Join us for a 45-minute panel with TV Directors Kabir Akhtar, Melissa Kosar & Kelly Park. 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 a 20-minute audience Q&A after. Moderated by Laura Linda Bradley.

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.

Melissa Kosar:

Melissa Kosar has been a recurring director on primetime hits such as 'Abbott Elementary' and 'The Goldbergs.' She was Co-Executive Producer / Director on season two of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers for Disney+. On ABC, she has directed 'Black-ish,' 'American Housewife,' 'The Wonder Years', and 'The Middle.' Melissa is a Chicago native and knew she wanted to pursue a career in production after watching a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Back To The Future II in her 7th grade technology class. She grew up with a love for sports, movies, art, theater, and music which all meld into her passion for storytelling. Melissa approaches directing as a creative artist with a technical eye, and combines her athletic intuition and instincts she learned as a former athlete and coach into her methods as a director. Some of her other directing credits include 'The Gordita Chronicles' for HBO Max, 'Love, Victor' for Hulu, 'Life in Pieces' for CBS and 'LA To Vegas' for FOX among others.

Kelly Park:

Director Kelly Park is from Philly. Her early years were spent attending Quaker schools, which helped shape a unique life perspective. After launching her career as a marketer and project manager in the technology and advertising industries, she decided to switch things up. Inspired by her actress mother to listen to her "funny bone", she took a leap of faith, and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. She began studying at Second City and The Groundlings, which led to commercials, short films, and sketch comedies. However, she soon realized being in front of the camera wasn't what fed her soul, teaching was. This eventually would lead to teaching children and young adults the fundamentals of acting and improv. Kelly quickly became one of the most sought-after acting coaches in television, working on numerous pilots and television shows for Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Amazon, and Netflix. From there, Kelly transitioned to Director, debuting on the Emmy Award-nominated Netflix show, ALEXA & KATIE, ultimately directing multiple episodes. She has since directed numerous episodes such as GRACE & FRANKIE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD, STATION 19, and the upcoming FRASIER revival, as well as becoming a pilot Director for COUNTRY COMFORT (Netflix), BLACK DON'T CRACK (ABC), LOPEZ VS. LOPEZ (NBC), and most recently, NON-EVIL TWIN (NBC). She is also a writer/producer and is currently developing several projects with her producing partner husband, John, having recently sold a multi-cam comedy to Universal Television, as well as to CBS Studios.