welcome to scrappy genius
Interviews with commercial industry professionals to talk about how they got their start, and how they keep the faith.
*new episodes on fridays*
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all about stacy
The casting career of Stacy Gallo has spanned twenty years. She was handpicked by Bryan Buckley to start his in-house casting department for Hungryman Productions, where she led the department. In 2008, she created her own casting company and today it is one of the premiere casting offices in NYC. She has cast award-winning commercial spots including: New York Lottery "Little Bit of Luck”, Febreeze, and Careerbuilder.com’s Superbowl Campaign. Additionally, Stacy has cast lauded short films garnering nominations and awards from the AICP Next, Shots Awards, The One Show, and The Webby’s. Stacy taught a very popular Commercial Improv class at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater of Improvisation beginning in 2007, and continues to teach her popular classes on a monthly basis.
episodes
season one
guests
ANDY ROTH
With a career spanning over two decades, Andy Roth is an award winning Casting Director, Voice Director, Producer and Writer, known for The Animal People (2019), The Peculiar Adventures of Willow B. Star (2015), Enchanted Thyme (2011), and The Catskill Chainsaw Redemption (2004) and The Lovers (2002).
STEPHANIE KURTZUBA
Stephanie Kurtzuba is an American film, television, and theater actress. She is best known for her roles in the films The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Annie (2014), and The Irishman (2019), and on television in recurring roles on The Good Wife and Blue Bloods.
DAVID GRAY
David Gray is an American filmmaker, commercial director, and former creative director at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and BBDO.[1] He has worked with numerous brands including Nike, Visa, American Express, Microsoft, FedEX, Time Warner, Showtime, Volkswagen, and GEICO
PHIL CASSESE
Phil Cassese is the head of on-camera commercials at Stewart Talent where he has built a competitive roster focusing on improv and comedic talent. Branching out to the theatrical side, Phil also created a Comedy Department at Stewart Talent focusing on a small roster of improvisors and comedians for Film and Television. Phil works on and has booked a wide array of Legit and commercial projects including multi-faceted campaigns to smaller niche projects - currently he has several high-profile campaigns running. Mr. Cassese had an eight-year run teaching at The UCB Theatre in New York, the only agent ever to teach there.
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ANDREA OSNOW
stacy's mom
...has got it going on.
The OG scrappy genius.
Or, where Stacy gets her lack of filter from.
DAVID EBERT
I’m David Ebert. I make television, film, and commercials. There are only two reasons you’re reading this:
#1: You’ve seen me in something and hunted me down to tell me you’re sick of my face.
#2: You’re considering hiring me for a job and are combing through this site for proof that I did the things I said I did. To that first group, I feel you, I have to live with my face everyday. To the second group; I did do that stuff!
Over my career I’ve worked on and off screen for networks and agencies. My roles have included writer, performer, director, producer, creative director, art director, illustrator, animator, and, for a brief and tragic period, freestyle rapper. My client list includes Google, Netflix, Hilton, LG, Kraft, NBC, CBS, MTV, TBS, TruTV, AT&T, Verizon, GEICO, M&Ms, Bud Light, Jose Cuervo, and countless more. I specialize in comedy (I will make your boring thing funny) and communication (I will make your complex thing understandable).
NEF JONES
Nef Jones was born and raised in Alphabet City and has been a leader in real people casting - and now actor casting - for over 20 years.
Nef's casting career took off in the early wave of documentary style street casting in the early 2000's. Nef would walk throughout the city - ducking into night clubs, corner stores, talking to neighborhood locals sitting on their stoops - and become known for her strength for scouting the authentic faces and personalities that make up the rich fabric of New York City.
Nef also runs Haven Kids Rock, a non-profit music program for kids in the South Bronx, under which she co-created Unstoppable the Musical, currently in development with Dolphin Entertainment.
Nef trained in casting under Genuine Casting (fka Strickman Ripps) and went on to lead House Casting's real people department prior to starting her own company. Casting triumphs include: casting a mother and daughter who had never seen the ocean for North Carolina Tourism, finding urban farmers who were providing food for their community during COVID-19 for Wells Fargo, seeking out first responders with lingering health effects from 9/11 who were willing to learn to sing again in front of an audience for Philips Simply Go (Cannes Lions award), and interviewing patients with deteriorating brain health who were willing to discuss their experience with a new drug for Alzheimers. Nef has contributed to many award winning campaigns.
ALEX MALAOS
British-born actor Alex Malaos came from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus to the New York island of Long, where he studied theater and business at Hofstra University. Upon arriving for the first time and whilst driving through Hempstead, he quite ignorantly sighed: “Ah, New York City….”
Along with improvisation and standup comedy, Malaos’ resume of work includes a string of theater, web, short film and feature film projects, and he has appeared in numerous award-winning national commercials and TV productions.
Meanwhile he continued his contribution to New York’s Cypriot and Greek community theater with a series of performances; from the ancient greats to contemporary pieces, and from traditional theatrical art forms and shadow puppet theater to his own original works. He is a recipient of the Greek America Forty Under 40 Award, which recognizes and honors the most successful members of the Greek American community who excel not only professionally but also philanthropically. Ρησπέκτ.
In the realm of standup comedy, Alex has been a regular performer at New York’s Gotham Comedy Club and Carolines On Broadway. He was a semi-finalist in NBC’s Stand Up for Diversity, a stand-up event for comedians of diverse backgrounds and homogeneous insecurities.
Alex is an improv coach and generation gap observer at ATNY (Actors Technique New York), one of New York’s top on-camera acting schools for kids and teens. During one class, he famously asked what does the ‘D.C.’ stand for in ‘Washington D.C.’. A 9-year-old responded: “Da Capital.”
GEORGE BASIL
Audiences may recognize George William Basil from his appearances in commercials for Vonage (conversing easily with passers-by in a multitude of languages as he made the case for its international calling plan), DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket, or his stint as mayor of Whatever, USA, for Budweiser. From his early days in "Roller Town" (2011), he tickled audiences' funny bones with his portrayal of a staffer at a small-market TV station in the TV movie "Newsers" (2014) and as the title character in the TV miniseries "St. Peter Meets" (2014). He also had roles in a number of film shorts, including "Leap Frog" and "Ghost Story Club" (both from 2015). His knack for comedy continued with a role as The Cooler in the Will Arnett series "Flaked" (Netflix 2016-17), a guest spot on the network sitcom "The Good Place" (NBC 2016- ), a recurring role as Chet in the series "Wrecked" (TBS 2016- ), and the TV miniseries "Pretty Vacant."
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