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

Joshua: Joshua is a diverse, singing actor who has worked on Broadway and regionally at esteemed theaters such as Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Theatre Under the Stars, Folger Theatre, Triad Stage, and Signature Theatre. His television appearances include "FBI," "Law and Order," "Law and Order: Organized Crime," "Law and Order: SVU," "Lincoln Rhyme," and HBO’s "Paterno." Joshua co-founded and served as Artistic Director of the Helen Hayes Award-winning No Rules Theatre Company in Washington, DC, and Winston-Salem, NC.

Mike Labbadia (co-host) an actor, producer, writer and filmmaker, a “multipassionate” you can say. As a company member of BEDLAM he's appeared Off-Broadway in shows from Arcadia to Julius Caesar. Regional work includes Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Gulfshore Playhouse, Penguin Rep and Virginia Rep. He's in the upcoming film "On the End" with Tim Blake Nelson. As a producer he's had films premiere at prestigious festivals around the world.

In this episode, we discuss these "Rules" actors should break:

06:15 - Rule 1 - Don't pitch yourself

• Sent 37 self pitching emails, without an agent, and booked a Broadway show

9:03 - Rule 2 - Don't complain to our Reps

12:45 - Rule 3 - We can only be one "kind of artist"

17:15 - Rule 4 - Wait until you have a big project to grow an audience

21:20 - Rule 5 - Don't actively pursue industry relationships

15:52 - Rule 6 - Take on Gig work to support your career

30:29 - Rule 7 - Let the Industry define you as an artist

PODCAST DESCRIPTION: “CREATIVE RISK”, is a new podcast hosted by actors Joshua Morgan and Mike Labbadia of Artist’s Strategy where they explore all things art, entrepreneurialism and everything in between. The acting industry is more volatile and competitive than ever before, therefore the artist must evolve in order to take radical ownership over their creative businesses. Each episode, Mike and Joshua will get raw and unfiltered, giving hot takes and cutting edge strategies on how to build a sustainable career in the arts. 

Guest:

For Joshua Morgan :

A graduate from Aberystwyth University, BEN THOMPSON left Wales and London to settle in New York. Soon after arriving he joined the Tribeca Film Festival where he is currently the VP of Shorts Programming. From the start of his career as a filmmaker Ben has always had a keen interest in short form storytelling and discovered while at Tribeca a passion for programming and presenting short films to new and engaged audiences. He is fascinated by the influence film has on our world and culture and travels to search out new stories from around the globe. He has watched over 12,000 short films for Tribeca alone.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Internships that prepared him for working at Tribeca Festival

• Pros/Cons for submitting early to film festivals

• The process for programming short film blocks for the festival and advice for short film filmmakers who want to submit to festivals like Tribeca (timing, theme, etc)

• Whether filmmakers can monetize short films and the value from having your short in a festival

• Festivals are seasonal work and the different festivals he used to work in one year and moving to a full time position

• What goes into a Festival Coordinator position and working as a liaison between the festival and the filmmakers

• Whether it’s important to have celebrities or famous people in short films

• What’s important in a cover letter - description and how you are positioning your film

• What he recommends is the most important investment in creating your short film.

• Benefits he’s seen of screening at Tribeca and other opportunities available for short film filmmakers at the festival

• Internal scoring process at Tribeca

• Advice for those who want to be a programmer at a festival

Guest:

Presenting... Part 2 of my Filmmaker Roundtable at the Hampton International Film Festival.

In this episode, we talk to the filmmaking teams of four short films. We delve into the process of creating their films and their experience at the festival.

Including:

• Director Jack Kendrick and Producer Taylor Ervin for TORNADO: A struggling contractor risks his young sons’ wellbeing to cut a sweet deal.
• Director Geneva Peschka and Cinematographer Safiyah Chiniere for THE SOLACE OF SISTERHOOD: The Caramel Curves are an all-Black female biker crew in New Orleans that defies societal norms by embracing their multifaceted identities.
• Director Jenifer McShane for QUILTERS: The movie follows a men's quilting group inside a maximum security prison as they create personalized quilts for local foster children.
• Director Lily Ahree Siegel for EQUAL PLAY: The movie delves into the lives of disabled youth, uncovering the transformative power that sports can wield.

Tom Nesher - Director & Writer

Born in Los Angeles in 1996, Tom Nesher is a graduate of the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School. She directed four award winning shorts, and has created dozens of unique freeform documentary pieces as a journalist at one of Israel’s most prominent networks. Come Closer is Nesher’s debut feature film.

Logline:

When Eden’s beloved brother suddenly dies, she takes desperate measures to fill the void. Once she discovers he had a secret girlfriend, these measures assume a passionate and dangerous twist.

The 2024 Israeli film Come Closer won several awards, including Best Film at the Ophir Awards, and will represent Israel at the 97th Academy Awards.

Come Closer won the Viewpoints Award at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. It recognizes films that present "bold and exceptional voices" in independent cinema.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Her first feature film ‘Come Closer’ after directing three short films

• The 5 year filmmaking process which included 4 months of rehearsal

• Adapting the film as she processed her grief over the years

• Tom’s experience at Tribeca Film Festival

• Her unique process with her actors: they read it, they improvised the scenes, and then Tom rewrote it

• Her advice for filmmakers is to trust and listen to your crew and your team

Presenting... Part 1 of my Filmmaker Roundtable at the Hampton International Film Festival.

In this episode, we talk to the filmmaking teams of two feature narratives and one documentary. We delve into the process of creating their films and their experience at the festival.

Including:

• Delaney Buffet (Director, Lead Actress, Writer) and Katie Corwin (Lead Actress, Writer) for Adult Best Friends. Nothing holds a mirror up to your life more than the examination of a friend from childhood. While Katie (Katie Corwin) should be celebrating her engagement to John (Mason Gooding), she can't help but fret over what her best friend, Delaney (Delaney Buffett), will think. Driftless and unambitious, her opinions and feelings matter most to Katie. In an effort to reconnect and break the news gently, she plans a girls' trip to assuage her codependent friend, setting the stage for a hilarious buddy comedy. With an attractive cast (including Zachary Quinto, Cazzie David and Alexander Hodge) and zippy dialogue, closeness and self-deprecating humor are felt through the screen.