NYFA
Faculty Directory

Faculty Directory

Krysanne Katsoolis

Krysanne Katsoolis has over 20 years of experience in financing, producing and distributing film and television properties. She is an entertainment attorney and recently launched a media venture, Liquid Media Group, on NASDAQ.

Prior to Liquid Media Group Katsoolis formed film sales company Cargo Entertainment which specialized in International distribution of feature films up to $15M including The Angriest Man in Brooklyn with Robin Williams and Zipper with Patrick Wilson. Katsoolis founded Cactus Three for the production of high end non-fiction films such as The Cove and The March, executive produced by Robert Redford. Prior to this Katsoolis served as Head of Acquisitions and Business Affairs for Winstar New Media Company, Inc., the content arm of Winstar Communications, a publicly traded (NASDAQ) provider of broadband communications services and content. At its peak the company had a market capitalization in excess of $4.4 billion and revenues of $445.6 million.

Krysanne was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia Law School and after graduating went on to start her career at Miramax Film Corp and Fox Lorber Associates, two of the main players in setting the paradigm in aggregating film and television content for worldwide distribution. She has worked as an Executive Producer on over fifty films and series along with Academy and Emmy Award winning directors.

Justin LaReau

LaReau founded Zoe and Pebbles Productions and developed A Demon Within which was acquired by Blue Fox Entertainment and Level 33 and released theatrically on Jan 12, 2018. The company, under LaReau’s direction, produces high production value feature films while working within efficient budgets. LaReau also works as a director and loves being on set, specifically having the opportunity to work with talented actors. LaReau is currently in development of multiple projects. BS in Economics, Illinois State University, MAT in Teaching, Olivet Nazarene University and MFA in Producing, New York Film Academy.

Christopher Macdougall

Christopher Macdougall is an attorney based in NYC, where he represents individual and business clients primarily in the arts and entertainment fields, including film, television, music, dance, theater, and literature. He also represents small businesses and startups. While his practice is primarily focused on deal making, transactional work, and general business advice, Mr. Macdougall has dispute resolution and litigation experience. In addition to his law practice, Mr. Macdougall serves as outside business affairs for L.A. Dance Project, a nonprofit dance and arts organization.

Mr. Macdougall holds a law degree from Rutgers School of Law. Before attending law school, Christopher danced with the New York City Ballet for a number of years. With a background as a creative professional, Mr. Macdougall brings a unique and personal perspective to his legal practice.

T.J. Mannix

T.J. Mannix has been teaching acting and auditioning for the camera and the stage for almost two decades. His former students can be seen on Broadway, in films, and on television as series regulars and guest stars. He is an alumnus of the University of Miami, Florida and has taught master classes across the U.S., Canada, and 14 countries.

T.J. has appeared in 85+ TV and radio commercials and roles on “Law and Order: SVU,” “Law and Order,” “Law and Order: Criminal Intent,” “All My Children,” “One Life to Live,” “As the World Turns,” and numerous appearances on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

He is 24-year veteran improvisor in NYC and Chicago, and has toured with several casts of The Second City/NCL. He was an original cast member and host of the innovative, “NY Times approved,” ”BLANK: the Musical” off-Broadway.

He is the founder of the 12th annual New York Musical Improv Festival http://www.NYMIF.com and is currently touring with the epic one-man improvised musical “LimboLand.” He admits to spending a very dark year working as a Mouseketeer.

Ben Maraniss

Ben has worked extensively with Spaceman Media and Scrollmotion, creating dozens of short films, commercials, and interstitials, for companies such as AMC, Comedy Central, MTV, and Super Deluxe. He received his MFA in Film and Television Writing from the University of Southern California. First Things Last, a narrative iPhone application he co-created at Scrollmotion, was featured at the American Film Institute’s 2009 DigiFest. The International Screenwriters Association named Ben’s one-hour drama Weimar the Pilot Grand Prize winner in the 2015 TRMS competition. Another hour-long drama, Secret & Confidential, was listed on the Tracking Board as one of the 100 best pilots of 2016. Currently, Ben is working with producer Fredrica Drotos on an original series Ivan’s Hammer. His articles on cinema and pop culture have been featured in the N+1 Film Review Supplement.

