SHANNAN WILSON



​"Shannan absolutely killed it in the finale scene.  People will be talking about her performance for quite some time.  It was gut wrenching."  Mike Walsh- writer/producer of  Sno Babies 

​Shannan is a Texas girl at heart, enjoying outdoor activities, camping, and playing sports. Shannan also loves British humor and is extremely hard to offend. She will watch an entire episode of The Munsters and still crack up.



As far as acting goes, she is a New York City/Philly actress who has worked on a variety of roles, from an affluent Upper East Side wife to Bill Pullman in the Ryan Murphy Netflix Limited Series, HALSTON, to a blue-collar upstate New York single mother in the comedic web series MIKE IS UNEMPLOYED. She can also be seen on  FBI on CBS as well as two recently released feature films, SNO BABIES and THE RETALIATORS. The much anticipated feature film, SIGNS OF LOVE, (starring Dylan and Hopper Penn and Rosanna Arquette) was released in theaters October 2022 and premiered at the Brooklyn Film Festival this May where it won Best Director. Shannan plays the mother of Zoe Arquette who won Best Actress at the festival. And PHILLY CHRISTMAS, in which she plays opposite Robert Clohessey from Blue Bloods, will be released theatrically December 2022. She is also in the upcoming TUBI movie, A PARTY TO DIE FOR, and plays a lead part in the recently shot short, DINNER PARTY, directed by Emmy Award winner Ritesh Gupta. She will be seen opposite Catherine Daddario in the feature, THE TRIBUTARIES also starring Kelly Rutherford in 2023 and she recently worked with M. Night Shyamalan on Season 4 of SERVANT. In addition to her burgeoning career in film and TV, Shannan has had success in modeling, commercials and print work. 



Her short film, in which she played the lead, WHEN FATHER WENT BIKING, has been officially selected for numerous international film festivals.



Shannan is a published author of the book The Littlest Peanut-

an inspirational baby book for parents with children in the NICU.



In order to feel creative in other ways besides acting, she writes songs and plays guitar and piano. Shannan's original music can be heard on Spotify.



Her favorite quote is from the late, great Milton Berle.

"Laughter is an instant vacation".

Albe Bassett is the Fire Chief of the New Canaan (CT)Fire Department. He has 29 years of fire service experience, with many of those years training and developing firefighters and officers to become better for themselves and the communities in which they serve. Albe is certified as Fire Service Instructor 3 and holds a B.S. degree in Fire Technology and Administration, an MBA from the University of New Haven, and a Master of Science degree in I/O Psychology from Walden University. Currently a Ph.D. candidate at Walden University. 

Author of The Calm Code: Transform Your Mind, Change Your Life. It's Annie's mission to help your audience lower their stress levels with actionable tips they can start using right away.

People are tired of the same old stress advice.  Most of that advice just makes people more stressed because they're extremely difficult to accomplish when you're truly stressed out.

Based new data from the American Psychological Association -  77% of people have stress so high it's damaging their physical health - those old tips aren't working.

Isn't it time for some new, science-backed tips that actually work for stress? We've heard that we should to go to be earlier, eat healthier or workout more to reduce our stress a gazillion times

Dr. Annie has a brand new, science- backed, step-by-step method to train the mind to be calm, happy, and balanced based on the science of neuroplasticity.

Dr. Annie has fresh tips and tools that work. She wants to share them with everyone who needs them - that's just about everyone but the Dalai Lama these days!

TERRAH BENNETT SMITH

Terrah, a Native New Yorker, has enjoyed a rich and multi-faceted career in the entertainment industry having worked as an actress, director, producer, singer/ songwriter, screenwriter, Life Coach, and Manager. On-camera a few of her TV Recurring/Guest Star credits include: STUCK WITH YOU, 68 WHISKEY, BOSCH, GAMES PEOPLE PLAY, 9-1-1.

She is co-Creator-Executive Producer-Writer, and star of “THE WRIGHT TURN”, and co-Director-Producer-Co-Stars in EXTRACTION. Terrah currently co-hosts SUNDAY BITES & TIDBITS, a health conscious show with Celebrity-Chef Babette, which can be seen on the Vitalcy network. Terrah’s stage credits range from Broadway to Regional Theatre.

