JANUARY’S SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKERS: VICTORIA MORRIS
Senior Talent Executive, Kazarian/Spencer & Associates
BRADLEY KUSHNER
Partner & Head of the Literary Division of Creative Convergence
BRAD ROSENFELD
Literary Agent, Preferred Artists Agency
CRAIG NEWMAN
Music Booking Agent, Agency for the Performing Arts (APA)

VICTORIA MORRIS, SENIOR TALENT EXECUTIVE, KAZARIAN/SPENCER & ASSOCIATES
Victoria Morris is a Senior Talent Executive at Kazarian/Spencer & Associates with offices in Los Angeles and New York City. She currently has many clients working in many Broadway shows that include In the Heights, Avenue Q, Wicked, Jersey Boys, Grease, and Legally Blonde.

She was one of the Entertainment Industry’s first Dance Agents during the commercial dance market explosion in Los Angeles and the advent of MTV. Her next venture was to invent and staff a Live Stage Theatre Division at Kazarian Spencer & Associates. Victoria evolved into one of the only talent agents in Los Angeles to concentrate solely on the representation and grooming of actors, directors and choreographers for Broadway and Regional Stages.

She went on to open the New York Division, which also represents actors for Television, Motion Pictures as well as Theatre. As the Director of the office in New York she personally trains and oversees all new agents as well as keeping her theatre desk in Los Angeles active with new agent trainees and new young fresh talent for her department.

In addition, Victoria still actively scouts talent nationally, and coaches in several University Theatre Departments around the country. She continues to develop and assist in composing well-rounded, diverse, and lucrative stage careers for actors, dancers, directors, and choreographers.

BRADLEY KUSHNER PARTNER & HEAD OF THE LITERARY DIVISION OF CREATIVE CONVERGENCE
Bradley Kushner is a partner and oversees the literary management division of Creative Convergence. The company's literary clients include director/screenwriter Gary Sinyor (BOB THE BUTLER starring Tom Green and Brooke Shields, THE BACHELOR starring Chris O'Donnell & Rene Zellweger), screenwriter/novelist Rodney Johnson (QUEEN SIZE starring Nikki Blonsky), Gary Boulton-Brown (THEY COME BACK starring Mia Kirshner), screenwriter and Fox News anchor/correspondent Jonathan Hunt (co-producer THIEVES OF BAGHDAD now in development at Warner Bros Pictures), screenwriter and producer Stacy Lumbrezer (co-producer HOLLOW MAN, STARSHIP TROOPERS), screenwriter Michael Scott Myers (THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD starring Vincent D'Onofrio & Rene Zellweger), Mitch Gould (DEVIL'S DEN starring Devon Sawa and Kelly Hu, DEMON HUNTER starring Sean Patrick Flanery), screenwriter Chuck Austen (co-creator & writer "TRIPPING THE RIFT" for SciFi channel, and comic book writer for DC and Marvel including X-MEN, AVENGERS, SUPERMAN and JUSTICE LEAGUE), and WGA Award and Humanitas Award winner screenwriter/producer Ann Knapp-Austen (JOHNNY KAPAHALA and writer/exec producer POWER RANGERS).

In addition to Literary Management, Kushner is responsible for creative developing, packaging and producing projects for film, television & new media. His credits include Co-Producer on the film DUAL (starring Michael Worth & Tim Thomerson, directed by Steven R. Monroe) and Consultant on the TV pilot “52 FIGHTS” for ABC/Touchstone (starring Christine Taylor and Matthew Letscher). He has also worked closely with the consulting department where he is instrumental in developing the weekly teleseminar series Hollywood By Phone and teleseminar classes such as Million Dollar Screenwriting & Content Career and Your Signature Story.

After graduating from Northwestern University with a BS in Radio/Television/Film, Kushner started his career as a production assistant for director/producer Ivan Reitman and went on to be a post production assistant on the movie PRIVATE PARTS (starring Howard Stern and directed by Betty Thomas). He then worked at the William Morris Agency where he assisted representing literary clients. From there he moved onto Columbia Pictures assisting the creative development and production of projects including BIG DADDY (starring Adam Sandler), MR. DEEDS (starring Adam Sandler and Winona Ryder), FINDING FORRESTER (starring Sean Connery and directed by Gus Van Sant), ADAPTATION (starring Nicholas Cage, Meryl Streep, and directed by Spike Jonze), and THE PATRIOT (starring Mel Gibson and directed by Roland Emmerich). From there he worked as Director of Development for boutique literary management firm Mason, Burgess, Lifshultz developing client’s material until the company evolved into Creative Convergence and was promoted to partner and head of literary management.

BRAD ROSENFELD, LITERARY AGENT AT PREFERRED ARTISTS AGENCY
Brad Rosenfeld has been a literary agent for over 15 years at Preferred Artists representing Writers, Producers, and Directors covering both the feature & television markets.

The most common question that he receives, “Why stay at the same company so long?” and “Why don’t you go to a larger agency?” The simplest answer is, “there is something to be said for complete autonomy and being able to represent who you want too without anyone standing in your way.”

Some of his more recent accomplishments have been selling the feature “Seven Pounds” starring Will Smith and the reality television show “I Was Once A Teen Idol” that is currently airing on VH1. Other projects around town are “Chasing the Dragon” based on a novel at Universal with Tribeca attached as the Producer and a project at Disney titled “The Pet” with Scott Rudin/Craig Perry attached to Producer, and “The Saga of Jubal McClaws” at Castle Rock Entertainment with Rob Reiner attached to Direct, and an untitled project that was sold as a pitch with Adam Sandler’s company, Happy Madison attached to Produce.

One of his passions is continuing to service his current Writers and Directors as well as find that up and comer.

CRAIG NEWMAN, MUSIC BOOKING AGENT AT AGENCY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS (APA)
Craig Newman is a music booking agent with Agency for the Performing Arts (APA) in Beverly Hills. He currently represents artists such as Plain White Ts, Mayday Parade, Royal Crown Revue and Forever The Sickest Kids.

In addition, the department client roster includes Boston, Rick Springfield, Al Jarreau, Jack’s Mannequin, OneRepublic, Flogging Molly, Black Label Society and many more.

Craig’s career on the business side of music was somewhat accidental. He moved to Los Angeles from Philadelphia in 1999 with dreams of becoming a Rock Star. To pay the bills Craig took a job in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency. As time went on Craig realized the life of an agent wasn’t so bad and before he knew it he had moved up the totem pole.

Craig is married to Monique McGuffin Newman, a production director at Universal Music Enterprises. In their spare time (what little there is) Craig and Monique play music, listen to music, live and love music.