Friday, August 25, 2017

Unfinished Works Screenplay Reading & Workshop: MIRROR MIRROR

AAARI-CUNY, 25 W. 43 Street, NYC

6:30-8:30pm

Join us for Film Lab's first table read of a condensed version of AAFL TV's new pilot addressing gender discrimination! Be part of the creative process! Actors are welcome to bring headshots and resumes for casting director, Jason Wong, for consideration for the show. To allow everyone the opportunity to contribute to and engage in the workshop, attendance will be limited. Special thanks to sponsors AAARI-CUNY and Bakerly.

In MIRROR MIRROR, a diversity expert is given the opportunity of her life when she’s hired to clean up a company rife with harassment -- only to discover that instead of her bringing them up, she’s being dragged down into their corporate muck. It’s a story of ideals vs. ambition, with some humor “torn-from-the-headlines” thrown in for good measure. Mirror Mirror, addressing all the reflections of a woman in today’s workforce, is Scandal meets Silicon Valley, exploring some themes from 13 Reasons Why with the much lighter touch of Big Bang Theory. The pilot episode is being produced by Film Lab and series creator Jennifer Betit Yen, written by award winning writer and Emmy nominee Cheryl L. Davis and directed by multi-time Emmy nominee Jason Wong.

Moderated by:

Xiao Yu, moderator of this screenplay reading, works as an Advocate at Womankind. She provides trauma-informed counseling and wellness groups for survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual violence by integrating traditional talk therapy and a variety of healing modalities, including poetry, acupuncture, yoga, art therapy, and drama therapy. Xiao believes that it is human nature to create and connect, and that healthy relationships hold power to heal. She also conducts community outreach for colleges and universities, and city agencies. She has presented at American Mental Health Counseling Association (AMHCA) on treating trauma in survivors of gender-based violence. Xiao has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Interpretation from China, and a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Syracuse University.

Reading Cast

(in order of appearance)

The following professional actors have generously volunteered their time to bring the words of a condensed version of one of the first episodes of this series off the page:

Stage Directions: Adenike Thomas

Adenike hails from Queens. A graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, she has worked with Manhattan Theatre Club, The Lark, Actors Theatre of Louisville and is a member of The Flea's resident acting company, The Bats. You can find Adenike in the new webseries, Living with Strangers: https://livingwithstrangerstv.com

Cici Stanton: Jennifer Betit Yen

Despite being born in the very late 20th Century, Jen Yen has somehow been kicking ass for 1437 years. Her passion and drive has excelled her through such fine universities as Cornell, where the weather is questionable but the food is divine. You’ll be seeing her on Season 2 of the TBS series Search Party.

Ed Stanton: Gregory Jones

Gregory Jones is a longtime SAG-AFTRA member. He is not a doctor but has played one numerous times on television.

Subway Mom: Geiddy Muñoz

Geiddy is currently a Marketing Manager at CBS Television Stations. She's been in community theatre groups from a young age and has worn many hats from Actress and Dance Captain to Stage Manager. She has recently appeared in the Lehman College Dept. of Music musicals and The Riverdale Repetory Company productions.

Bob Moore: Robert McKay

Robert G. McKay, a New York actor who has appeared on numerous TV commercials, episodics and feature films, including the acclaimed Hidden Figures.

Rob Hughes: Sean Scanlin

Sean Scanlin is a New York based director who loves his actors so much he pretends to be one. Sean's directorial work ranges from clients such as Cirque du Soleil to the Vidanta Resorts chain, but he's most proud of his upcoming TV series that breaks down stereotypes and takes the prescription drug epidemic head on.

Bobby Simons: Joe Tex

Joe Tex can be been seen performing in NYC’s LIVE Japanese Game Show, BATSU! Recent credits include Brain Games (NatGeo) and All Worked Up (TruTV). Joe worked with Atomic Productions to develop The Ranking Game for GSN. Joe Tex is a Partner and Director of Operations for acclaimed comedy company Face Off Unlimited and an Executive Producer at FOU STUDIOS. Joe Tex lives in Astoria, Queens with his wife Linda and they are expecting their first child in early October. Joe Tex is represented commercially by Jordan McKirahan at JM-TA.

R. Gloworth: Stephen Lin

You will see Stephen Lin on Syfy this Fall in Happy! - an upcoming American television drama series based on the comic book series of the same name created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Darick Robertson. You've seen him reoccurring on USA's Mr. Robot. The Emmy-Award winning episode of Netflix's Master of None. And HBO's critically-acclaimed series High Maintenance. Collaborated with Academy Award winning Tom McCarthy on The Cobbler & Academy Award Winning Brian Jenkins on Tall Enough. A local NYC stand up comedian, Stephen was born in Keelung, Taiwan and immigrated to the United States at the age of 5. He graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in Philosophy, History, and Economics and attended the Lee Strasberg Institute.

Debra: Keila Muñoz

Debra has been dancing since the age of four, and acting since the age of eight. She has participated in musical theatre productions as a member of the Riverdale Rep Company. Most recently she appeared in the play

"The Girlfriend Zone" by Juliisa Williams playing Dr. Harrison. Off screen she is a Greeter at Ripley's Believe It or Not.

Matt: Dan Chen

Dan joined the Screen Actors Guild with a guest-starring role on the HBO hit series The Sopranos and has since appeared in over 50 productions.

