ABOUT THE EVENT:
The It Factor Productions’ Founder/CEO Alycia Kaback produces the VIP Talent Connect Networking Events to connect upcoming talent (models, actors, musicians and dancers) to established leaders in the entertainment industry through the power of networking.
This day-long networking event on Saturday, December 5th, 2015 will take place at Caroline's on Broadway in New York, N.Y. It will include discussion panels and workshops, and most importantly, networking opportunities, which will include one-on-one mentoring and demo-listening sessions (for musicians) with the entertainment industry’s top talent, Broadway producers, casting directors and label executives.
Top entertainment industry professionals will be attending as panelists, speakers, mentors, exhibitors and talent scouts. Their mission is to network and share their experiences with up-and-coming talent attending the event. There will be over 40 of the most influential and biggest names in the entertainment industry.
HIGHLIGHTED LIST OF SPEAKERS/MENTORS:
Pat Addiss (Tony Award-winning Producer)
Pat Addiss is one of the most prominent, Tony Award-winning female producers in theater. She has produced many notable Broadway musicals such as Promises Promises, Little Women, Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life, Bridge and Tunnel, Spring Awakening, 39 Steps, and Passing Strange. She has also had some very notable off-Broadway projects, including Shout and A Christmas Story.
Bill Apter (WWE Journalist)
Bill Apter is a professional wrestling journalist best known for being on the editorial staff for fan magazines and photographed matches from the 1970s to the present. The magazine he became most prominently known for was Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Bill currently runs www.1wrestling.com.
Geno Bisconte (Comedian)
Geno Bisconte has been described by fellow comics as a “fast-talking wise guy that you just have to love.” This five-year veteran of the Philadelphia and Washington DC comedy circuit now brings his talents to the New York City club scene. In addition to being a regular panelist on The Artie Lange Show and appearing on The Howard Stern Show, he has been the opening act for Artie Lange’s standup across the country.
Teri Bostaji (Director at Wilhelmina Kids and Teens)
Teri Bostaji is the Director at Wilhelmina Kids and Teens Talent Management. Wilhelmina Kids and Teens is the leading agency for kids and teens in New York City and a full-service modeling and talent management company. Clients can be seen in all of the major campaigns for fashion and commercial-print modeling.
Jennifer Brown and AnnaMarie Brown (VIP Talent Connect Parent and Alumni)
Past VIP Talent Connect attendee AnnaMarie Brown was signed with Wilhelmina Kids NY, and has modeled for Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, Parsons School of Fashion, Toys “R” Us, Scholastic, Parents Magazine, Dillard’s and many more. AnnaMaria has modeled for top brands, has played supporting roles in independent films, and attended the Radio Disney Music Awards..
Balthlier Corfi (Fashion Photograper)
Born in Mexico City, fashion photographer Balthier Corfi developed an interest in arts since his childhood. He is currently based in New York City and his list of clients and collaborations includes Vogue Mexico, Ricardo Seco, IMG models, Colby Models, Re:Quest model management, Q model management, International Race Horse Magazine, Ford Models, 429 Magazine among others.
David Doan (Theatrical Agent at CESD Talent Agency)
David Doan is a Theatrical Agent at CESD Talent Agency. He books actors of all ages for TV, film and theater. David has been working in the business for 15 years.
Previously, he was the Head of the Theatrical Department at GenerationTV, a talent manager at J. Mitchell Management, and also a casting director at Nickelodeon, where he helped cast pilots including Victorious and Big Time Rush. He was also nominated for a 2012 Daytime Emmy Award for casting Nick Jr.’s Bubble Guppies. He has the unique perspective of having worked as a talent manager, a casting director, and now, as an agent. His specialty over the years has been discovering young and breakout talent, and his clients are seen all over Broadway, on television and in film.
Lindsey Drucker (Central Casting)
Before joining the Central Casting team, Lindsey spent two years working at United Talent Agency in Los Angeles, in the Motion Picture Literary department, before moving back to New York to work on the set of GIRLS as Lena Dunham’s assistant.
Santino Fontana (“Prince Hans” in Disney’s Frozen)
Santino Fontana recently provided the voice of Prince Hans in Walt Disney's Frozen, which ranks as the highest-grossing animated film of all time and the highest-grossing film of 2013. Fontana’s Broadway debut was Sunday in the Park with George in 2007. Fontana originated the role of Tony in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot. He was awarded the 2010 Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his work in Brighton Beach Memoirs. He starred as Prince Topher in Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical.
Kristine Gasbarre (New York Times Best Selling Author)
Kristine Gasbarre is a celebrity interviewer and a culture and lifestyle contributor to women’s print and digital publications. She is a New York Times Best Selling Author for her book How to Love an American Man.
Steve Garrin (Emmy Award-winner, Voice Talent)
Steve Garrin started in show business in 1986 as a voice talent. Steve was the Broadcast Producer of the Drama Desk Awards (2004-2010). Some of Steve's video editing credits include videos for George Benson, Diana Krall, Joshua Redman & Simone Dinnerstein. He booked talent, records and produces interviews for Joe Franklin's WOR (1992-2004) and WBBR Bloomberg radio programs. He's worked on the “Aristocrats” with Paul Provenza, "Make 'Em Laugh" for PBS, recorded and directed Carol Channing reading her autobiography Just Lucky, I Guess. Steve co-authored (along with Rich Herschlag) Comedian Pat Cooper's autobiography How Dare You Say How Dare Me. Steve's professional associations include being a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, (GRAMMYS), National Association of Television Arts and Sciences, (EMMYS) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, (AFTRA), and The Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
Michael Levi Harris (Actor and Writer)
Michael Levi Harris is an actor and writer, known for The Hyperglot, Max Payne 3 and Baby Steps.
