Page 365 – NYFA

Two Time Emmy Nominee and Grey’s Anatomy/West Wing Producer Debora Cahn Visits New York Film Academy

“You have zero control over if you are talented. You just have control over how hard you work. Don’t wait to be inspired.” – Debora Cahn

Students at New York Film Academy New York had the pleasure of listening to an unscripted conversation between two time Emmy nominee Debora Cahn and NYFA Producing School Chair Anita Tovich on March 24, 2011. Debora, who has been a Producer and Writer on Grey’s Anatomy, The West Wing, and Private Practice, spoke very candidly about the nature of working in television versus film, the environment while working on a top series, and ways to break into the industry.

Says Debora, who began in acting and turned to writing when she was frustrated with the lack of good female roles, “You have zero control over if you are talented. You just have control over how hard you work. Don’t wait to be inspired.” Debora explained to students that it is less important to write five good pages and more important to write five pages. Students asking how to get a job in the industry were told, “no one wants to give you a break – they want to give you a job.”

Debora elaborated on the topic explaining that students at the New York Film Academy have an incredible opportunity to make product now. She included that since almost everyone has a phone that records video footage, there is no reason why students should strive to always be making a new project – lucky for the New York Film Academy students they make eight short films in one year!

Debora gave the actors advice including never change the words of a script at a television audition as the writer is often in the room. She also gave the writers advice including go into television instead of film. Said Debora, “When your pilot is picked up you are the CEO of a 300 person company and you are overseeing an entire series. When your film script is complete, it could take over ten years to see any footage.” Her other big advice for the producers and writers in the room? Move to LA. (Tip: enroll in your second year at New York Film Academy Los Angeles to get a chance to network on both coasts!)

New York Film Academy was lucky to have Debora Cahn visit the academy. Follow @nyfa on Twitter for more news on upcoming guests!

New York Film Academy Student, Miss Burbank Ashley Karp: I Know I’m An Entertainer for As Long As I Breathe

Through NYFA my confidence is definitely boosted from when I began the program. I trust myself more than I ever have. I now have this courage that was once hidden, that has now awakened, and I know if I just trust myself, nothing can go wrong.

Ashley Karp is the new Miss Burbank, running for Miss California, and somehow finding time to attend the New York Film Academy Acting Conservatory. Ashley, who is working on her two-year Associates of Fine Arts degree at NYFA, has previously done spots on shows including Glee, Grey’s Anatomy, and Seventh Heaven. She is now preparing to perform live for the title of Miss California USA for Donald Trump in November. The NYFA blog was lucky that Ashley had a few minutes between classes to talk about the school, the competition, and her future goals…

Ashley, how has your experience been at the New York Film Academy?

I am in the process of getting my Associates Degree in Acting for Film. I am in the March 2010 group, which has such amazing talent. It’s wonderful to be around peers that have the exact same ambition you have, and through this you can experience something amazing, whether it be in a scripted scene or a regular improvisation. It’s those little moments of spontaneity that keep you on your toes as an actor, and makes your scene alive. It’s just plain old fun, and I love, live, and breathe every second of it.

Do you have a favorite NYFA teacher since studying with the Academy?

It’s so hard to pick a favorite teacher at NYFA. They are all so passionate about their craft, and each has something uniquely amazing to bring to a class of actors. I love all of them so much. However, the one experience I remember when I really broke through myself in a sense is when I was in David Brooks’ script analysis class.

We were studying The Breakfast Club and I chose to play the role of Bender. David’s exercise to find this character was titled “the animal exercise”, in which you sought to discover the inner animal within the character you were playing. For some reason, when thinking of Bender as hard as he was depicted in the original film, thought Bender was more like a beaten hyena pup while looking at the script. We had to ‘become’ this animal, and then play the scene as so. Playing him as a beaten hyena, it truly boosted Bender; it gave him juice and he had so many colors to see. I’ll never forget that moment.

How did you end up getting involved with the Miss Burbank competition?

One of my good friends who had competed previously told me I should sign up for Miss California, saying I would be great for it. I told her she was crazy. Two nights later, I got a Facebook message from one of the recruiters from the Miss California pageant, saying I should fill out an online application.

I’m in the car with close friend on the way to Disney and I get a call from one of the executives of Miss California. He says, “I have one question for you…If you had the power to take away one thing in this world, what would it be and why?” I had to answer on the spot. I replied “greed”. He then stated with my answer alone, I was in the final 10, beating out 600 girls for my slot alone.

I was baffled to say the least. The next day I anxiously went to Miss California casting HQ, where they said I had been selected to compete…and the rest is history 🙂

What are you ultimately hoping to do in the entertainment industry?

Ever since I was 5 years old, I’ve always wanted to be in the entertainment industry. I was the kid that would get up on the kitchen table and sing at family functions, a complete ham. I’ve just known that it’s what I’m meant to do, my absolute passion.

I love to write & play music as well, my instrument of choice being the Bass. I have a few songs and movie ideas plotted out, so that is a great possibility as well. I just know I’m an entertainer for as long as I breathe.

