Netflix feature A Castle for Christmas, as well as the The Unholy, which was produced by Sam Raimi, and the indie film, Best Sellers, opposite Michael Caine.You also know Cary from his numerous appearances on such popular TV shows including: Psych, Stranger Things, Family Guy, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and The Art o

Karen Leigh Hopkins became a writer, director, and producer because she repeatedly got cut out of films like The Breakfast Club and Three Amigos, and didn’t want to go back to Sandusky, Ohio, and work on a factory line like her mother. With twenty-one bucks to her name, out of desperation, she wrote a screenplay in 12 days and sold it “overnight” which launched her writing career. Karen’s writing credits include Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, Stepmom, Because I Said So, and Miss Meadows, which she also directed. Karen also wrote and directed A Woman’s a Helluva Thing. She received an Emmy nomination for Showtime’s What Girls Learn, and she won the Humanitas Award for ABC Family’s Searching For David’s Heart. She also sold and produced a branded series for the Web with Sony/Crackle. Karen co-wrote a series of films with Eleanor Coppola called Love is Love is Love, and she was a writer-associate producer on the Apple series Little Voice.Recently, she sold a series called Aqua Tofana to Netflix, for which she is

Author and educator, Stephen Galloway, joined Chapman University in 2020 as the Twyla Reed Martin Dean of Film and Media Arts at Dodge College.  He’s best known for his role as executive editor and producer at The Hollywood Reporter, where he served for almost 30 years. Stephen created and produced series such as “The Hollywood Masters“ and “Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter.” Over the past decade, Stephen has worked to bring in and support diversity in the entertainment industry. Through a partnership between The Hollywood Reporter and Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, he created the award-winning Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program, pairing high school juniors from South Central L.A. with top-level women in film and TV. More than 250 teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds have participated and gone on to college.Stephen spearheaded The Hollywood Reporter’s new Empowerment in Entertainment event. Oprah Winfrey and Stephen joined forces to launch` a leadership program for young men a

Actor-singer-dancer-educator, Billy Hartung, has over 1000 performances on the Broadway stage to his credit. Billy’s been featured in three Broadway shows, Side Show, Footloose, and Minnelli on Minnelli. He can also be seen singing and dancing in the Academy Award winning movie musical “Chicago.” You can hear Billy singing on the original soundtrack recordings of all four of the aforementioned shows.He was invited to perform in the 75th Annual Academy Awards. He also performed in the 25th Anniversary of the Kennedy Center Honors, in featured tributes to Chita Rivera & Elizabeth Taylor. A Pittsburgh native, Billy has performed with the Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, City Theater, The Pittsburgh Playhouse, The Pittsburgh Symphony and Front Porch Theatricals, where he was last seen in the local premiere of the musical, Big Fish, playing the lead role of patriarch, Edward Bloom, a role that made him runner-up for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Performer of the Year.Billy is currently the Executive Di

Adryan Russ writes music and lyrics for theater, film, television and recordings. Her off-Broadway musical Inside Out, co-written with playwright Doug Haverty, played The Cherry Lane Theater in New York, and has been produced in many theaters across the U.S., in Europe, and for three years in Belgrade, Serbia. Also co-written with Doug Haverty, the musicals Love Again, and iGhost, which is a modern telling of “The Canterville Ghost,” were produced in Los Angeles. Her CD “Everyone Has A Story” showcases cabaret and theater songs. The CD, “Changing My Tune,” features jazz-based new standards co-written with Joel Evans.  One appears in the film Doubt, others in Netflix’s Holidate and Disney+’s WandaVision, and yet another was selected by the Australian Discovery Orchestra for Broadway Records’ CD 16 Stories: New American Musicals. Legendary songstress Sue Raney recorded Adryan’s song “Late In Life,” co-written with Shelly Markham. Barry White recorded Adryan’s “The Better Love Is, The Worse It Is When It’s Over.

Brian Drusky has been a concert and events promoter for more than two decades here in his native Pittsburgh. Brian founded Drusky Entertainment more than ten years ago after many years working with well-known concert promoter DiCesare-Engler Productions, which was one of the region’s top-grossing concert producers, a space in the local entertainment spectrum that Brian now occupies.            Drusky Entertainment currently presents hundreds of live concerts and events every year throughout the Western Pennsylvania region.            One of Brian’s greatest achievements is in helping to bring a wide variety of events and acts to the revered Music Hall of the Carnegie Library of Homestead, ranging from Patti Smith to Frank Caliendo, to Cary Elwes and even William Shatner, the latter two of which I know a little, since I was privileged to moderate the Question and Answer sessions for both events. 

