Suzee Dunn
Creator and Operator
Suzee Dunn grew up in Battle Creek, MI. After not making the basketball team in the 8th grade, her mother pushed her to audition for ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at the local Junior Theater and sure enough she was cast as Dorothy and a love was born.
Suzee jumped into any theater or really any type of preforming that was available to her. She did school musicals and plays, community musicals and plays, and even a play or two with the community collage. Suzee was in her high school's show choir, helped put together an improv team, and was a part of a benefit concert her best friend started.
The minute she could move, she did. Suzee moved to NYC to develop her skills in Shakespeare and musical theater. She was brought on as an intern at the Planet Connections Theater Festival where she learned she was funny. Her sights slowly started to shift, and after completing Improv 401 at UCB she knew she was funny, wanted to do television, and needed to move to LA.
Suzee moved to LA two years ago and met Kandice Martellaro on set of a short some of their mutual friends put together. It was love at first sight, and they knew they had to work together.
Somewhere along the way, Suzee came to Kandice with the concept of Act Like a Girl and Kandice said yes immediately. Since then the two have been working away at putting together a safe place for women to promote women and equality through the art they both love so much.
Feminism is everything to me. I became a feminist at young age when my parents took me to Washington DC. We were there over the reenactment of the 1913 woman’s suffrage march. That weekend changed my life. I felt this connection, this anger, and this need to be a part of the change. My thirteen year old mind couldn’t understand how this was even a problem. I started to research and continued to develop my knowledge of inequality through out high school. In my US history class we got to pick a subject to be our learning vehicle and we studied it though out the years of history. I picked woman’s suffrage and I was changed forever. For me what it comes down to is the knowledge that my sex does not make me less than and the need to see that reflected in our society economically, politically, and socially.
Kandice Martellaro
Producer, Co-Director, & Editor
Kandice is a writer, director, and passionate feminist. She has worked in production and post-production on various projects. Kandice enjoys challenging herself by working on a variety of projects but she puts emphasis on those that center themselves around strong women.
For me feminism is about equality of all people with an emphasis on gender, sexual orientation and race. It is about being able to do what you love to do, need to do or want to do without feeling like you can't or like you're limited in some way, because of any per-determined factor that is beyond your control.
Malie Mason
Staff Writer
Malie Mason specializes in creative direction, acting, production and writing. Her background started in musical theatre and moved its way to up production by building sets and producing the musical numbers (choreography/wardrobe/set design). Malie has been producing sketches, on line content and performing stand-up now for thousands of years. Malie and Grown-Ups Inc. are currently producing commercials, music videos, photo shoots and web-content.
Meaghan Lehrer
Socials
Meaghan Lehrer is a freelance feminist writer living in Los Angeles. She achieved her Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Production from Florida Atlantic University and holds an honorary Master’s degree in making mistakes. While at FAU, she worked closely with the Women’s Leadership LLC, and upon moving to Los Angeles, became involved with the UN Women LA Chapter. She enjoys writing about women’s health, dating, and sex, and she spends any free time she gets with her family. Someday, she hopes to banish the ‘period stigma’ for good.
Taylor Harris
Producer and Director of Photography
Camera Operator and 1st AC specializing in the use of color, problem solving, and dynamic lighting.
Taylor currently lives in Santa Monica, CA and is a freelance director and camera operator for Motor Trend (Mind Over Eye Productions). He also camera operates for Anchorfield and A52 adventurously collaborating to bring their visions to life. On his off time he edits and color corrects specializing in Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, and Da Vinci Resolve.
Taylor is a dark filmmaker constantly searching for life altering stories of Love, Passion, Mystery, Stimulation, and Rebellious Adventure. He was born to do this, allow him to do what you've never seen done before.
What does feminism mean to me: It is the fact that any woman on this planet can do anything a man can. All civil rights of women should also be equal to those of men. We are all creative beings and excel at the mastered skills and visions we bring to the filmmaking world. Teamwork is essential to every production and I believe that discrimination should not be made based on gender or sexual orientation.
Jenny Collen
Animator and Editor
Jenny was born and raised in the small town of Gig Harbor, Washington. Following her love of film and comedy she studied film production at Montana State University in Bozeman. Since 2013, Jenny has lived in Los Angeles working as a freelance editor and graphic artist. She hopes to continue working with woman to tell important stories.
Cizko Quevedo
First Assistant Camera and Key Grip
Cizko is a free-lance independent visual artist, specialized in Photography, Film and Media production. Creative director for independent projects. Works in project management and development for 55mill entertainment to formalize communications between department entities. Cizko is the Creator of Gunshot Romanze Pictures company. Current projects include artistic ambitions aimed to establish brand, culture, and market of company. Artistic influences are: Jean Luc Goddard, Woody Allen, Charlie Chaplin, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorcece, Charles Bukowski, Bobby Dylan, Tupac Shakur and the French New Wave era.
Feminism is part of a social revolution incorporated by many civil right movements that represent consciousness from the people. It is an ongoing debate stemming from a right to equality. the voice of feminism is the voice of everyone. it is a cause that not only benefits women but men and children as well.
Teri Andony
Head of Film Department and Staff Writer
I’m a can of worms. Like many millennials, I suffer from FOMO. I wrote a bio and found it incredibly boring, so I added commentary.
Teri has an M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology with a specialty in positive leadership and employee well-being. She is currently an intern at a leadership consulting firm. I LIKE TO READ AND HELP PEOPLE GET ALONG.
The rest of her waking hours are devoted to acting and producing.* I AM ADDICTED TO NETFLIX AND IMDB.
Teri is an avid hockey enthusiast and rarely misses a Colorado Avalanche game. JOE SAKIC IS MY HERO. NO JOKE - I CARRY HIS PLAYER CARD IN MY WALLET.
A former competitive swimmer, she now enjoys weight training and learning everything she can about living healthy. She strives to enhance her own well-being from a holistic perspective, balancing pursuits of both mental and physical fortitude. SWEATING. REGULAR POOPS. LAUGHTER. ALL VERY IMPORTANT TO ME.
Highlights from her past include volunteering in Uganda, coaching gymnastics and swimming, and singing at Carnegie Hall with her high school choir. I’VE DONE STUFF.
*Seriously though, of all parts of this biography, this point is crucial. My training is grossly overshadowed by my passion for film. Amy Poehler said great people do things before they’re ready. I love telling stories and helping people tell theirs, and am learning how along the way.
My take on feminism:
My world view for many issues stems from a partnership between logic and feeling. I try to make decisions based on data, but it is very difficult to disqualify the power of personal experience. Given that the definition of feminism is constantly evolving, I find it very difficult to take a particular stance. To be honest, my involvement in this blog is partly to discover my position and to learn more about public opinion on the matter.
I hope that those of you reading this blog will come with an open mind, because I am writing with one. I am in the role of observer. I think my ambiguous stance on feminism is an asset on a blog like this because I will not selectively filter what I write about to match some arbitrary position I say I have. It’s similar to the training I give about conducting job interviews - you try to avoid jumping to immediate conclusions because the rest of the responses are measured for consistency with that response, even if it’s not the most accurate representation of the candidate’s ability to do the job.
Maybe after a while I’ll adjust my definition (or lack thereof). All I know is that for now, I’m jumping in the water. Hope you can join me.
