Mischief and Mastery

Mishu sits down with award-winning Director of Photography Isaac Izzy White to talk about the momentum crash after a high-output year, learning to scale creative ambition, and the quiet clarity that comes from building things with friends. They unpack how Izzy pivoted from monthly to quarterly filmmaking, why directing and shooting your own project might not always be the best idea, and what happened when a student film idea got a second life and a 20-person set.

Isaac has shot music videos with millions of views, commercials for Fortune 500 companies, and a relentless stream of personal projects. Their approach to cinematography is tactile, obsessive, and rooted in a hunger for collaboration—and it shows. In this episode, they open up about burnout, post-strike slowdowns, and the joy of finally letting someone else touch the VFX.

We talk about:
→ Going from overbooked to underbooked in a single season
→ Shooting at night with a crew of 20 for a short called Meteors
→ Post-house partnerships and handing off VFX
→ Directing while also D.P.-ing (and the cost of doing both)
→ Navigating ADHD, hyperfixation, and learning pipelines
→ Why this year is about deeper collaboration, not just output

More from Izzy:
Visit: isaacwhite.tv
Instagram: @isaacwhite_dp

Listen to more episodes at mischiefpod.com and follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @mischiefpod.
Produced by @ohhmaybemedia.

Mishu sits down with writer, director, actor, and artist Emily Lape to talk about what happens when a project breaks your heart—and how to find your creative footing again. They unpack how Emily's songwriting, painting, and acting re-lit the pilot light after her feature Abiquiú stalled in pre-production due to the SAG strike, and what it takes to hold onto a story that still wants to be told.

Emily Lape is an award-winning filmmaker and performer whose debut feature Mercy’s Girl is currently streaming on Amazon, Apple TV, and Netflix. She recently starred in Lucy is a Loser, directed by Wendy Jo Carlton, and is Executive Producing Michael Glover Smith’s next feature Heckla.

We talk about:
 → Making peace with pause
 → Returning to songwriting after 15 years
 → Shame, location grief, and post-SAG strike recovery
 → How character-driven stories come back to life
 → Moving projects closer to home (literally and emotionally)

Follow Emily:
Instagram: @emlape
YouTube: @emilylape
Watch Mercy’s Girl on Amazon Prime

Listen to more episodes at mischiefpod.com and follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @mischiefpod.
Produced by @ohhmaybemedia

In this episode, Mishu sits down with director, writer, and educator Rob Spera, whose decades-long career spans feature films, cult classics, network television, and theater. They talk about staying connected to your purpose, cultivating a habit of experimentation, and the self-directed discipline that lets you keep growing—no matter where you are in your career.

🎬 Rob Spera’s feature films include The Sweet Life, Fathers and Sons, and the cult classic Leprechaun in the Hood. He’s directed episodes of Criminal Minds, Supernatural, and Army Wives, and helmed over 75 theatrical productions during his tenure as Resident Director at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Rob is also the author of The Film/TV Director’s Field Manual and currently serves as Head of Directing at Rideback Rise, a fellowship for POC filmmakers.

We talk about:
 → Making filmmaking your daily sketch practice
 → Working without waiting for permission
 → Building a sustainable long-term creative life
 → Why directing is “the art of the subtext”
 → Rob’s advice to early-career directors (and late-career ones too)

Visit robspera.com or follow him on Instagram at @robsperaofficial

Buy The Film/TV Director’s Field Manual here: Amazon link

Listen to more episodes at mischiefpod.com and follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @mischiefpod.
Produced by @ohhmaybemedia

In this episode, Mishu talks with actor, writer, and comedy performer Tuxford Turner (they/them/tux) about starting over in L.A., learning to trust their brain again, and the deep relief of not grinding yourself to dust. They dig into internalized urgency, “insecure ambition,” and what happens when your capacity for output isn’t tied to your self-worth. Tux shares how quiet—literal and figurative—has become their compass, and what it means to resist the cultural pressure to always be making, posting, or optimizing for visibility.

Tuxford Turner is an actor, comedy performer, and writer from all over, currently based in Los Angeles but forever Midwest at heart. They’ve worked across film, television, and comedy specials, and recently starred in the award-winning indie feature BAM!, now streaming on Tubi, Amazon, and Apple TV. Before L.A., Tux was a Resident Company member at the iO Theatre in Chicago, performing and directing across stages including The Annoyance and Second City.