What projects have you been able to work on or be a part of since studying at the Academy?

I have done many student projects at NYFA, some of which have been submitted to film festivals as of recent. In the past, I’ve had appearances on 7th Heaven, as well commercials for Eggo and Aetna Insurance. I’ve also been able to do spots on Let’s Make a Deal, Grey’s Anatomy and Glee, and I’m just getting started…I can’t wait for more!

What advice would you give to someone considering a program at NYFA?

If you have any interest in the entertainment field, whether it be just watching films or actually participating in them, any program at NYFA is perfect. The teachers, staff, and students alike are so committed and passionate to their crafts. It is a wonderful environment to be around.

To follow Ashley as she moves forward in the Miss California USA pageant, be sure to follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

A Chat with 5-Time NYFA Alum Michael Tanner Cusumano

Michael Tanner Cusumano has been a student at the New York Film Academy for five years. He is only 16 but his work has already garnered him several awards of merit at festivals including Metropolitan Film Festival of NYC, Burbank International Film Festival, Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood, and Santa Clarita Valley Film Festival. The NYFA Blog was lucky to catch up with Michael this week….

Michael, thanks so much for sitting down with us. It is my understanding that you have done several programs with the New York Film Academy?

I’ve taken two years of the tween programs, and so far I’ve done three years of the High School Advanced HD Program. I first heard about NYFA from a family friend and they just said great things about the school. I went and checked them out and I just fell in love with NYFA. The New York Film Academy teen program is extremely unique – there’s really no program I’ve seen quite like it. The New York Film Academy gives its students amazing production equipment to work with and without NYFA, I wouldn’t have access to these amazing tools.

Do you have a favorite experience at NYFA so far?

That’s I really tough question because NYFA is an amazing experience in itself. For one of my projects, Sage, we filmed on location at The Queen Mary in Long Beach and that was really fun. The Queen Mary treated us really well because we were NYFA students. Sage just won Best Film Noir at Burbank International Film Festival 2010 and also showed at the Red Rock Film Festival.

Out of the five films you have created in your time at NYFA, which have you been most proud of?

I’m really proud of the way Amanda turned out. We had an amazing cast and crew and we were able to get a stunt in the film, which was awesome. Amanda deals with teenage drinking and driving, which I feel is a really important issue. I think this film might help detour people from making a life-changing mistake. As a director, it’s good to make a film that you have a relationship with and that you’re passionate about. With Amanda, a friend of mine was killed by a drunk driver and that’s what led me to make the film.

***Amanda premiered at the Santa Clarita Valley Film Festival 2011 and has since screened at New York Filmmaker’s New York Film Festival, Urban Suburban Film Festival, Mountain Film Festival, and Buffalo Niagara Film Festival. It won Best High School Film at Santa Clarita Valley Film Festival, an Award of Merit at Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood, and Honorable Mention at the Metropolitan Film Festival of New York City.

So what comes next?

Right now I’m working on a new short film called Impetuous, which deals with the issue of peer pressure and bullying. We are planning to film at the end of March. My dream since I was a little kid was to get work as a director in the industry. I think it’s important to do something you love, and for me that’s definitely film.

For more information on Michael and his films, check out his website at http://tannercusumano.com/

Alec Urbach, President’s Volunteer Service Award Recipient

The New York Film Academy is pleased to announce that our high school camp alum Alec Orbach has been honored by the Obama Administration as a recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award (the Corporation for National & Community Service). Alec has taken the lessons he learned at NYFA’s camp and implemented these tools to make a worldwide difference.

In 2009, Alec Urbach, now 15 years old, founded an organization called Giving From The Ground Up, through which he creates and produces animated, educational health-care videos for children in third world countries, and sends medical and dental supplies to accompany these videos. There is not enough money for full time nurses or doctors in the communities the organization serves, so these videos provide a vital role in educating children in a fun, engaging way about healthcare fundamentals, and endowing the villages’ make-shift clinics with important basic medical supplies. Another purpose of Giving From The Ground Up is to create and produce documentaries about young people and the conditions under which they live in Ghana and other third world countries, to present to high school and college groups here in America for the purpose of promoting fundraising events to purchase needed medical and school supplies for the villages.

For more information on Alec’s foundation, visit here.

This is the letter that Alec received from President Obama!

Alec has been a part of the NYFA family for several years; he has taken multiple courses, and most recently completed the 4-week high school Broadcast Journalism camp (in June of 2010). Congratulations Alec, we are very proud of you.

NYFA Alum Stormi Henley Makes it to Hollywood on American Idol!!!

New York Film Academy former student Stormi Henley made it past the first round of auditions in Nashville on American Idol last night, sending her onto the semifinals in Hollywood. Henley, a nineteen year old actress who was once crowned Miss Teen USA, sang “Father Can You Hear Me?” in front of Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler, and Jennifer Lopez. Voted yes by Randy and Steven, Henley was ecstatic, running out of the room screaming and jumping up and down. We wish you all the best Stormi and can’t wait to see you on more episodes of Idol! Check out her audition!