Behind the camera, Terrah made her directorial debut with the feature film “FLIP THE SCRIPT,” and is currently directing the television show AFTER MIDNIGHT. She recently completed directing the feature film, LOS ANGELES BAKERS, a pilot for a new sitcom, SLEEPING WITH STRANGERS, and is scheduled to direct the Rom/Com feature film, MY PERFECT LIFE… ONCE I CHANGE YOU! This mother of three, is also the CEO/Founder of Royal One Entertainment, and Reclaim Haven, a wellness platform for women.

THE WRIGHT TURN

Here is what Tess and Terrah had to say – perhaps you can relate. We got tired of people saying NO! We got tired of an industry that says, “you’re too OLD!” We got tired of waiting for someone to say “Hey ladies, we like you”. So instead of waiting for a seat at the table, we built our own table, pulled up two chairs and went to work.

In 2015 Tess had an opportunity to mentor female millennial directors for a network web-series competition. Although the network’s demographics were women 40-plus, the ideas that were presented were focused on the younger demographics. Realizing there was a void in the stories about women her age, Tess asked to put her hat into the ring and created a project which focused on a 50-year-old woman on her journey to self-rediscovery. In the meantime Terrah, who had made the decision to transition to behind the camera and focus on raising her three children, was

slowly returning from an eight-year acting hiatus. Tess needed an actress and Terrah was eager to act again. The network decided to shelve the competition, so Tess’ project was never submitted. Three years later, Tess and Terrah sat down, restructured the idea and story-line, and gave birth to – The Wright Turn.

The Wright Turn is based on true stories. Interviews with various women and men in the 50 plus club were underway, and knowing how the industry often type-cast actors, The ladies sat down with their actors to find out what types of roles they’ve always wanted to play but have been denied the opportunity. They found a way to incorporate each actors’ ideas, which made the character fun to portray. The series also features product lines by cast members and others as a way to support entrepreneurship.

What is The Wright Turn? It’s not a comedy or a drama, it’s a whole bunch of life’s shit, mushed together, and served to us as our individual journeys. From career/romance/motherhood to homelessness/sex trafficking/mental illness and more.It has been a journey to say the least. The idea of creating, and executing 8-forty-five minute episodes independently, was a surmountable feat, but for these two multi-hyphenates, both directors, writers, producers, editors, actors… It was a challenge worth taking on.

TESS CACCIATORE

Tess is a Multimedia/Interactive Creator and Producer with 25+ years in the entertainment/technology and philanthropic arenas.

Tess is also the Founder and CEO of GWEN Global LLC a for-profit company dedicated to social impact & positive change in the entertainment arena, which also emcompasses Global Women’s Empowerment Network (a 501c3).

Tess is a best-selling author, award-winning producer/filmmaker/songwriter, as well as a Director, keynote speaker, and social entrepreneur who has dedicated her life to advocating for “Transforming lives through the power of storytelling!”

In 2003, Tess was awarded the Fete d’ Excellence within the Sub-Commission for Human Rights at the United Nations (Geneva, Switzerland) for her work in edu-tainment. Throughout the years, Tess has been honored with multiple awards, including in 2011 she won Mobile Excellence Award for the GWEN Alert, FREE downloadable safety app with video-cloud private storage to protect those in need.

Tess is currently working on an original, scripted series called “The Wright Turn” as co-creator, co-writer and Director.

This multi-cultural cast reflects true stories from the Gwen community in a scripted manner, so that we can continue to put forth healing through storytelling, “trauma to transformation.”

HE WRIGHT TURN

Here is what Tess and Terrah had to say – perhaps you can relate. We got tired of people saying NO! We got tired of an industry that says, “you’re too OLD!” We got tired of waiting for someone to say “Hey ladies, we like you”. So instead of waiting for a seat at the table, we built our own table, pulled up two chairs and went to work.

In 2015 Tess had an opportunity to mentor female millennial directors for a network web-series competition. Although the network’s demographics were women 40-plus, the ideas that were presented were focused on the younger demographics. Realizing there was a void in the stories about women her age, Tess asked to put her hat into the ring and created a project which focused on a 50-year-old woman on her journey to self-rediscovery. In the meantime Terrah, who had made the decision to transition to behind the camera and focus on raising her three children, was

slowly returning from an eight-year acting hiatus. Tess needed an actress and Terrah was eager to act again. The network decided to shelve the competition, so Tess’ project was never submitted. Three years later, Tess and Terrah sat down, restructured the idea and story-line, and gave birth to – The Wright Turn.

