Tag: producer

August 14, 2019 ~ Bill Kirchenbauer

Posted onAuthorGary WimmerLeave a comment

Bill Kirchenbauer
Entertainer Extraordinaire

Bill Kirchenbauer

Our guest speaker at August’s #NAMixer will be the one and only Bill Kirchenbauer, an intensely talented and insanely creative actor, comedian, producer, writer, host, and much sought-after entertainer. Bill has appeared in film flicks you may have seen, including Airplane, National Lampoon, and Stoogemania, as well as starring and regular roles on television series, including Mork & Mindy, Fernwood Tonight & America 2 Night, Night Court, and Totally Hidden Video.

Bill’s been tickling people’s funny bones since early childhood. Later, while his peers studied marketing strategy, he pursued mime, ventriloquism, and improvisation, leading up to his winning the first Stand Up Competition in Los Angeles in 1978. Soon after that victory, he appeared on Late Night With David Letterman and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Carson liked Bill so much that he booked him for 10 more appearances.

ABC executives knew a good thing when they saw his popularity spiral in the role of the irascible, but lovable, “Coach Lubbock” in the hit series Growing Pains, leading to starring in a spinoff in the same role that also proved to be a ratings hit, Just the Ten of Us, which continues to air in many countries, including the United States on the USA Network.

Bill’s true love has always been the stage, and he’ll be on ours this month! So don’t miss an evening with him to learn what drives him, how he manifested his dreams, and his successes. Mark you calendars and join us on Wednesday, August 14 @ Opal Divine’s for a fun-filled, inspirational, and unique experience with stories from our industry’s foxhole.

Last Month

We extend our deepest appreciation to those brave and highly successful casting directors who graced our stage in July: Brad & Kimberly Burton, both CSAs of Burton Casting, Michael Druck of Michael Druck Casting, and our own amazing Donise Hardy, CSA, of A Casting Place.

These outstanding professionals shared their insights and experiences with our huge crowd, and answered all kinds of questions from our attendees. Thank you all so much for your time and passion!

See photos here, and more mixer photos here.

Come on the 14th and bring a friend to network and enjoy the show. While there enjoy Opal Divine’s Happy Hour which lasts until 7, then $3 “Three for Texas” beers the rest of the evening. And don’t cook or go anywhere else for a meal or snacks because Opal’s offers a tasty and largely locally-sourced menu of goodies.

Beware both rush hour traffic and current construction! From IH35,

heading south, slight right with construction cones veers off the frontage road to get to the businesses just north of Oltorf, including Opal Divine’s at the Best Western Plus Hotel

heading north, turn left onto Oltorf, then turn right immediately after crossing over the southbound frontage road of IH35 onto East Live Oak Street, and turn right into the Best Western Plus Hotel parking lot where Opal Divine’s is situated

Pass along our website and check it for details about each month’s speaker(s)!
Find this month’s mixer on Facebook and invite your friends.
Get on our mailing list and keep up with us on social media:
Like our page & join our group on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Mixing & Networking @ 6:00PM, Announcements @ 6:30, Program @ 6:45
Followed by More Mixing & Mingling and Networking

July 11, 2018 ~ Andrew Garrison

Posted onAuthorGary Wimmer1 Comment

Filmmaker & Professor
Andrew Garrison

Andrew Garrison

We are proud to present this month’s guest speaker, award-winning filmmaker & professor Andrew Garrison, on Wednesday, July 11th at Opal Divine’s Austin Grill. Texan & Austinite Andrew is a writer, producer, and director who has also scored numerous credits in sound, cinematography, editing, even acting, and more over his career spanning 5 decades.

Andrew has received fellowships from the American Film Institute (AFI), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the Rockefeller and Guggenheim foundations. A couple of his films, Third Ward TX & The Wilgus Stories, aired on PBS, and several others have been selected for screenings at theaters & festivals around the world, including SXSW, Sundance, Locarno International Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, New York Film Festival, and the Berlinale. His films have won multiple awards & nominations for the highly acclaimed feature film Trash Dance and short film Night Ride.

In 1975 Andrew co-founded the Dayton Community Media Workshop that produced community-based documentaries for local and national audiences. Later he was invited to join renowned film collective Appalshop in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, where for a dozen years he collaborated to produce documentaries for others, as well as his own projects. Now the Audio Area Head of the Department of Radio-Television-Film (RTF) at the University of Texas in Austin (UT), Andrew founded yet another film organization, East Austin Stories, in which UT students work with residents & businesses in East Austin on documentary projects.

Watch these clips & trailers, and find more of Andrew’s works on Vimeo:

☆ Trash Dance, a collaborative documentary project between Austin choreographer, Allison Orr, and employees of Austin Resource Recovery (formerly Solid Waste Services) to make an extraordinary and transforming public dance display on film

☆ Third Ward TX, about a group of artists in inner-city Houston who have successfully revitalized their neighborhood with art as the engine of change

☆ The Wilgus Stories, a narrative triptych of a humorous and poignant perspective on the significant moments of daily life as shown through the eyes of Wilgus Collier set in the 50s & 60s

☆ Because I’m Here, rough-cut clip from a work-in-progress 35 years in the making sponsored in part by the City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division and the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities about a man named Earl Gilmore, an African-American, gay, devout Christian, gospel choir director, blues musician, coal miner, centerfielder for the Clinchco Giants, carnival hoochie-coochie dancer, Ford Fellow, and life-long resident of Clinchco, Virginia, population 500. Shown here, Earl’s friend, Eldora, avoids answering the question, “How would you describe Earl?”

And put our next mixer featuring the multi-talented successful Andrew Garrison on your calendar for Wednesday the 11th at Opal’s!

Get there early to take advantage of Opal Divine’s Happy Hour which lasts until 7, then $3 “Three for Texas” beers the rest of the evening. And don’t cook or go anywhere else for a meal or snacks because Opal’s offers a tasty and largely locally-sourced menu of goodies.

 

Last Month

We’re so grateful for you, audience members, who came out to bravely step up to our stage and pitch yourselves. New connections abounded upon hearing from one another and what each does, has done, and is up to now, providing a greater opportunity for exchanging contacts & information; networking in a nutshell. There’s a wealth of talent & skills right here in Central Texas, as you sure showed us all!
And thanks so much to our special guest Jennifer Hutchins of Austin Entertainment Business and the Austin Chapter of the Producers Guild of America (PGA), who has diligently dug in to make our local industry ever more vital and recognized worldwide.
See photos here, and more mixer photos here.

 

Pass along our website and check it for details about each month’s speaker(s)!
Find this month’s mixer on Facebook and invite your friends.
Get on our mailing list and keep up with us on social media:
Like our page & join our group on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Mixing & Networking @ 6:00PM, Announcements @ 6:30, Speakers @ 6:45
Followed by More Mixing & Mingling and Networking