Andy Marx is an award-winning photographer, writer, and musician, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, Premiere, Movieline, and Cigar Aficionado, among others. His photography has been exhibited throughout the world, including in the U.S., Europe, and Israel.In 2020, Andy's first novel, “Royalties,” was published to enthusiastic reviews. The multi-generational, historical romance is based on the lives of his paternal grandfather, the legendary comedian, Groucho Marx, and his maternal grandfather, the renowned songwriter, Gus Kahn, whose hits include "It Had to Be You," "Makin' Whoopee," and "Dream a Little Dream."Andy has produced special programming for Sirius/XM’s “Siriusly Sinatra” channel. And he’s currently recording an album of many of his grandfather’s most famous songs. The first single, “Ukulele Lady,” was recently released.Andy co

The prolific playwright and screenwriter, Myla Lichtman Fields, received training at The Juilliard School of Drama and a Ph.D. in Communications-Drama with a minor in film from the University of Southern California.  As a staff writer at Universal Studios, she penned episodic TV shows, Movies of the Week, and an NBC special.  Myla’s play, Felix & Fanny, will be presented in November, 2022, at the Barbican Centre's Milton Court Theatre in London featuring The Carducci String Quartet.   California Artists Radio Theatre recorded Felix & Fanny with Michael York and Samantha Eggar, airing it on NPR and Sirius XM radio.  Felix & Fanny is the first of Myla’s 4 Musicmakers Plays.  California Artists Radio Theatre also recorded Brigid of Kildare, featuring Samantha Eggar, Monte Markham, and a star-studded cast.  Olympia Dukakis read the lead role of Sara in Myla’s play, Learning to Dance in the Rain in New York City. It was also a semi-finalist in the Ashland New Play Festival and a Finalist in the IA

Ed Driscoll is an Emmy Award-winning comedian, writer and producer who’s worked with some of the biggest stars in the entertainment industry including Billy Crystal, Morgan Freeman, Joan Rivers, Michael Bublé, Justin Timberlake and Dennis Miller – just to name a few! From variety shows to sitcoms to movies to live theater, Ed has been a performer, writer, and producer at the highest levels of his field for over 25 years.            Ed’s written for shows including: The Academy Awards (for which he received an Emmy nomination), Comic Relief, Stand Up To Cancer, ESPN’s ESPY Awards, Whose Line Is It Anyway, Dennis Miller Live (for which he won both an Emmy and Writers Guild Award), Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Melissa & Joey, The Showbiz Show with David Spade, I Kid with Brad Garrett, Michael Buble’s Christmas in New York, The Drew Carey Show, Ultimate Beastmaster, Still Laugh-In, and The Final Table. Ed has also written stage material for big acts like Robin Williams, Bob Newhart, Howie Mandel and Louie Ander

Lighting Designer, Paula Dinkel, fell in love with stage lighting in junior high school.  Her dance and music training were a perfect lead-in to a life in entertainment lighting design.  Growing up in a military family prepared her for frequent travel and overseas relocations.She earned her BA, MA and MFA from Cal State University Fullerton in both lighting and scene design. While a student, she worked as an assistant technical director, and became a founding member of the Cabaret Dinner Theater in Fullerton CA.  Paula taught part time at Golden West College, Cal State San Bernardino, and full time for a year at USC in Los Angeles. In 1980, Paula was recruited by WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering) and began her 38+ year career in theme park lighting design.  Her most notable design projects include numerous shops, restaurants, and landscapes at Disneyland. She was the lead lighting designer for DisneyQuest at Walt Disney World and Chicago, and for Club Disney and Disney Studios Paris. Her favorite

Marcus Stevens is a New York based writer, actor and director. He wrote the book and lyrics for the award winning musical, Mythic, along with composer Oran Eldor.  Mythic was a winner of the NAMT Festival and subsequently had successful productions in both London and Montreal. The London production of Mythic also gave birth to an Original Cast Album, produced by Broadway Records. Marcus’s professional writing career began by winning the Richard Rodgers Award for Red, which he wrote with composer Bree Lowdermilk. His show Yo, Vikings! with composer Sam Willmott, was featured in the HBO Documentary, Song of Parkland, and has been produced all over North America. Marcus and composer, David Dabbon, were commissioned by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera to write the original musical, Game On, which was produced during the CLO’s 2019 season. Marcus has developed, directed and contributed material to Theaterworks USA’s Dragons Love Tacos and Other Stories, which enjoyed a two-year U.S. tour. His family musical Wake U

The writer, Jon Krampner, is a native of Brooklyn. He spent the Carter administration getting fired from small newspapers, then moved in 1980 to Los Angeles, where he taught English as a Second Language for 27 years in the adult division of the Los Angeles Unified School District. This provided him with the economic basis to produce his critically acclaimed but non-bestselling books, The Man in the Shadows: Fred Coe and the Golden Age of Television, Female Brando: The Legend of Kim Stanley, and Creamy and Crunchy: An Informal History of Peanut Butter, the All-American Food. His next book, Ernest Lehman: The Sweet Smell of Success, will be published by the University Press of Kentucky in fall of 2022. 

The brilliant, multi-talented Frank Ferrante, has enjoyed a 35-year career in the theater as an actor, director and producer.At age 23, he debuted Off-Broadway in the title role in Groucho: A Life in Revue written by Arthur Marx, son of the legendary comedian Groucho Marx. For that role, Frank won New York’s Theatre World Award and a New York Outer Critics Circle nomination. He revived the role in London’s West End, where he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for ‘Comedy Performance of the Year.’ Since then, he’s reprised the role more than 3,000 times in over 500 cities throughout the world primarily in his touring solo show An Evening With Groucho, which was filmed at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and re-titled Frank Ferrante’s Groucho for broadcast on PBS.The Chicago Tribune named Frank a 2019 top ten theater performer for his work as comic host, The Caesar, in the cirque spectacular, Teatro ZinZanni – a role he’s played for 20 years. At Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre, he directed an