Join us for a 45-minute panel with TV Directors Kabir Akhtar, Rebecca Asher, Jaime Eliezer Karas & Claire Scanlon. This panel will delve into their unique approaches to working with actors in episodic comedies. Hear from these directors about techniques they use to bring out a performance, navigate the nuances of comedic timing, and elevate the narrative’s humor without losing sight of character depth. This conversation will offer valuable perspectives on the director-actor dynamic, shedding light on how actors can align with a director’s vision to enhance the final performance. There will be an audience Q&A after.

BIOS:

Kabir Akhtar:

Kabir Akhtar, ACE is an Emmy-winning director-editor whose work includes 'Never Have I Ever,' 'Arrested Development,' 'Resident Alien' and 'The Academy Awards.'

A four-time Emmy nominee, Kabir won the award for editing the pilot of the musical series 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,' becoming the first person of color to win in the category. He became a director/producer on that series and later was supervising producer/director on HBO Max's 'The Sex Lives Of College Girls.' He directed the pilot episode of the Amazon series 'Primo.'

As a director, Kabir has been nominated for an Emmy Award, a DGA Award, and an NAACP Image Award for directing, and has won an MTV Award for directing a "Best Musical Moment.". As an editor, he has been nominated twice for an ACE Eddie Award and three times for an Emmy Award. In 2014, Kabir was invited to join ACE.

He has edited the pilot episodes of ten series and has directed the pilot episodes of three series: 'Primo,' '8th & Ocean' for MTV and the relaunch of 'Unsolved Mysteries.'

Kabir is the first South Asian elected to the DGA's National Board and served six years as Co-Chair of the DGA's Asian American Committee. He is originally from Philadelphia and has credits on nearly 500 hours of television.

Rebecca Asher:

Rebecca Asher is a TV director whose credits include 'This is Us,' 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine,' 'Grace and Frankie,' 'Angie Tribeca,' 'Santa Clarita Diet,' 'The Good Place' and 'Atypical.'

Jaime Eliezer Karas:

Jay is currently on his fourth season as EP/Director of Apple TV+’s acclaimed series 'Acapulco'—which just won a Critics Choice “Comedy Series of the Year” award. He’s also a recurring director on the Emmy, Golden Globe, and Peabody Award-winning series 'Abbott Elementary,' adding to half hour highlights including 'Superstore,' 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine,' 'Parks and Recreation' and 'Workaholics,' and CBS’s top-rated series 'Ghosts.' 

Karas's first feature, 'Break Point, starring JK Simmons, Jeremy Sisto and Adam Devine, premiered in SXSW’s Narrative Spotlight, while his most recent feature, 'The Main Event,' climbed to Netflix’s Top 3 most-watched movies.

As a passionate fan of stand-up, Karas has also directed over 25 comedy specials for top comics including Ali Wong, Jeff Ross, Jim Gaffigan, Adam Devine, Tom Segura, Demetri Martin, Tig Notaro and Bill Burr, and worked with comedic luminaries like Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Chelsea Handler, Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Reese Witherspoon and Jane Fonda.

Claire Scanlon:

Claire Scanlon directed the 2018 hit comedy 'Set It Up', starring Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell for Netflix, as well as the Amazon film 'The People We Hate at the Wedding,' starring Allison Janney, Kristen Bell, and Ben Platt. She most recently directed multiple episodes of 'Loot' for Apple TV, 'Abbott Elementary' and 'Not Dead Yet' for ABC, and the upcoming series 'Mrs. American Pie' at Apple TV, starring Kristin Wiig and Allison Janney. Her directing credits include the entirety of the 'Mapleworth Murders' series for Quibi, and multiple episodes of 'Never Have I Ever,' 'The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,' 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine,' 'The Last Man on Earth' and 'Glow,' among others. Claire is originally from the editing world and won an Emmy Award in 2013 for editing the series finale of 'The Office.' In addition to her work in television and film, Claire has also directed commercials for brands such as Hello Fresh, which starred Mindy Kaling, and Jack Daniel's.