We talk about:
→ Building your own rhythm instead of mirroring someone else’s
→ Burnout disguised as ambition
→ Relearning presence as a creative act
→ What to do when you’re always chasing “the life you want”
→ And why trusting yourself isn’t about never stopping—it’s about knowing you’ll start again

Learn more about Tux at TuxfordTurner.com Instagram @TuxfordTurner

Listen to more episodes at mischiefpod.com and follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @mischiefpod. Produced by @ohhmaybemedia.

How do you make the work when the world feels like it’s on fire—and still believe it matters?

In this episode, Mishu and filmmaker Jim Vendiola talk about ambivalence, integrity, and making art that haunts you. They dig into taste, tempo, and attention spans, the value of saying no, and what it means to trust your ideas enough to wait. They also get into the quiet thrill of writing voice memos at 2AM, how neurodivergence impacts the creative process, and why sometimes the best thing you can do for your collaborators is to not make the thing—yet.

Jim Vendiola is an award-winning Filipino-American filmmaker whose work explores longing, eros, and emotional liminality. A Newcity Film 50 hall-of-famer (2016–2024), he’s the co-creator of the upcoming neo-noir limited series Argus (in development with WarnerMedia OneFifty), and his recent short Pretty Pickle made thirty-five festival stops and was called “sexy, subversive, and truly stunning.” Jim also won the inaugural NewNarratives Program from NewFilmmakers LA and WarnerMedia OneFifty, and is currently adapting Samantha Kolesnik’s queer body horror novella WAIF for the screen.

We talk about:
 → Navigating ambition and burnout in 2025
 → The myth of consistent productivity
 → Knowing when not to make something
 → AI, advertising, and artistic compromise
 → What makes an idea worth haunting

Follow Jim on Instagram at @jimvendiola, check out his work at jimvendiola.com, or watch his films on Vimeo and Bluesky.

Listen to more episodes at mischiefpod.com and follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @mischiefpod. Produced by @ohhmaybemedia.

In this episode, Mishu and actor/ASMR creator Katie Bellantone get into the rollercoaster of working in indie film, the panic spiral between auditions, and how she stays grounded when her brain tries to sabotage her face. They talk about the difference between trying to look perfect and trying to tell the truth, navigating self-image in a visual medium, and why improv drop-ins might be the most humbling (and hilarious) way to stay loose.

Katie Bellantone is an actor based in Chicago and the creator of KatieASMR, with over 400,000 YouTube subscribers and 1.5 million TikTok followers. She’s booked dozens of indie shorts and the feature films like Canoe Dig It? and is a rising presence in both narrative film and online performance.

We talk about:
 → The comedy of failing hard at improv
 → Short film momentum and the chaos buffer
 → Reframing visual insecurity while auditioning
 → The secret self-doubt that comes with a callback
 → How to build your point of view across platforms

Follow Katie:
Instagram: @katherinebellantone
YouTube: KatieASMR
TikTok: @katieasmr00
IMDb: Katie Bellantone

Listen to more episodes at mischiefpod.com and follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @mischiefpod. Produced by @ohhmaybemedia.

In this episode, comedian and filmmaker Mary Tilden joins Mishu to talk about the weird in-between of writing when you can’t tell if your ideas are good—or garbage. They get into how theater and improv keep her connected, how she navigates the chaos of multiple drafts, and why trusting actors might be the key to better screenwriting. It’s a playful, honest, and surprisingly precise look at process, procrastination, and the way dialogue starts to hum when you stop trying to make it perfect.

Mary Tilden is a comedian and filmmaker originally from South Carolina. She co-produced and starred in Cool for Five Seconds (Midwest Film Festival Grand Prize, 2021) and directed the award-winning Rough River Lake. Her comedy work includes the short films Yes, Andrea, The Unfinished Film, Fern, and the web series Collaborate & Listen, with screenings at Cinequest, SeriesFest, and more.

We talk about:
→ Writing when your drafts are all over the place
→ Using improv to unstick your creativity
→ The trap of comparing your script to someone else’s finished film
→ Why dialogue is a playground—not a performance review
→ Working on self-kindness when the draft feels like a mess

Listen to more episodes at mischiefpod.com and follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @mischiefpod. Produced by @ohhmaybemedia.

Filmmaker and producer Jamie Kreppein joins Mishu for a warm, honest conversation about the invisible labor that makes independent filmmaking possible—and meaningful. They talk about the structures behind the stories, the gentle power of showing up, and how leadership can look like care, especially on underfunded sets.