Stephen Miele

JD, Glendale University College of Law; BA, State University of New York, Albany. A practicing lawyer for more than 25 years, with clients including songwriters, musicians, actors, business and personal managers, producing companies, banking institutions and manufacturers. Appointed and acted as judge pro tem for the Los Angeles Superior Courts.

Edward Parks

Edward Parks is the co-founder and executive producer of Higher Content, a production company founded in 2015 with the goal of fostering bold new talent, character-driven stories, and collaborative filmmaking. He formerly founded RIVAL PICTURES, where he produced several award-winning films such as Special, Luv, Caucus and Space Station 76. In 2011, he won the Producers Guild Award for the documentary Beats Rhymes and Life, and was also nominated for a Grammy. In 2017, he produced indie thriller Super Dark Times, which was released by The Orchard in addition to a western, The Ballad of Lefty Brown, starring Bill Pullman, Jim Caveziel and Peter Fonda which A24 released in December 2019. In 2018, he produced, Darkness Visible, which was entirely shot in Kolkata, India with the support of the British Film Institute.

In April 2020, his latest film, Stray Dolls, was released by Samuel Goldwyn films which stars Bollywood star Geetanjali Thapa along with Olivia DeJonge and Cynthia Nixon.

He recently moved back to New York City after spending the past 20 years working in Los Angeles. He’s an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Southern California and also teaches at the New York Film Academy in NYC where he teaches the next generation of creative producers.

Steven Peros

Steven Peros is the writer of Lionsgate’s The Cat’s Meow, starring Kirsten Dunst and directed by Hollywood legend Peter Bogdanovich. Recently, Steve sold original pilots to MTV and NBC/Universal and directed two features, one of which, Footprints, was hailed as “One of the 10 Best Films So Far This Year” by the Chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle. He has written many features including Disney’s Around the World In 80 Days, is a twice-published Samuel French playwright, and was a staff writer on AMC’s Emmy-winning half-hour comedy series, The Lot. Steven has written projects for such diverse talent as Dolly Parton, Jackie Chan, and Eva Longoria. He is a graduate of the Film/TV program at New York University and has also taught Film/TV writing for UCLA Extension and The Writing Pad.

Francis J. Pezza

Francis J. Pezza has more than 40 years experience in Film, Television and Theater as a designer. Mr. Pezza is an MFA Degree graduate from the New York University School of the Arts (currently known as The NYU Tisch School of The Arts). He has been a Production Design Instructor for the last three years, teaching in the New York Film Academy MFA and BFA programs.
Among his many Television Credits as Production Designer are Miami Vice, The Flash, The Young Riders, Viper, Murder She Wrote. Mr. Pezza’s Major Motion Picture Credits include Outbreak, Dante’s Peak, Baby Geniuses, Born To Ride.

Jenni Powell

Jenni Powell is the Emmy Award-winning producer of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Welcome to Sanditon, lonelygirl15, Emma Approved, and The New Adventures of Peter and Wendy. For two years she was Director of Content and Social Media for VidCon and was a producer at Felicia Day’s YouTube Premium Channel Geek & Sundry, where she produced the Geekie Award-Winning Talkin’ Comics Weekly. She was Head of Production for NewMediaRockstars (rebranded to NewRockstars after her tenure) and is now tapping into her deep love of role-playing games, which she has been playing for over 20 years, by creating strategies for translating them from the game table to a consumable and entertaining visual medium. She is also a Faculty member of the New York Film Academy where she teaches Story Generation, New Media, and Transmedia (tabletop games, role-playing games, web series, and more).

Jen Prince

Jen Prince is a producer/director/editor with an MFA in Film Production from USC and a BFA in Acting and BA in Plan II Liberal Arts from UT Austin (Phi Beta Kappa). Her recent feature credits include 7000 Miles, Miles Underwater, Quality Problems, and And Then There Was Eve. She has worked in reality post-production television as well on shows such as The Amazing Race and The Contender (Mark Burnett Productions). Jen also recently produced Virtual Reality content for the Beijing Olympic Games (NBC), which was nominated for a Sports Emmy in Digital Innovation. Jen is a member of the PGA and Alliance of Women Directors.

