Actor, director, producer, and improv artist Jennifer Clymer joins me to talk creativity, caregiving, community, and her incredible work at the Motion Picture & Television Fund. A heart-filled conversation about living your next act with purpose.

Voiceover artist, actor, and writer Roxana Ortega shares her journey through identity, improv, and creative risk-taking. From The Casagrandes to solo shows, this episode is a joyful, honest convo about finding your voice—literally and figuratively.

After a long pause (thanks to menopause, ADHD, burnout, and a detour through healing), Blissful Spinster is officially back! In this short relaunch trailer, host Cris Graves shares what pulled her away from the mic, what brought her back, and what you can expect in the new season.

Meet Oren Soffer!  Oren lives in Los Angeles and is an up and coming cinematographer with a bold cinematic eye. Oren’s work includes two feature films; “Fixation” that premiered at TIFF and “Allswell” that premiered at TriBeCa in 2022 as well as Co-Dping the film “The Creator” with cinematographer Greig Fraser.

Meet Randall Park, the multi-talented artist who has captivated audiences with his comedic acting, writing, producing, and directing skills. Hailing from Los Angeles, Randall is not only known for his comedic prowess but has also ventured into the realms of producing and directing.

Meet, Nina Menkes! Nina lives in Los Angeles and is considered a cinematic feminist pioneer and one of America’s foremost independent filmmakers. Nina premiered her second documentary and fourth feature, BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER at Sundance this year, and it’s how I discovered her and this amazing and impactful documentary which explores the sexual-politics of cinematic shot design.

Meet David Casey! David is a Showrunner, Director, and TV executive. He lives in Detroit and is an award-winning filmmaker who specializes in directing, writing, showrunning, show development, and leading logistics for large-scale teams in challenging environments around the world from preproduction through post.

Meet Sara Eckel! Sara is an Author and she lives in Kingston, New York. She’s been a full-time freelance writer since 1997, Sara’s essays, arts criticism, and reported pieces have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The BBC, and The Boston Globe to name a few. For five years, Sara was a nationally syndicated opinion columnist, with a weekly column that appeared in more than two hundred newspapers nationwide. Sara has had her short fiction published in Speakeasy and Sanskrit. Sara is also a published author, which is how she wound up on my radar. One of my former guests – Gina Fattore mentioned Sara’s book, It’s Not You: 27 (Wrong) Reasons You’re Single. I found it on audible and gave it a listen and so much of what she writes about resonated with me. I’m so excited to bring you my conversation with Sara, we chatted about the importance of not getting caught up in trying to fit into the box society has made for women, about seeking our own happiness whether that means being single or being in a healthy relationship and about redefining success away from what previous generations have thought that means. Connect with Sara on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/saraaeckel Connect with Sara on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/saraeckel Find out more about Sara and get her book on her website at: https://saraeckel.com Learn more about the Blissful Spinster Podcast and connect with Cris on the website at: https://www.blissfulspinster.com

Meet James Ellis Deakins! James is a Digital Workflow Specialist, Filmmaker & Podcaster. James lives in Los Angeles and is both a creative and business partner of cinematographer Roger Deakins. James came up the ranks as a script supervisor for such films as Thunderheart, The Shawshank Redemption & Mercury Rising. She has transitioned into a Digital Workflow Specialist, working in a role James really enjoys as she gets to work with her best friend and creative partner, her husband Roger on such films as Sicario, No Country For Old Men, 1917, Blade Runner 2049, and their latest collaboration with director Sam Mendes – Empire of Light. During the pandemic, James created the TEAM DEAKINS Podcast which is a series of conversations between James and Roger and a guest, covering all aspects of movie making. This podcast is such a great resource for both beginning and seasoned filmmakers and everyone in between and I’m so excited that it’s coming back for season two! I discovered James through the Team Deakins Podcast, and I decided to be bold and send the podcast an email asking if James would like to be on Blissful Spinster. To my surprise, James, herself answered and she said yes! I’m so excited to bring you my conversation with James, we laughed a lot, learned a lot and was the kind of chat that leaves you smiling. We talked about the importance of collaboration on a film, what directors can learn from a script supervisor and how we both believe in sharing our knowledge. Connect with James on Instagram at - https://www.instagram.com/team.deakins Connect with James onTwitter at - https://twitter.com/teamdeakins Check out the Team Deakins on its website at - https://teamdeakins.libsyn.com/# Learn more about the Blissful Spinster Podcast and connect with Cris on the website at - https://www.blissfulspinster.com