Retiring from the NFL is the BEGINNING for Simeon Rice

What do retired National Football League players do after leaving the field? These athletes stay in the public eye- volunteering, lending their name and brand to different nonprofits and charities, raising monies that benefit their loved ones and community…doing outreach and giving back is the biggest part of being in the NFL, and their prestigious brotherhood of retirees. Retiring before you are forty leaves an expanse of time to be filled with making dreams reality, and retooling oneself for after the last tackle.

Simeon Rice has played football for the majority of his life- whether in high school, college, in the NFL, or for the United Football League, Rice has had his cleats and game face on. Simeon, like all athletes, has many sides. Rice has a passion to create art and expose societal issues. A natural satirist, Simeon is at ease discussing his career and goals. In 2010 Simeon made the decision to pursue his other love- the entire entertainment industry. Rice completed the 4-week and 8-week filmmaking workshops at the New York Film Academy (in Los Angeles). While attending Rice wrote, directed, acted, produced and edited his work. Simeon created relationships with his classmates and collaborated on multiple films.

Simeon has evolved- he is now a Hollywood Director, Producer and Screenplay Writer. NYFA had the opportunity to watch Executive Producer Rice’s first Short film When I Was King. Simeon channels TechCrunch and Mashable’s hot topics into his film- primarily discussing the fundamental problems men and women have using social media sites for recreational purposes. Unlike the movie Social Network, Simeon’s character Frank (Dolph Paulsen) is influenced by the bantering of single friends- and embraces his new freedom (by assuming that his fiance had walked away from their lives together, he needed to learn how to Facebook women and get action off of MySpace). This comedic interpretation of social medias use to find a flings primary goal is to teach online safety practices; Frank had little online networking experience. He is depicted as a 25 year old man without a Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn or FourSquare presence…we know, he is an anomaly?! When I Was King makes the techno-savvy individual second guess; Simeon pushes the viewer to ask: Is being tied to so many through online friend requests dangerous? Am I providing too much information, eliminating the dating and friendship processes?

It’s ALWAYS the Victor Verhaeghe Hour, Starring Victor Verhaeghe!

When Acting Instructor Victor Verhaeghe made his way into the office, he had so much to say to the New York Film Academy. Beyond just his teaching hours at NYFA and students, Victor has a lot of projects up his sleeve. In the beginning of February, Victor will start shooting the second season of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, continuing on as Ward Boss Damien Flemming. While tailoring his 1920’s themed character, Victor simultaneously acted as a Real Estate agent, alongside Rosie Perez and John Leguizamo while filming the summer 2011 full-length film Fugly.

If you haven’t gotten enough of Victor, you can catch him every month- live!

@7pm on the last Sunday night of every month- you can see Victor at the Abingdon Theatre ($15.00 regular admission, $10.00 NYFA student cost- must show valid ID).

Reservations for the Victor Verhaeghe Hour (for January 23rd, February 27th, March 27th, and April 24th): (212)868-4444.

Aksel Stasny, 25

Aksel Stasny excelled in computer programming and internet technology during his high school years, but found his passion in film around the same time that he began to win multiple film and photography awards for his work. He eventually put aside his plans to get a degree in programming and moved to Vienna to pursue a crew position as a production assistant. After working on sets for two years and freelancing as a photographer, Aksel enrolled in the University of Vienna’s “Theater and Film Science” department.

Aksel felt that Austria was too small, the learning environment he searched for was one immersed in the industry and steeped with tradition and diversity. In 2009, Aksel made the move to New York City to attend the New York Film Academy. Aksel learned how to tweak his film-making skills, and finished the one year course.

Today Aksel utilizes his Optional Practical Training (OPT) Visa to continue growing his reel and learning in the United States. Currently, Aksel is part of the production team at Bayard Studios. Stasny’s latest film Coming Home has been selected by the World Film Festival in Montreal, and has been picked up by festivals on the eastern seaboard.

“Only having to concentrate on your own ideas and the development of your photography and film craft is the biggest luxury I could have ever had. I enjoyed the whole year and never felt such a challenging but steady creative output before. Some of the connections I’ve made at school will be partnerships and friendships for the rest of my life…This summer I became the director of Emmy Award Winner Bill Barber’s TV-pilot comedy series B-Sharp – No more camera assistance jobs or commercials a la Vitamin-C shower heads for dogs and children.”- Aksel

Aksel also says he is still focused on his photography- that he has not abandoned one craft for another. He still contributes work to Desquval!

"English Success Story by Park Kyung-lim"

New York Film Academy Alumni Park Kyung-lim has written a comedic response to learning English; Park originates from South Korea, and found her transition to an English-first society to have challenges. When Park returned to South Korea she found work on television and emceeing different shows. She married, has had a child, and during her time on maternity leave and enjoying motherhood- she decided to write down her thoughts on being an American student- in her native tongue Korean- to alleviate the stigma of being an outsider within the USA, and to showcase the beauties of being able to learn and grow in both the English and Korean speaking worlds. NYFA encourages all of our future and past Korean speaking students to read “English Success Story by Park Kyung-lim” available online at Kyobo Bookstore.