ALISON MAREK is an award-winning filmmaker with an MFA in directing from NYU. Her thesis short, "The Playground," was sponsored by Showtime Networks Inc. and broadcast extensively on their channels. She also wrote and illustrated graphic novels that were published by Piranha Press (div. DC Comics). Her most current project is called "Play Me," which takes place in 1957 and follows an inventive young housewife who tries to conquer a billion-dollar industry filled with corruption, greed and misogyny: the toy industry.