Meet Amy & Nancy Harrington! Amy & Nancy are Women’s Empowerment Activists and Podcasters, Amy and Nancy live in Los Angeles and they’re sisters on a mission. Amy had a long and successful career in film & television, where she worked her way up the post-production ladder at Warner Brothers, to eventually become the first woman in the history of the film industry to hold the position of Vice President of Post Production and Visual Effects at a major studio. And Nancy is a serial entrepreneur who built a successful graphic design business and theater company in the heart of Boston before she moved to L.A. While Amy was at Warner Brothers she oversaw work on over 250 films, including the early Harry Potter movies and the Matrix franchise. When Nancy first got to L.A. she took on her first, and only office job at an agency where she worked on Academy Award campaigns for Miramax and Paramount Classics. In response to the #MeToo & Time’s Up movements, Amy and Nancy decided they wanted to strike out on their own and start a new adventure. They felt a calling to become advocates for women’s empowerment and find a way to become activists for positivity, change, and passion… and The Passionistas Project was born. In, 2020 they started the Passionistas Project Women’s Equality Summit, and on September 21st – 23rd of 2022, Amy & Nancy will host the third annual Power of Passionistas Summit to empower women to create a world in which there is equality for all. Now, I’m so excited to bring you my chat with Amy & Nancy. Not only do we chat about what it’s like to be a woman in the Industry, but we talk about so much more, including how important it is to support one another as women and how meaningful working as an advocate in the women's empowerment space can be. Connect with Amy & Nancy on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/thepassionistasproject/ Connect with Amy & Nancy on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/PassionsProj Check out the Passionista Project and the Summit on its website: https://www.thepassionistasproject.com Learn more about the Blissful Spinster Podcast and connect with Cris on the website: https://www.blissfulspinster.com

Meet Venita Ozols-Graham! Venita is Director, Writer, Producer, and First Assistant Director. Venita splits her time between Washington State and Los Angeles and is an award-winning filmmaker and veteran of the film festival circuit. After graduating from Pratt Institute in New York City, Venita moved to Los Angeles and was accepted into the D.G.A.’s Assistant Director’s Training Program. Venita joined the D.G.A. as an Assistant Director and A.D.’d on both features & television shows, she worked her way up to First Assistant Director/Associate Producer on shows like The X-Files, CSI, Veronica Mars, The District, Star Trek DS-9, and The Shield. About 10 years ago, Venita started her own production company called Wanderlust Film and she began directing and writing her own projects. Venita’s first feature film, which she directed & produced called Black Widows, was distributed across streaming platforms by Gravitas Ventures. For the past few years, Venita has been honing her craft as a writer/director by making award-winning short films including - Amy’s in the Freezer, Angel, Chicken, and Lift. Her latest short, Who Wants Dessert? which stars Sean Young, has garnered several awards and is currently finishing its festival run. Most recently, Venita has been busy raising funds for her next short film – The Ossan which will begin production in October of 2022. I met Vanita in 2019 when we both were traveling the film festival circuit with our short films and we hit it off right away. I love how passionate Venita is about filmmaking and about supporting others in their own artistic endeavors. I’m excited to bring you our chat where we learned more about each other, talk about what it takes to crowdfund successfully, and about Venita’s new project The Ossan. Connect with Venita on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/venitaozolsgraham Connect with Venita on Twitter - https://twitter.com/usedbodyparts Check out Venita’s newest project The Ossan and please consider donating, on its website - https://www.theossanmovie.com

Meet Joel Stoffer! Joel is an Actor. He lives in Los Angeles and is that rarity in the business a local, having grown up in the valley. Joel has been a professional actor for nearly 30 years and he’s portrayed everything from criminals, demons, and vampires to doctors, lawyers, and government agents. Most notably, you may have seen him in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as Enoch the Chronicom. And most recently, he was Eddie Munson’s uncle – Wayne Munson on season 4 of Stranger Things. But before things got strange for Joel, and even before he traveled to space and time, he and I worked together on a couple of my short films -- he was a misunderstood photographer in #nofilter which screened at the 2016 Cannes Short Film Corner and he was a clown gigolo in the award-winning clown western – Bozonova. I’m so excited to bring you my conversation with Joel, we chat about the actor/director relationship, the importance of trust when making a film, and about his time on Stranger Things. Connect with David on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/obleyo Connect with David on Twitter - https://twitter.com/obleyo Check out Joel in My Short Films at - Bozonova - https://vimeo.com/231040810 #nofilter - https://vimeo.com/153323966 Learn more about Cris and Blissful Spinster at - https://www.blissfulspinster.com

