2014 Guests

Mark Fauser

Mark Fauser

Mark Fauser is an actor and writer, known for Waking Up in Reno (2002), The Right to Remain Silent (1996) and Madison (2005). Mark grew up in St. Louis where he discovered his passion for acting at Parkway Central High School. While attending the University of Missouri, Mark was the host for the annual Greek Week show, which also featured college friends Brad Pitt and Sheryl Crow. Mark was one of 12 people selected into Burt Reynolds Institute for Theatre Training in 1986. Reynolds’ mentoring launched Mark’s acting career, eventually leading Mark to roles in the television shows Evening Shade and SeaQuest. Mark started the LA-based faculty school for Master Teacher Charles Nelson Reilly. It’s All About You started as an acting scene in Charles Nelson Reilly’s class and went on to become a play and movie that Fauser wrote and directed. The film won Best Comedy at the Beverly Hills Film Festival.
Mark won the Governor’s Arts Award in Indiana in 2012 and has been the Executive Director of The Community School of the Arts (CSA) in Marion, Indiana since 2002. Mark is married and has 3 children. See more at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0269226/

 

 

Neville Kiser

Neville Kiser

Neville Kiser is a screenwriter who attended Taylor University from 2000-2004 where he studied Mass Communication and Journalism. While at Taylor, he worked as the Arts & Entertainment Editor for The Echo, and spent a semester at the Los Angeles Film Studies Center, where he interned for Henderson Production, Garry Marshall’s production office. While in Los Angeles, he wrote and shot an 8mm short film which went on to win Best Film at Taylor University’s Trojan Film Festival in 2004. After Taylor, Neville continued his studies with an MA in Theology and the Arts degree from Fuller Theological Seminary and an MFA in Screenwriting degree from UCLA. He also spent two years in between graduate studies living in rural China teaching English and Film. Neville’s most recent feature screenplay, MAN OF SORROW (about the downfall and imprisonment of playwright Oscar Wilde) landed on The 2013 Hollywood Black List — an annual list featuring the year’s best unproduced screenplays as voted on by over 250 industry professionals (e.g., past Black List scripts include: JUNO, LARS & THE REAL GIRL, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, THE KING’S SPEECH, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, PRISONERS, and SAVING MR. BANKS). Currently, Neville works as the writer’s assistant for Academy-Award winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (TV’s BIG LOVE, MILK, and J. EDGAR), who currently has scripts in development with Ron Howard and Robert Zemeckis, as well as a miniseries for ABC.

 

 

Jason Burkey

Jason Burkey

Jason Burkey is a Taylor University graduate and an award-winning actor based in Atlanta. He has been in multiple feature films, including the 2012 surprise box-office success October Baby. Jason was the male lead, cast as the lifelong friend of Hannah Lawson (portrayed by Rachel Hendrix), who is devastated when she unintentionally learns the details of her birth and who her real mother was. Industry standard Variety said he “hit all the right notes.” Jason recently made his television debut in the CBS pilot, The Surgeon General and will soon appear in the film Mom’s Night Out, in theatres May 9th. Other film credits include A Matter Of Time, A Long Way Off, Rumors of Wars, Losers Take All, and The Screenwriters. Jason also starred in the indie hit 10 Commandments of Chloe, winning Best Supporting Actor at the L.A. Movie Awards and earning a Best Actor nomination at the Maverick Movie Awards. Learn more at http://www.jasonburkey.net