Randy Jones (Cowboy of Village People, Actor, Author)
Randy Jones is an actor, author, American Music Award-winner, multi-platinum recording artist and the original Cowboy of Village People. In his career, spanning four decades, he sold more than 100 million units, including the hits "Macho Man," "In the Navy,” and "Y.M.C.A.” Randy has appeared onstage in New York City and elsewhere, including When Joey Married Bobby, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Hello Dolly, Music Man, Carousel, Mame, Camelot and 42nd Street. He has earned more than 65 Gold and Platinum record certificates, toured worldwide, starred in the camp classic film, Can't Stop the Music, made the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, and in 2008, garnered a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. His latest film, Tales of Poe premieres in Los Angeles at the historic Grauman’s Egyptian Theater, August 2014.
Chris Lanston (Celebrity Makeup Artist)
Chris Lanston is an agency makeup artist based in New York City and Los Angeles represented by DGR Creative Talent Agency. He is a self-taught makeup, is the Fashion Director for Bella NYC magazine, has made a few cameos on reality shows, and is a commentator for Us Weekly’s “Fashion Police.” Lanston's work has been seen on numerous faces that have appeared on or have been part of shows such as America’s Next Top Model, To Be A Supermodel, Breaking Amish, Real Housewives of NY, X Factor, Celebrity Apprentice, Miss USA, and many others.
Vincent Lopez (Actor, Comedian)
Vincent Lopez is an actor and comedian who has had roles in Off-Broadway shows Tow Town, Bubblemakers, and independent feature films and shorts. Vince is also a standup comic who is an on-air personality on Michaela TV Live.
Gaspard Lukali-Lokote (ReQuest Model)
Founded in the spring of 2000 in New York City, Request Model Management has grown into a leading full service model management agency, representing and developing talent to meet the ever-changing needs of the fashion industry.
Johnathan McNeil (Past Contestant on American Idol)
Johnathan McNeil was from American Idol, Season 12, during which he was noted for his unique voice. Johnathan is signed with Colby KMM.
Lucy Pho (Senior Casting Director at Central Casting)
Before joining the Central Casting team in 2007, Lucy Pho had an internship with ESPN and previous casting jobs for The Real World and Deal or No Deal. Her casting credits include Girls (Pilot), Gossip Girl, White Collar, Flesh & Bone, the Cover Girl commercial ft. Whitney, and many more.
Patrick Quagliano (Founding Member of The LondonTheatre Exchange)
Patrick Quagliano is among the premier acting technique teachers in the world today. Actors familiar with Adler’s work, as well as professionals in the industry, acknowledge that Patrick understands and teaches the Adler method more clearly and precisely than any teacher practicing in New York. Patrick also has a longstanding relationship with The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He is currently the Academy’s U.S. representative, and is a founding member of The London Theatre Exchange.
James Ragan (Screenwriter for Paramount Pictures, Poet, Playwright)
James Ragan is screenwriter for Paramount Pictures and a playwright, and he has directed the University of Southern California Master of Professional Writing program for 25 years. He has taught internationally in universities, and he has given poetry readings in a number of international venues, among them the First International Poetry Festival in Moscow in 1985 and the United Nations. In 1997, he was named an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2008, he gave the keynote address at the World Literature Today Conference in Beijing, China.
Marthe Reynolds (Former Senior VP of Island Def Jam)
Marthe Reynolds has spent the last 30 years in the music industry specializing in radio promotion; her main area of expertise and interest is working with hip-hop and R&B artists. She has been a part of the success of artists such as Jay Z, Kanye West, Dru Hill, Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Jeezy, LL Cool J, Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Fat Joe, Diamond D, Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs, Childish Gambino, Mac Miller and many more world-famous performers.
Fugi Ruiz (Manager at IMG Worldwide)
IMG Models, a division of the global, sports, fashion and media company, IMG Worldwide, is ranked as the world's number-one international model management firm. IMG models has offices in New York, London, Milan, Paris, and Sydney. Fuji Ruiz is also a pop culture commentator on VH1.
Robert Russell (Former VP of Warner Brothers Casting)
Robert Russell is the former Vice President of Warner Brothers Casting, and has worked with virtually every major network, casting everything from feature to test shows, countless pilots and even reality shows. He is one of the most respected casting director/producers in the entertainment business from coast to coast. Robert is responsible for auditioning and casting Jay Overbye for ABC'S The Bachelor, Zora Andritch for FOX's hit Joe Millionaire, and has been the remote casting director/producer for seven of the 10 NYC open calls for the CBS hit show Big Brother, as well the NYC casting for mega game shows like FOX's The Moment of Truth.
Dina Torre (On-Camera Agent at GenerationTV)
Dina Torre is the head of on-camera for GenerationTV. GenTV is a full service talent agency in New York City that specializes in children on up to young adults. Dina’s clients can be seen as principal performers in many national network commercials such as, MasterCard, Estée Lauder, Target, Macy’s, Joe Fresh, JCPenney, McDonald’s, and Burger King, just to name a few. In addition, her kids have appeared in award winning spots for Apple’s iPhone and Capitol One with Jimmy Fallon. Many of her kids have done voiceovers on Dora the Explorer, Nickelodeon promos and Disney animation. Dina also represents “Gina the Giant” on Wallykazam, an exciting new Nickelodeon project. Dina has helped start the careers of Bella Thorne, who starred in Disney’s Shake It Up as Cece Jones, as well as, Elizabeth Gillies, who played Jade on Nickelodeon’s Victorious, Max Schneider in How to Rock as Zander, and the very talented Chloe Moretz. Dina is always happy to meet new and exciting talent to add to her already successful client list.