Join us for a 45-minute panel with Casting Directors Denise Chamian, Tim Payne, and Zachary Spiegel and Director of UCLA Mindful, Diana Winston. Moderated by Casting Director Sunny Boling. This panel will give you the opportunity to hear directly from professionals about the audition process, the anxiety that comes along with it, and tools/strategies you can use to help make you next audition that much better. There will be an audience Q&A after.

BIOS:

Denise Chamian:

A Los Angeles native, Denise Chamian began her career in the entertainment industry at a boutique agency. It wasn't until she started working for luminary casting directors Janet Hirshenson and Jane Jenkins that she found her true calling. From there she went on to start her own company and has worked with such distinguished directors as Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Tony Scott, William Friedkin, Tim Burton, Francis Lawrence, Gabriele Muccino, Michael Bay, and Gore Verbinski among many others. Recent credits include 'The Old Man' (starring Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow), Guillermo del Toro's 'Cabinet of Curiosities', 'Top Gun: Maverick' and 'Elvis' for which she won the 2023 BAFTA Film Award for Best Casting. 

Tim Payne:

Tim Payne has been working in the entertainment industry for over 30 years. After graduating from Baylor University with a degree in Communications, Tim made his way to Los Angeles.  He began his career as an actor, transitioned into a talent agent and for the last twenty-two years has thrived working in television casting.  Some of the shows he has worked on include 'The Unicorn,' 'Splitting Up Together,' 'God Friended Me,' 'Crazy Ex Girlfriend,' 'Young and Hungry' and 'Suburgatory' to name a few. He enjoys working with actors and more than anything loves being a part of the creative atmosphere casting provides.

Zachary Spiegel:

Zach is a bicoastal casting professional whose work spans Television, Film, and Theatre in both Los Angeles and New York. Select credits include: 'Pretty Freekin Scary' (Disney Channel/Disney +), 'Side Hustle' (Nickelodeon), 'Not Dead Yet' (Pilot/ABC), 'Unstable' (Pilot/Netflix), 'Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical' (Off-Broadway), 'Fish in a Tree' (Off-Broadway), 'Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead' (LA Revival/The Hudson Theatre), 'Upcoming: It's All Your Fault, Tyler Price!' (World Premiere/The Hudson Theatre). He is a proud Board Member of the Casting Society, a Shop Steward for the Teamster Local 399 Steering Committee, and member of the Television Academy.

Diana Winston:

Diana Winston is the Director of UCLA Mindful, the mindfulness education center of UCLA Health. She is the author of The Little Book of Being, Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens, and the co-author, with Susan Smalley, of Fully Present, the Science, Art and Practice of Mindfulness. Called by the LA Times “one of the nation’s best-known teachers of mindfulness,” she has taught mindfulness since 1993 in a variety of settings including hospitals, universities, corporations, nonprofits, and schools in the US and Asia. A sought-after speaker, she developed the evidence-based Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPS) curriculum and the Training in Mindfulness Facilitation, which trains mindfulness teachers worldwide. She can be found on the UCLA Mindful, Waking Up, and Ten Percent Happier Apps.