Heather Ritcheson Associate Chair of Film Arts Department (Producing), Program Administrator of Media Arts Department

With over 30 years of experience in film and television, Heather Ritcheson has forged an impressive career path. She embarked on her journey as a projectionist at a post-production sound house, diligently climbing the ranks in various sound editing positions until ultimately finding her calling as an ADR Supervisor. Collaborating with renowned actors like Brad Pitt, Forest Whitaker, and Sandra Bullock, among other notable talents, earning recognition through a Golden Reel Award nomination for her work on the HBO film “Rebound: The Legend of Earl ‘The Goat’ Manigault,” featuring Don Cheadle.

Transitioning to the production side of the industry, Heather effortlessly took on multiple management roles, assuming responsibilities as a Production Manager, Coordinator, Set Designer, and Production Accountant on numerous non-scripted television shows, including popular titles like “Clean House,” “Celebrity Wife Swap,” and “MasterChef.” However, an unfortunate on-set injury forced Heather to alter her career trajectory.

In 2016, Heather embraced a new journey as Senior Producing Coordinator and instructor for the Producing department at NYFA. With her mission to create safer working environments on film sets, she actively works with her students to help them understand the importance of safety and the measures for ensuring it.

Mark Ritcheson

Mark Ritcheson is a Visual Effects Producer, Writer and Story Editor who has worked in the industry for nearly 3 decades with top directors, producers and filmmakers. Mark headed the visual effects department of RIOT Santa Monica and Hollywood’s Complete Post. As a Visual Effects Producer, he has worked closely with top directors and visual effects supervisors including James Cameron and David Lynch to bring their vision to the screen. His credits include: Xmen 2, Failure to Launch, What’s the Worst That Can Happen? and The Stepford Wives.

Dafina Roberts

Dafina Roberts is an award-winning writer/director/producer with television development experience.

Recently, Dafina was a 2019 Ryan Murphy Half Initiative Directing Fellow. Previously, she created the digital series Giving Me Life (In The Land Of The Deadass). The series was released in 2019 via Comcast’s Xfinity, Gravitas Ventures and iOne Digital. Previously, the series won the AT&T Audience Award for Best Episodic at the 2018 Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival. It was also an Official Selection of the 2017 New York Television Festival, 2018 Cleveland International Film Festival, and 2018 Atlanta Out On Film Festival. In 2017, Dafina was a Kickstarter Creator-In-Residence while she was in production on Giving Me Life.

Prior to that, she worked as a Director of Development & Production at Nickelodeon, where she oversaw development and current series for scripted and unscripted projects. She also co-produced the urban coming-of-age feature film, Punching At The Sun (Official Selection of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival; Winner for Best Narrative at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.)

Brad Sample

Brad Sample is an award-winning writer/director for film, television and the web. He holds an M.F.A. in Film Directing from U.C.L.A.’s School of Theater, Film and Television. His film credits include Stuck, a dark comedy short, and the Iraq War film Attention, which aired on the Showtime Network. Brad’s television work includes pilots ¡YO! Television, including the hip-hop dance battle show, Crunkiao, and the celebrity profile show, Mi Barrio. The highlight of his online work is Stand Up, a promotional video for the United Nations Millennium Campaign. Brad currently teaches directing at the New York Film Academy and is working on his next screenplay.

Tony Schwartz

Tony began working in the film industry in 1986. He spent most of his career in production working as an assistant director and line producer in both feature films and network television. He has been a part of many critically acclaimed films and series, including One False Move, Freaks and Geeks, Firefly, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, and The Unit. Along the way, he has worked with luminaries such as Carl Reiner, David Mamet, Dan Petrie, Sr., Judd Apatow, Joss Whedon, Carl Franklin, and many others. Since leaving production in 2011, he has continued to develop original content with Kohler Schwartz Productions. He is currently working on a bio-pic about AIDS activist Marty Delaney.

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