He is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Cornell University, and Brooklyn Law School. During the school year,

Dan serves as Upper School Faculty at Lacordaire Academy, where he teaches Acting, Film, Law, History, and Tennis. www.DramaLaw.com

Dudes 1 and 2: Georges Bridges

Georges Bridges is a member of SAG-AFTRA and a volunteer at the Film Lab. He can most recently be seen in the AAFL TV web series on xenophobia, “Night,” available on www.YouTube.com/asamfilmlab.

Tamra: Tamar Lopez

Tamar Lopez is a spiritual artist, writer, and mental health advocate, and graduate of CCNY, having earned two BAs in Theater and Psychology. She began her acting career at age 12 by studying musical theater at the Abrons Art Center and going on to study drama at Talent Unlimited High School. She devotes her time to creativity and esoteric texts.

The Reflections of the Mirrors Are:

-Thought-Provoking Social Debate

-About Breaking Clichés and Shattering Stereotypes

-About a Woman’s Quest for her Humanity

-A Reflection of Our World Now

…so this leaves us with the central question of the show…

how does Cici reconcile her beliefs with her ambitions, with her desire to have a life?

Special thanks to Jason Wong, Lilka Adams, Ray Lanuza, and Georges Bridges for the casting of this reading.

MIRROR MIRROR©2017

The Creative Team

Production Company

The Film Lab is a 501(c)(3) not for profit that has been dedicated to the promotion and support of gender and ethnic diversity in media since 1998. The Film Lab accomplishes that goal in three ways: (1) education; (2) outreach and support; and (3) production.

Education – The Film Lab runs monthly events that are open to the public ranging from screenings to seminars to Q&As, all designed to increase awareness of the current state of diversity in media and to provide audiences with the tools and motivation to effectuate positive social change through entertainment.

Outreach-Support – The Film Lab runs various programs ranging from the famous 72 Hour Shootout filmmaking competition to filmmaking how-to workshops to networking parties, all of which work to connect people of color, particularly Asian Americans, and mainstream media executives and to create mentorship and distribution opportunities for people creating diverse works. The 72 Hour Shootout filmmaking competition is arguably the Film Lab’s most important annual event; bringing together A-list judges and established and aspiring filmmakers across the globe. People of all colors, backgrounds, religions, and cultures with a common goal: to battle inequality through creativity; to promote gender and ethnic diversity through entertainment; and to challenge stereotypical mainstream constructions of race, gender and sexuality. Top Shootout films have screened at the Asian American International Film Festival and the Time Warner Theatre in New York City and aired on CrossingsTV. The screenings typically sell out.

Production – The Film Lab produces media with positive and prolific perceptions of women and people of color. The TV series, Film Lab Presents currently airs on CrossingsTV (Time Warner Cable & Xfinity). We also have an online channel, AAFL TV, to which viewers can subscribe to for free at youtube.com/asamfilmlab.

Pilot Head Writer

Cheryl L. Davis received a WGA Award and a Daytime Emmy nomination for her work on As the World Turns. She received the Kleban Award (as a librettist) for her musical “Barnstormer”, about Bessie Coleman, the first Black woman flyer. Her play Maid’s Door won seven Audelco Awards and was a finalist for the Francesca Primus Prize, and her play Carefully Taught received an Honorable Mention in the Kilroys 2017 List. Her play The Color of Justice (commissioned by Theatreworks/USA), received excellent reviews in the New York Times and Daily News, and tours regularly. Her musical Bridges, commissioned by the Berkeley Playhouse, premiered in 2016 and received three nominations from the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle. Her commissions include: Disney Theatrical Group, ClearChannel Entertainment, Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and Birmingham Children’s Theatre. Her work has been read and performed internationally, including the Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Kennedy Center. She is a partner at the law firm of Menaker & Herrmann LLP. www.cldplay.com

Pilot Director

Jason Wong is a twelve-year veteran of the industry including several years as an editor for NBC Sports during which time he was nominated six times for a Sports Emmy Award and once for a Webby Award. A versatile filmmaker, he has worked as a writer, a director, and an editor for a variety of projects in film, television, and online media. He has also taught classes and led technical workshops in Boston and New York City in the subjects of film production and photography while also consulting on pre-production, script workshopping, or on set during filming for production companies and independent filmmakers.

Producer/Series Creator/Actor

Jennifer Betit Yen is an actor (Royal Pains, Film Lab Presents, The Beacon Street Girls, Interrogation, The Martini), screenwriter (The Opposite of a Fairy Tale) and writer/producer (La La Land, My Not So subConscious, The Opposite of a Fairy Tale). She is also a recovering attorney. She has received shout outs by The New York Times and Backstage Magazine for her work as a stage actor in New York City. Her film The Opposite of a Fairy Tale, a fictional take on elder abuse, sold out at MOCA and was an official selection of the 39th Annual Asian American International Film Festival, the Palm Springs Desert Film Society, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation NY Shorts Showcase, at the NYC Conference on Elder Abuse, and screened at WOMANKIND and with HBO. It became available on iTunes on June 30th. A graduate of Cornell University and Boston University School of Law, Jennifer worked in business litigation for six years and is currently playing the lead in a new crime drama television pilot. She writes the blog "Ethical is Beautiful. Be Beautiful" and enjoys boxing and baking pies.