CrewMichelle Steffes (Writer/Director) Michelle Steffes was Director of Development at Larger than Life, the production company of Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit), for several years before leaving to pursue her writing and directing goals full-time. She and writing partner Tim Lundgren have recently finished their psychological thriller spec Lucidity and are currently writing a romantic comedy. Driftwood is Michelle's second short film.
Ben has been making movies in one form or another for the past 20 years. He interned at James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment, and has since worked for a host of other production companies. His credits include hit shows such as Grounded for Life, and America's Next Top Model. He has directed and produced numerous independent films and television series, and is currently developing several new projects with various collaborators. Ben also produced Michelle Steffes' award-winning short, Say it Again Sam.
Maggie Malone is Director of Creative Development for Walt Disney Animation Studios. She has served as Producing Director for the Black Dahlia Theatre in Los Angeles. For Manhattan Theatre Club, Maggie worked on the original off-Broadway productions of "Proof", "Fuddy Meers" and "Tale of the Allergist’s Wife". Production credits in television include Welcome To New York and in film Seabiscuit.
Shalena hails from Sacramento, California. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in African-American Studies with a Minor in Film Studies. Her academics then lead her into the world of non-profit theater via Theater Artaud in San Francisco- as a box office manager and community outreach coordinator. Shalena left the theater community for three years, working in both the investment banking and mutual funds industries. In 2003, she returned to the arts while working on her first feature, Bloodshed, as a 2nd AD. Shalena continued in this vein by working as a Camera Assistant on commercial shoots, producing the short film, The Legend of Wine, in 2004, and shooting footage and stills of various “Soft-Culture” trends for a British research consortium in 2005 and 2006. She currently attends AFI and will receive her MFA in Producing (2007).
Aaron shot his first film, Blind Justice, before finishing college. After taking a semester in LA to study film, he graduated with a B.A. in Photography from Bethel College. After moving to LA in late 2001, he quickly started his assistant cameraman career as a camera trainee on Seabiscuit. Working his way up through the ranks, he has been involved with features, commercials, music videos, episodic television, documentaries, and reality TV. Aaron used his interaction with more established cinematographers to create his own style in a stream of music videos and shorts.
Cassandra DeCuir is a graduate of Saint Mary’s College of California; having designed her own Italian Studies major and studying in Rome, Italy for two years. While in Italy, Cassandra refined her artistic abilities and sense of design and space, which led her to working at Michael Brian Interior Design in Newport Beach, California and following courses in UCLA’s Architecture and Interior Design post-baccalaureate program. However, film making runs in her blood line: her grandfather, John DeCuir, Sr., is a four-time Academy Award winner for production design. She is an associate member of the Set Decorator’s Society of America, and student member of the American Society of Interior Designers, while being under the mentorship of award-winning set decorator, Cloudia Rebar. Driftwood is Cassandra's first opportunity as a production designer for film and she is actively pursuing her career of telling a story through images and surroundings.
Ashley Rhodes is a costume designer for film and theatre. Aside from Driftwood, Ashley has also designed the costumes for Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl for AFI's Director's Workshop for Women, as well as shorts with the AFI Conservatory. Her theatre work includes design, assistant design, and specialty costume crafts at Pennsylvania Centre Stage, The Chance Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Penn State School of Theatre, and Claire Trevor School of the Arts. Designs include "Fetes de la Nuit", "Nine", "The Seagull", "Pericles", and "Mad Forest". Ashley is also a wardrobe stylist for print, and notably for The Pink Project, a photography book benefiting LABCA and RAINN. Ashley is the recipient of the 2006 Bette and Stephen Warner Arts Award for Excellence in Theatre. She holds a BFA in Theatre Production from Penn State University and an MFA in Costume Design from University of California, Irvine
Katie Taylor is an associate casting director that has learned from casting director greats Francine Maisler, Roger Mussenden and Risa Bramon Garcia. She has worked on several high profile projects that include Michael Mann's Miami Vice, Sam Raimi's Spider-man 3, Jay Roach's Used Guys, Adam Sandler's I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, and most recently Stephen Frears' pilot "Skip Tracer". She loves working with actors and has been known to utter the phrase "Michelle Steffes is the best director with whom I've ever worked."
Midsummer is Steve Elkins, Dale Bryson, Ryan Pue, Jay Sengstock and Action Olvey. Since 1997 they have created music that is sometimes epic and swirling, sometimes intimate and poetic. Although they have been on a long hiatus, they are nearing the completion of "Inside the Trees" - a full length record that is in many ways the culmination of their career to date. Midsummer can be reached through their myspace page: www.myspace.com/midsummer.
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