Meet, David Bolen! David lives in Los Angeles and is a highly sought-after Cinematographer with numerous, narrative feature films, Television projects, and documentaries under his belt. David’s work includes 2020’s Sundance documentary darling “Some Kind of Heaven”, his feature film “Soni” which premiered at the 2018 Venice International Film Festival, and "Beast", which was in competition at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival and won the Independent Episodic Grand Jury Prize. David’s work hasn’t just made the rounds on the festival circuit, it’s also reached the Oscars, his stunning cinematography on the New York Times OP DOC “A Concerto is a Conversation" was part of the reason this fantastic short was nominated for Best Short Documentary at 92nd Academy Awards. Most recently, his feature film “Gone in the Night” (formally “The Cow”) and starring Winona Ryder, premiered at the 2022 SXSW film festival and amazingly, secured distribution with Vertical Entertainment. It can currently be streamed on Amazon. David is not just a talented Cinematographer, he’s also a wonderful friend and supportive filmmaker. He and I met a few years ago on the set of a true crime documentary series we were both working on, and we’ve been cheering each other on ever since. I’m so happy to bring you our wonderful conversation. We chat about the DP/Director relationship, how tapping into our vulnerability leads to making the best kinds of films, and the importance of making everyone from the P.A. to the Producer feel seen on a set. Find out more about David’s work on his website: https://www.davidbolen.com Connect with David on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidbolendp Connect with David on Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidbolen To learn more about the Blissful Spinster Podcast and Cris Graves visit the website: https://www.blissfulspinster.com To connect with the podcast on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/blissfulspinster

Meet Carl Hansen! Carl is a Director, Producer, and Disability Advocate and he lives in Los Angeles. He's an award-winning filmmaker and Emmy-winning producer who has been a Co-Executive Producer and Supervising Producer on such shows as the cultural phenomenon Shark Tank and the groundbreaking Boston Med. He's also an acclaimed timed-short filmmaker with his team, Cultural Detritus. Since 2005 they have made 29 films, many of which have gone on to win several awards. As if that’s not enough, Carl is also a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, most especially for people with disabilities, in the Entertainment industry. Most importantly, Carl is one of my oldest friends and I’m super excited to share this laughter-filled conversation with you all.  We chat about our early shared passion for film, the importance of paying it forward, and what it means to be a diversity & inclusion advocate especially when it comes to the disabled community and Hollywood. Find out more about Carl and his 48-Hour Films on the Cultural Detritus website: https://www.culturaldetritus.com/about-us Connect with Carl on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fhansen1 Connect with Carl on Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/fcarlhansen Find out more about Blissful Spinster & connect with Chadwick Pawsman on the website: https://www.blissfulspinster.com

Meet Caroline Liem! Caroline is a Producer & Casting Director. She lives in Los Angeles and has worked as a Casting Director for over 20 years, Caroline has cast studio features, independent films, television series, and pilots for Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, Disney Studios, Sony, Warner Bros. ABC, CBS, and NBC. She has also worked with many prominent producers and directors including Lauren Schuler Donner, David Goyer, Jon Turteltaub, and Jen McGowan to name a few. And during her time working for the casting department at Disney Studios, she oversaw the casting for such projects as Gone in Sixty Seconds, Pearl Harbor, and Gangs of New York. Caroline is also a sought-after audition coach and acting teacher who’s been a guest professor at several prestigious programs including - The Juilliard School, NYU Tisch, and Syracuse to name a few - and is currently faculty at Pace University and UT Austin. Recently Caroline has decided to use her extensive knowledge and skills in casting and try her hand at producing… a fact that makes me super happy as she’s one of my producers on Alone Girl! Yes, you guessed it, this is one of my “checking-in on Alone Girl’sJourney” episodes! Caroline and I have known each other since Grad School and we’ve remained close friends and collaborators throughout the years! During our chat, we’ll catch you up on who Caroline is, and also where we’ve been on Alone Girl’s Journey, on our shared mission to make Alone Girl diverse & inclusive – both in front of & behind the camera and what’s been happening on the film’s path recently. Find out more about Caroline on her website at: https://www.carolineliem.com Connect with Caroline on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/itscarolineliem/ Connect with Caroline on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/itscarolineliem

Meet Susan Littenberg! Susan is an accomplished editor who lives in Los Angeles. She’s been an editor on over 15 feature films including, Charlotte’s Web, Bride Wars, Easy A, 13 Going On 30, and And Everything Is Going Fine, directed by Steven Soderbergh. Susan was nominated for an ACE award for Easy A and she also edited the music doc The Ballad Of Ramblin’ Jack which won a grand jury prize at Sundance among many other awards. Early in Susan’s career, when she was still an Assistant Editor she got to work with directors, Jim Jarmusch, Hal Hartley, Ang Lee, and Paul Auster. Most recently, Susan was a Producer on the award-winning documentary Bathtubs Over Broadway, which examines the quirky world of the corporate musical. Susan currently teaches at UCLA, which is where I met her, at a screening she was moderating that the Bruin Film Society sponsored a film she worked on as the Assistant Editor – The Ice Storm. I was thrilled when I made a point to meet Susan after the screening and asked if she’d share her journey and wisdom on Blissful Spinster and she said “yes!”. We had a wonderful chat full of amazing insights into the craft of filmmaking and storytelling and I’m so happy to be able to share this conversation with you.

