NYWIFT Blog

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Michelle de la Rosa

Let's all give a warm welcome to Michelle de la Rosa! Michelle is a freelance theatre and film director based in New York City. She is a native New Yorker with Puerto Rican and Jewish heritage. As a director, she has participated in several NYC theatre festivals. She studied directing under the mentorship of John Grabowski at the Acting Studio in New York. She is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and now NYWIFT! As a playwright, her short play Spell It (2021) was produced by the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Continue reading to learn more about Michelle and how she got to where she is today as an artist.

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Willette Murphy Klausner

If you’ve seen a great Broadway show recently, chances are Willette Murphy Klausner had something to do with it. As the founder and owner of WMK Productions in Los Angeles she has produced or co-produced dozens of award-winning theatrical and film projects, including MJ the Musical, Hadestown, Stereophonic, The Wiz. Porgy and Bess, Three Mo’ Tenors, Caroline or Change and Cabaret, just to name a few. For film, she’s co-producing the documentary Liza, which just premiered at the Tribeca Festival. Previous films include Radium Girls and Wakefield with several film and TV projects in development. In 2022 she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Drama League. She has served on the Boards of Directors of the Los Angeles Music Center and the Women in Film Foundation, is a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, the National Women’s Forum, and NYWIFT. She is currently on the board of Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts.

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Genevieve Skehan

Welcome, Genevieve Skehan! It was a love of the outdoors that propelled Genevieve Skehan into filmmaking. After earning her BA in drama in the UK at the University of Exeter, she went on to work for years as a performer and even won awards as a director. But she grew tired of sitting in dark rehearsal spaces. So, she embarked on a career in film and television. Several years later she was working regularly in Boston and New York as a producer, writer, and director for commercials and films. Lately she has begun to write and direct more passion projects. Here she shares how her background in theater informs her directing and how producing gave her the practical experience she needed to realize her own work. Plus, a bit about why she adores filming outside in natural light.

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Eileen Wolter

Welcome to NYWIFT, Eileen Wolter! After working as a motion picture lit assistant at CAA, working on the Universal lot, and writing lots of coverage in LA, Eileen brings her creativity to us in New York! She holds a BA in Art History & Film from Vassar College, studied acting as The Atlantic Theater Company and The Actors Studio/The New School, and studied writing at UCLA, NYU, Sundance Collab, Stowe Story Labs, and NJ Play Lab. Eileen tells us about her fascinating family history, covering Fashion Week for Comedy Central in 1993, and attending SNL dress rehearsals.

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NYWIFT Member Spotlight: Toni R. Israel

Meet NYWIFT Member Toni R. Isreal. Toni is the CEO and Founder of REALEMN Productions LLC, Broadway’s leading multicultural marketing and PR team, run by Black women. In addition to being a proud member of New York Women in Film & Television, she is a co-founding member of The Industry Standard Group. Previously, Toni was the Managing Director of Walker International Communications Group (WICG) where she led a team providing all aspects of marketing consultation to arts organizations. A proud member of CTI — Commercial Theater Institute, Toni was instrumental in multiple projects including 2018 Tony Award-Winning Once on This Island, Disney’s Aladdin and The Lion King, A Raisin in The Sun, A Trip To Bountiful, A Streetcar Named Desire, Baby It’s You, and Stick Fly. Toni R. Isreal is an awardee of the Central New Jersey Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women for Excellence in Economic Empowerment and advocates promoting the arts and entertainment to multicultural communities.

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Robyn Hussa Farrell

Welcome to NYWIFT, Robyn Hussa Farrell! Robyn Hussa Farrell is an award-winning NYC writer, producer, and performer. She founded four companies, including Transport Group Theatre Company, which recently celebrated its 23rd year in Manhattan. Hussa specializes in producing and directing multi-media events and programs that highlight stories of empowerment and strength. For the last 20 years, she has worked with over 200 interdisciplinary researchers to develop evidence-based mental health documentary film programs that have been shown to decrease stigma and improve behavioral health outcomes for communities. She has interviewed over 1,000 experts in mental health and individuals with lived experience and produced films on mental health topics ranging from eating disorders and suicide to veteran PTSD and childhood trauma and resilience. Robyn spoke to us about her work at the intersection of mental health and the arts, her theatrical roots, and most meaningful projects.

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Bianca Marroquin

Welcome to NYWIFT, new member Bianca Marroquin! Bianca, a triple threat who can act, sing, and dance, became well-known to audiences starring as both Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly in Chicago the Musical on Broadway and alongside Michelle Williams and Sam Rockwell in the Emmy-Winning limited series Fosse and Verdon. Additionally, she has appeared as a judge on Mira Quien Baila (a popular Spanish reality television show similar to Dancing With the Stars) and the telenovela Esperanza del Corazón. These are just a few of her many career highlights! Bianca spoke to us about maintaining her creativity throughout the pandemic, her favorite roles, and expanding opportunities for Latinos on stage and screen.

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NYWIFT Women’s History Month Spotlight: Tammy Reese

Tammy Reese is a multimedia content creator who loves everything theatre, entertainment, media, and film. She is an award-winning actress, writer, and journalist, and the Founder & Lead Publicist of Visionary Minds Public Relations and Media. She discusses her inspirations, balancing work and family, her favorite interviews and more.

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What’s in Your Toolkit: Destiny Lilly

Destiny Lilly is a casting director working across theater, film, and television. While casting is a creative job, it also requires strong admin - lists, databases, and an impeccable memory. Destiny offers a peek inside her casting toolkit.

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