The Wright Turn is based on true stories. Interviews with various women and men in the 50 plus club were underway, and knowing how the industry often type-cast actors, The ladies sat down with their actors to find out what types of roles they’ve always wanted to play but have been denied the opportunity. They found a way to incorporate each actors’ ideas, which made the character fun to portray. The series also features product lines by cast members and others as a way to support entrepreneurship.

What is The Wright Turn? It’s not a comedy or a drama, it’s a whole bunch of life’s shit, mushed together, and served to us as our individual journeys. From career/romance/motherhood to homelessness/sex trafficking/mental illness and more.It has been a journey to say the least. The idea of creating, and executing 8-forty-five minute episodes independently, was a surmountable feat, but for these two multi-hyphenates, both directors, writers, producers, editors, actors… It was a challenge worth taking on.

Jonetta Rose Barras found her voice, experiencing life as a poet, fiction writer, performing artist, and community organizer. Along the way she became a magazine feature writer, investigative reporter and contextual journalist. Her strength remains her ability to connect for the public seemingly unrelated issues, enabling them to better understand the impact public policy, politics and culture in America have on their lives.

These days Jonetta writes opinion essays and books. She also works with Esther Productions Inc. to inspire and empower fatherless girls and women.

Jonetta is dedicated to living her life with compassion, passion and without training wheels.

Chief Neil H. Gang has served in law enforcement for over 34 years and has been the Chief of Police for the Pinole Police Department since 2014. He is the Chairperson of the California Police Chiefs Association Organizational Wellness and Resiliency Committee, the Co-chair of the IACP Officer Safety & Wellness Committee, the author of the Asher Model-7 Point Approach to a Culture of Wellness, the host of the 6th Pillar Podcast, is a POST-Wellness Instructor and was named Public Safety Hero of the Year by the House of Representatives in 2020. His innovative work as a law enforcement leader has been featured in several national Police magazines. He is a graduate of the prestigious Northwestern School of Police Staff Command, where he was the president of the class and the recipient of the Franklin M. Kremel Award for excellence in the field of leadership.

In the only Olympic race he ever ran, Robert Esmie became an Olympic champion. He was the lead off runner of the gold medal winning Canadian 4x100m relay team at Atlanta 1996 with Glenroy Gilbert, Bruny Surin and 100m Olympic champion Donovan Bailey. Replacing an injured Carlton Chambers who ran in the first two rounds, Esmie showed up to the Olympic relay final with the words “Relay Blast Off” shaved into his head in an attempt to relax his team mates and shut down the partisan crowd, while wearing a t-shirt that said “Relax. You’ve been erased” in hopes that he would get the mental advantage over American lead off runner Jon Drummond – which he did when he caught him reading his t-shirt.

Despite being in a minor traffic accident enroute to the stadium and the relay final being delayed by a disqualification, Esmie ran the race of his life. He had a considerable lead in the first 60 metres with a perfect baton exchange with Gilbert, who had a great leg of his own. After anchorman Bailey crossed the finish line, Esmie fetched Chambers from the stadium so the whole team could celebrate together. He grabbed the baton which Bailey had thrown to the ground in celebration. Since the event was introduced to the Olympic programme in 1912, no one had ever beaten the United States to the finish line in an Olympic final they had actually started.

Esmie was a consistent member of the Canadian 4x100m relay program that dominated the 1990s. He won golds at the 1994 Commonwealth Games, 1995 and 1997 World Championships, and bronze at the 1993 World Championships. Individually, Esmie won the 60m bronze medal at the 1995 World Indoor Championships and made the 100m semi-final at the 1993 World Championships.

Born in Jamaica, Esmie moved to Sudbury, Ontario at age 11 attending Lasalle Secondary School. By Grade 10, he signed with Nike, as one of the youngest athletes ever. His mother Mavis wanted him to become a medical doctor, which he said he would do if his Olympic dreams didn’t come true. After spending 22 years in Vancouver, British Columbia, Esmie returned to his hometown of Sudbury with his wife and children to look after his ailing mother. Esmie remained involved in sport and high-performance track and speed training to help athletes from all disciplines reach their fitness goals. 

As a member of the men’s relay team, Esmie was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2004 and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.