Meet Adria Dawn! Adria is a talented multi-hyphenate who shines both in front of and behind the camera. In front of the camera, Adria is most known for playing the dysfunctional outcast April Tuna on Ryan Murphy's first series, the high school cult hit, Popular. Behind the camera, Adria is an accomplished director, writer, and Producer, who is most known for her films about social change. She’s recently won two Telly Awards (Yay, Adria!), one for her multi-award-winning Black Lives Matter film, Karen, and the other for her alcohol use disorder film, Gray Area. She is also known for the educational film series Kids Matter where she just released their latest film – Identity. As if all of that weren’t enough to keep anyone busy, Adria has also begun work on a memoir that I’m sure will be both enlightening and entertaining. Last but never least important! Adria is one of my oldest & very best friends… we met last century while we were both attending the University of Illinois and we’ve been there for each other both professionally and personally throughout our lives. I really enjoyed getting to both, chatting with Adria, and helping shine a light on what a fantastic artist and human she is. This conversation is a testament to how important it is as an artist to build and maintain a tribe of positive collaborators and friends to help us along this journey we call life. Yay friendship! Find out more about Adria on her website: http://adriadawn.com/Home.html Connect with Adria on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/adria.dawn/ Connect with Adria on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/adria_dawn

Meet Leigh Medeiros! Leigh is a published author and screenwriter who’s been supporting creative people in various capacities for 30 years. Her book The 1-minute Writer is a fun handbook designed to help you flex your writing muscles and create your best work. And amazingly she’s recently co-produced a climate-related Pitchfest for TV and film with Young Entertainment Activists in L.A. and founded the Linden Place Writers Residency in Bristol, Rhode Island. In our chat, we talk about creativity and the importance of being a cheerleader for our fellow creatives. We also cover the fascinating topic of combining environmental & climate change messaging in the art we create, including the scripts we write as a form of activism for our planet. Leigh’s curiosity and positivity make me smile and I’m sure you’ll be smiling too! Find out more about Leigh on her website: https://www.leighmedeiros.com Connect with Leigh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leigh_medeiros

Meet Carolina Groppa! Carolina is a Producer and Podcaster. She’s worked as a freelance producer for over a decade across all platforms and in both narrative and documentary mediums. Carolina earned her first, of what I’m sure will be more to come, Emmy nomination in Producing for the documentary Autism in Love. Most recently, a narrative film she produced this past year – Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul, had its premiere at Sundance. Along with all her work in film & TV, Carolina also self-produces (I’d expect nothing less of a producer!) a wonderful and informative podcast called - Angle On Producers (AOP). On AOP she has in-depth conversations with many of today’s most progressive and innovative film & TV producers. AOP is how I discovered Carolina, and in our chat, we get into how she started AOP out of curiosity and with an aim to highlight the unvarnished truth of what it takes to work in film & TV as a producer and about all the different types of producers it takes to bring projects to fruition. We also talk about her journey, going from a freelance producer in physical production to pivoting and becoming a production executive at Issa Rea’s production company – ColorCreative as the Head of Physical Production. And the thing I find most wonderful about Carolina is that she is a poster child for following your passion and curiosity, as the opportunity to become a part of the ColorCreative team stemmed directly from her creating her podcast in the first place. Find out more about Carolina & Angle On Producers on her website: https://www.carolinagroppa.com Find out more about ColorCreative on their website: https://colorcreative.co Connect with Carolina on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinagroppa Listen to Angle On Producers here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/angle-on-producers-with-carolina-groppa/id1469447192

Meet Gina Fattore! Gina is a published author & seasoned TV Writer. Her first novel is the very funny Spinster Diaries, which you can find wherever you get your books. She also has a TEDx Talk about spinsterhood called Become What You Believe. Her TV credits include being the creator & showrunner of Dare Me, being a Consulting Producer on the STARZ limited series Gaslit, and a writer on Better Things, Californication, and Gilmore Girls. Like me, Gina is a life-long spinster, and I really enjoyed our chat. Of course, we spoke of writing for TV, but more interestingly, IMHO, we chatted about how the TV of the 70s which came out of the wake of both the Women’s Equality Movement & the Civil Rights Movement helped to shape both of us into the feminists that we are today and the artists that we have become. And as two spinsters would, we also touched on how women can seek out freedom & autonomy and be happy. Find out more about Gina on her website at: https://ginafattore.com Connect with Gina on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/ginafattore/ Follow BS on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/blissfulspinster/ Follow BS on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/BlissfulSpinst1 Check us out our website at: Blissfulspinster.com