Pivot Point with Joseph DeBeasi

Cathy is a first generation Vietnamese American born and raised in Seattle, WA. To say that Cathy grew up under difficult circumstances is an understatement. Her story is one of hard work, perseverance and survival.

Cathy graduated with a degree in psychology from the University of Washington all the while working as a genetic researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She earned her second degree in Graphic Design & Illustration. Cathy worked her way through various design specialties for Fortune 500 companies and found her sweet spot as an e-commerce User Experience (UX) / Product Designer.

Cathy has appeared in GRIMM, LEVERAGE and is a recurring guest star for a series to be announced soon as well as a recurring guest star on an animated series.

www.cathyvu.com

Matt McNally was working in the advertising world for over 2 decades when he decided that his life needed a shift. How did he go from the ad world to the world of culinary arts? Matt is the chef of Laurel's Catering, a catering company he and his wife Laurel started. They are in Napa, CA. www.laurelscatering.com.

In part 2 of Joseph's conversation with Stacy Widelitz, we hear how Stacy handle the stress of being a film composer, how he shape-shifted to a country song writer and his latest adventure as a photographer.

Stacy Widelitz is a composer, songwriter and photographer. He co-wrote the Dirty Dancing song, "She's Like The Wind" with Patrick Swayze. Today we hear how Stacy got his start as a pianist, songwriter and now photographer.

Barrington is an author and screenwriter who writes speculative fiction that explores how people respond when their world — or their place in it — changes.

Her work has been optioned and won prizes like Amazon Studios’ Best Screenplay Award, Screencraft’s Cinematic Short Story Competition Grand Prize, and DreamAgo’s Pen & Pellicule Writing Fellowship. She has published fiction in literary journals like Sycamore Review, Colorado Review, The Drum and Women of Horror, Volume 3 and she co-wrote for an upcoming episode of Creepshow on AMC’s Shudder Network.

https://barringtonsmith.net

In this conversation Joseph and Barrington touch on topics of value and belonging.

Today we hear the story of Fidan Aghayeva-Edler, pianist. She is a pianist based in Berlin, Germany, currently focused on performance of contemporary music and improvisation. She was born in Azerbaijan, moved to Norway and then Berlin. Fidan tells us about the joy she has when performing and the journey she's taken to get there.

Thomas Laub is a producer currently represented on Broadway with David Byrne's American Utopia (Special Tony Award). Past work includes Slave Play (Tony Nomination), Seven Deadly Sins, and the site-specific Myths & Hymns. Upcoming: Douglas Carter Beane's Fairycakes, Selina Fillinger's POTUS, and Plaza Suite starring Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker. Founder of Runyonland Productions and entertainment revenue management firm Standing Room Theatrical Solutions.

Katie Leigh is a voice actress, best known for her roles as Sunni Gummi in Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, Zuzu in Poppy Cat, Alex in the first two seasons of Totally Spies!, and as Connie Kendall in the Focus on the Family radio program Adventures in Odyssey since 1987. This is her story.

Today's episode you'll hear Joseph talk about his decision to change markets - from NYC to Los Angeles; how a scoring rejection caused him to reconsider his dreams and how he received the opportunity to compose the underscore music for American Sniper.

For the first episode of Pivot Point in year two, Joseph continues with an exploration of his own journey. This Pivot Point explores his years in Nashville, his time working at Belmont Church, his unsuccessful production company and how he dealt with difficulties in his personal life. This two-part series starts where he left off in bonus episode #4.

Want to know more about his earlier journey? Listen to bonus episodes 1 - 4 in year 1.