Don't Change the Channel

This week’s guest Anna García is a comedian & actor who also teaches improv to youth and men in correctional facilities. We hear Anna’s story of how she began performing and her journey this far in LA, especially with commercial acting.

Socials
Guest: Anna Garcia Instagram Twitter
Host: Mariel Instagram Twitter
Host: Sherif Instagram Twitter
Editor: Rios Instagram
Don’t Change The Channel Instagram

This week Mariel & Sherif honor it being Mental Health Awareness Month. Inspired by the initiatives of Mad Happy and their mission,  this episode's aim is to start a conversation about growth, awareness, and the balance of personal & professional lives.  In this hosts-only episode we hear more intimately from Mariel & Sherif, as they share current and past themes of growth in their lives. Sherif opens with a conversation about friendships and intimacy of relationships as a whole. Mariel shares mental & physical health practices she's implemented to support overall wellbeing.

Please remember we are not medical professionals, we hope to offer guidance and inspire prioritizing caring for yourself.

Mentioned & recommended Resources: Superhuman
Headspace
BetterHelp
To Be Magnetic

We're so glad you're here.

National Suicide Prevention Hotline:
1-800-273-8255

Find us on IG @dontchangethechannel.podcast
Your Hosts: Mariel Weinand & Sherif T. Bakare

This week’s guest, Sakura Hegarty, talks with us about balancing your creative ambitions alongside working a job that allows financial stability. We talk about the stigma behind the term “influencer”, as well as how much consistency and work it takes to be a “content creator”.

Check out her newest song "Indie Girl Icon" and its music video!

Sakura's Instagram and Tik Tok 

This week we’re back with Liesl Takeuchi. The episode starts with both Sherif & Mariel, but listen to find out how it ends up being just the gals. Liesl chats with us about all things music supervision for film & tv, as well as reminiscing with Mariel about their adventures in Europe.

And be sure to check out the playlists Liesl mentions during this episode: 

small little pebbles in my shoe

LOATs (Desert Island)

We’re back for season 3! 
In this hosts-only refresher episode, Sherif & Mariel gives us some updates on their personal & professional lives since we last heard from them. They also share what we can except from this new season! 

This week Sherif & Mariel are joined by special guest, writer/director, photographer, and model, Amalie Gassmann. We hear about Amalie’s current gig working in NYC on an HBO show, the creation and inspiration of her last short film Mess Is Mine, how her photography and creative direction work only helps enrich the visual storytelling in her filmmaking. We hear from Amalie about her relationship with her fellow creative and photographer boyfriend, and how the two of them continue to inspire one another  in their work. With Amalie’s fine-tuned eye, taste, and international openness, we hope to see her debut feature film in the near future.

We’re back with Sherif & Mariel, and their very special guest this week, Natalie Jasmine Harris. Natalie is a queer-identified, Black writer/director and producer from Maryland. Her creative work often exists within the coming-of-age genre, which she views as an essential tool to re-imagine liberation for young girls, the Black community, and LGBTQ+ individuals. We hear about Natalie’s experience in the festival circuit thus far, for her NYU thesis short film, Pure, which she’s simultaneously developing into a feature film. Natalie is a 2020 recipient of the Directors Guild of America’s Student Film Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement and The Black Film Space 2020 Black Filmmaker Fund, as well as recently winning the Emerging Director Award at Outfest Fusion 2021. We also hear about a short documentary Natalie created in collaboration with TIME magazine and the Biden/Harris campaign. 

Sherif and Mariel share their Picks of The Week, raving about The Other Two (HBO Max) and season 2 of PEN15 (Hulu). They talk through Arclight Cinemas & Pacific Theatres closing, Demi Lovato's new eating disorder comedy pilot, the debate if Apple TV+ really is the 'highest quality' streamer, and TikTok drama sparking a conversation around relationships & breakups in the public eye and on social media.

Dive deeper:

• Arclight Cinemas And Pacific Theatres Won’t Be Reopening; Parent Company Decurion Hands Keys Back To Landlords
• Demi Lovato's Eating Disorder Comedy Pilot Gets NBC Order
• Apple TV+ is the ‘highest quality’ streamer, a new study says

This week, our special guest, musical artist Lexi Jayde joins the pod to talk with Mariel & Sherif about her newest single "Newbury Park", what inspired its creation, how she writes her heart-wrenchingly relatable lyrics (perfect for screaming in the car), and how to know your worth in relationships. They also cover the highs & lows of navigating social media (especially with a following of 1.4M), some of Lexi's daily rituals, who she draws inspiration from, what we can expect to hear from her next, and MORE! 

This week we're joined by special guest, singer/songwriter, ALITA. We dive into ALITA's newest single, I'm Not Your Mother, and how both the lyrics and music video explore how antiquated gender roles can play out with women often bearing the emotional load putting them in more of a mother role, rather than a lover. We also chat about ALITA's genre blending and through the process of getting honest with herself she was able to hone her voice, and what we can look forward to expect from her in years to come!