From feature films like Roller Babiez and Year One to the community-run event Film Girlz Brunch, Jamie’s work lives at the intersection of art and relationship. She shares how production roles like AD, coordinator, or casting director offer their own kind of creative fulfillment—and why she’s just as energized by a school film set as she is by a packed festival screening. They dig into scheduling as storytelling, designing rest into your process, and how to avoid burnout while keeping your standards high.

Jamie Kreppein is a Chicago-based director, producer, live events coordinator, and one of the co-founders of Rm. 19 Productions—a company that champions femme filmmakers and intentionally crafted stories. She has worked on numerous indie features and short films across directing, ADing, and producing roles, and is also a dedicated arts educator at Warren Township High School.

We talk about:
→ Crew culture and care as a leadership practice
→ The power of soft-spoken persistence
→ Why everyone should try ADing at least once
→ Finding creative fuel in teaching
→ Working on Roller Babiez, Year One, and Primos
→ Scheduling as emotional architecture

Find more from Jamie:
Website: rm19productions.com
Instagram: @j_krepps & @rm.19productions

Listen to more episodes at mischiefpod.com and follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @mischiefpod. Produced by @ohhmaybemedia.

Filmmaker and screenwriter CJ Arellano joins Mishu to talk shop on platforms, posting, prestige, and playing the long game in a fragmented media landscape. With humor and insight, CJ reflects on how content creation has become a testing ground for audience connection—what hits, what flops, and why “dumb ideas” on Instagram sometimes say more than a perfectly polished pitch deck.

From viral sketches to award-winning horror shorts, CJ shares how he's balancing snarky realism with real artistic stakes. They explore the tension between algorithmic engagement and emotional resonance, why TikTok might be the new soap opera, and how communal attention still matters. Also: soap, slot machines, vertical mansion porn, and CJ’s surprise metric for success.

CJ Arellano is a horror, comedy, and fantasy storyteller whose award-winning shorts—including Dry January and Griffica—have landed him directing honors and grand prize wins across major screenwriting competitions. When not making smart genre work with bite, he’s directing for brands like McDonald’s and The Second City. His work has appeared everywhere from the British Horror Film Festival to your phone’s Reels tab.

We talk about:
→ Posting like an open mic
→ Making “dumb” content that’s secretly universal
→ The A24 version of vertical video
→ Treating Instagram like a testing ground
→ Playing the long game while feeding the content beast
→ Why collective laughter still hits harder than your FYP

Find more from CJ:
Website: cjarellano.com
Instagram: @cjlgva
Substack: cjlgva.substack.com

Listen to more episodes at mischiefpod.com and follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @mischiefpod. Produced by @ohhmaybemedia.

What happens when you stop waiting for a seat at the table—and start building the whole building? In this episode, Troy Pryor and I talk about designing creative ecosystems, the long game of legacy, and what it actually takes to create sustainable platforms for underrepresented voices in media. We also dig into the power of “showing your work,” Troy’s early wins as a host and director, and how to protect momentum when you’re juggling a dozen parallel projects.

Troy Pryor is the founder of Creative Cypher, a portfolio of entertainment brands (including XL Film Fest, Cypher Newsroom, and Dark Berry Productions), and currently serves as Vice President of SAG-AFTRA Chicago. His award-winning projects span film, television, and live media, and his directorial debut on TV One’s Change Agents set the tone for a career grounded in collaboration and impact. In 2024, he won a Telly Award for the short film An Outfit, and continues to lead platforms that bridge industry access gaps with intention and scale.

We talk about:
 → Why community-centered work is harder—and more valuable
 → The “proof of concept” trap and how to move beyond it
 → Why a good brand pitch sounds like a conversation
 → How to protect your calendar from busy work
 → Taking a studio-style approach to local storytelling

Upcoming:
🎬 XL Film Festival runs August 14–23 in Chicago
📍 Info + lineup: creativecypher.org/xl-fest
🎟️ RSVP for the Magnolia Pictures advance screening of 40 Acres on June 19th, 7:30pm at AMC River East 21: RSVP here

Follow Troy’s work:
Instagram: @creativecypher & @xlfilmfestival
More at: creativecypher.org

Listen to more episodes at mischiefpod.com and follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @mischiefpod. Produced by @ohhmaybemedia.