Diane Namm (www.dianenamm.com) is the author of over 50 published children's books and young adult novels (most recently her adaptations of Jungle Book; Doctor Dolittle; Phantom of the Opera and The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew are available from Sterling Books/a division of Barnes and Noble Publishing.) Namm is Founder/President and Artistic Director of the non-profit theater company West of Broadway. Since June 2006, Diane has written/produced/directed: Mrs. Scrooge; Huck; Bunny Tales Episode IV: Bunny Wars; Red Chief! and LA Street Scenes I and II for the stage.
Namm has written and directed the short film The Sacrifice, due out this spring. Diane’s original feature-length screenplays: Warrior Queen; Pranksters; Greed; and Full Blue have been optioned, honored and selected in a variety of competitions and festivals.
Namm produces the West of Broadway stage shows in association with Reading Is Fundamental of Southern California. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the English Department of the University of Michigan and conducts writing workshops for Create Now! a mentoring organization for at-risk youth. She is a member of the Authors Guild, AFI and Women in Film.
Stuart Krasnow
In 2005 Krasnow signed a ‘pod’ deal with Fremantle Media North America to launch his own company, Stuart Krasnow Productions. Under his new banner, Krasnow has obtained original series commitments from SciFi Network (Medium at Large) and Oxygen (Janice Dickinson Agency), and has set up other original projects with WB, Spike, Bravo, and Paramount Domestic Television. In addition, Krasnow has served as executive producer of WB’s series Survival of the Richest, and CBS’ series, Gameshow Marathon. In 2004 Krasnow produced two documentaries for Showtime about trans-gendered people: The Opposite Sex, which follows a man becoming a woman, and a woman becoming a man. In addition, while under an overall deal at NBC, Krasnow executive- produced the hit shows The Weakest Link with Anne Robinson; Dog Eat Dog; 25 Million Dollar Hoax; America’s Most Talented Kid; Cold Turkey for PAX and the popular “Average Joe” franchise.
Prior to serving as executive producer of The Martin Short Show in 1999-2000, Krasnow launched and was executive producer of Twentieth Television’s successful Forgive or Forget, starring Mother Love. Krasnow’s other credits include work in various production capacities for NBC’s Today and Dateline.
Krasnow also served as supervising producer of the Emmy Award-winning talk show Ricki Lake (from its inception in 1993 to 1996). Later, as part of an overall production deal with ABC, he served as executive consultant for The View, and also was responsible for developing and producing new programming for the network’s daytime and primetime schedules.
Krasnow began his career as a researcher at CNN and was later promoted to senior producer for Showbiz Today. Krasnow eventually moved to CBS This Morning as an associate producer, and then signed on as a senior talent coordinator for Late Night with David Letterman. Eventually, Krasnow became a senior producer of The Joan Rivers Show and executive producer of The Mommies.
Krasnow resides in Los Angeles with his Chihuaha, Derby. Stuart is a graduate of Washington University
Ivy Isenberg, CSA,
Ivy Isenberg has worked in entertainment for the past decade. She started out in the literary world working in development for an independent film production company and later represented writers.Enticed by the frantic pace of the talent world, Ivy switched from representing writers to managing actors and has stayed in the talent world ever since. While in management, she worked with actors in shows such as FELICITY and BECKER, and actors that starred in features such as CABIN FEVER and CLUELESS.
Ivy Isenberg has been in casting for the last seven years, starting out working for the in-house casting company at MGM Television. She now currently runs her own casting company and juggles feature and television projects simultaneously.
Previous credits for MGM Studios include multiple seasons of Showtime's DEAD LIKE ME and JEREMIAH, six seasons of STARGATE SG-1 as well as its spin-off, STARGATE ATLANTIS. She has cast celebrities such as Hayden Panettiere, Masi Oka and Zach Quinto from "Heroes;" rappers such as Ludacris, Sir-Mix-A-Lot and Snoop Dogg; and superstars like Scarlett Johansson, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Charlize Theron.
Ivy is currently casting a series for the Independent Film Channel, produced by Kevin Spacey's company Triggerstreet called "The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman," Seth Green's series "Robot Chicken" on Adult Swim and multiple features that will be shooting all over the country and the world!
Tiffany Bair Wagner, Publicity
Tiffany Bair-Wagner is an account executive at The Busby Group working on visual arts, lifestyle and luxury accounts. Past and current clients include playwright and director Diane Namm and her West of Broadway Theater company, Lifestyle network website CrushedPlanet.com, custom home gym company Out-Fit, equestrian architect John Blackburn, and figurative artist Mark Strickland.Prior to joining The Busby Group, Tiffany worked for the indie film companies, Samuel Goldwyn Films and Roadside Attractions as their Director of West Coast Publicity where she managed their west coast national pr campaigns, west coast regional pr campaigns, and corporate pr.
Working on independent films with challenging topics has given Tiffany a creative approach to public relations and marketing campaigns. She helped develop and implement a host of innovative and successful film campaigns, such as the Academy Award nominated “Super Size Me,” “What the Bleep Do We Know,” the critically acclaimed film “The Squid and the Whale,” and stand-up comedy hit “Sara Silverman: Jesus is Magic.”
Additional work experience includes the entertainment public relations agency, Bumble Ward and Associates and the indie film and film sales company First Look Pictures where she handled pr for their theatrical, video and international sales.
Tiffany is a graduate from the University of Arizona in media arts and business. Outside of work, Tiffany enjoys spending time with her husband and pug as well as antiquing, gardening, traveling to foreign countries and reading.
Shannon Quinn, Treasurer
Shannon Quinn has been with Lockheed and Lockheed Federal Credit Union from 1981 through December 31, 2007. She currently works as a consultant for Lockheed Federal Credit Union doing Loss Mitigation, her emphasis during the last fifteen years with Lockheed. She sits on the Board of West of Broadway because of her belief in the importance of arts for school-age children as well as adults. A Seattle native, Quinn graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in History.
Farmia Damavandi, Secretary
Since 2003 Farima Damavandi has served on the Board of Directors for Malibu Global Awareness, a non-profit organization established as a foundation supporting Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres, an independent international medical organization dedicated to humanitarian aid, disaster relief and medical treatment worldwide. In four years Malibu Global Awareness has grown from a grass-roots foundation to a world-class organization, consisting of 25 members and over 400 supporters, which contributes to Doctors Without Borders by hosting an annual fundraiser in Malibu, California.
