Sarah Smith is a filmmaker and reality producer based in Los Angeles. She’s written for The Young & The Restless where she and her team won a WGA award for outstanding scripted daytime drama in 2013. She was also a writers’ assistant for the Emmy winning writing team of As the World Turns (2002, 2004, 2005), where she was invited to participate in the 2004 and 2005 Procter and Gamble writers’ workshop. In addition to her writing and producing work, Sarah edited the feature films Saint Janet and Armless, (an official selection to the NEXT category of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival). Sarah is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Phillip Guttmann is a writer, clinical social worker and teacher. In theater, he worked on and off Broadway with The Araca Group, LAByrinth Theater Company, The Play Company and the New Group. His plays have been produced in New York at Chashama, Westbeth and the West Bank Theater. He was a finalist in the Cherry Lane Theater Mentor Festival, was selected to participate in the ABC writers' development program. Phillip has also served as a member of the GLAAD Media Awards committee for Theater. More recently, Phillip's career has focused on issues pertaining to social justice. Since 2012, Phillip has worked for the New York City public defender The Legal Aid Society as a social worker. He has also worked with Gay Men's Health Crisis, Footsteps, The NYC Office of the Appellate Defender, as a therapist at Services for the Underserved and most recently as a part time adjunct lecturer, teaching sociology at CUNY Bronx Community College. Phillip holds an MSW from New York University and an MFA in playwriting from The New School.
Jeff Maksym (Pisces) is a Los Angeles based Filmmaker. While living in NYC from 1999 to 2011, he worked extensively in the Fashion industry as a Videographer. He is the Director / Co-Writer / Co-Creator of the ground-breaking, interactive comedy webseries, The Mimi & Flo Show, which has over 2.5 million hits worldwide. Jeff also was the editor of the 4th season of Illeana Douglas' Ikea-sponsored webseries "Easy To Assemble." Between shooting, editing and directing, Jeff is also a pretty good drummer, guitarist and bassist. He is a graduate of the Film/TV program at New York University’s Tisch School of The Arts.
Melanie Crescenz grew up in Coatesville, Pennsylvania and graduated from Temple University with a BA in Film and Media Arts. While studying film at Temple, Melanie got her start working in casting on the M. Night Shyamalan film, “The Village.” She currently lives in Los Angeles, and has worked on many great projects, including, “Suite Life on Deck, “Shake it Up,” “Childrens Hospital,” “New Girl,” “Sex Tape,” “Fresh Off The Boat” and most recently “Wet Hot American Summer.” She currently works for Susie Farris Casting. Melanie is also a die-hard Philly sports fan.
Mike Dobson is a piano based composer who has worked as a network television music supervisor for over twenty-five years. He's worked on such scripted dramas as General Hospital, Days Of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, and The Bold and The Beautiful. While at The Young and the Restless Mike won three Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition. In addition to Mike’s professional television work, he is currently studying at UCLA’s Film Scoring program.
Mike is thrilled to collaborate with Sarah Smith with whom he shared many creative moments working on The Young and The Restless.
Inger Longren was born to a single mother on a pirate ship bound for Seattle. Her dear indigent mother hung on for two long weeks, but ultimately died of child birth complications while holding her in her arms, telling her the story of GoodNight Moon. The pirates came ashore and traveled like Vikings to the Nordic regions of Minnesota where they dropped little Inger at The Fond du Luc Band of Chippewa Reservation. She had no papers and no birth certificate so the Chippewas took her in as their own. Teenaged Inger struggled to fit in with her surroundings, and at just fifteen-years-old she left the reservation and set out to find herself. She decided to journey down the Mississippi River to New Orleans where she ended up hitching a ride on a freighter carrying Chryslers to Central America and joined the Sandinista Liberation Movement. While escaping CIA death squads she took cover in Cuba where she learned slight of hand and grifted rich European diplomats. It was during one of these shakedowns that she met the love of her life, Ernesto Toscano, only to have her heart broken when he died in a hail of bullets meant for her. Inger now resides in Los Angeles and works as an editor for film, television, new media, and vine videos.