Thank you for joining Saved by a Story for our Storytelling Salon, “STILL HERE.” We’re thrilled that you’re here. Learn more about the storytellers and musicians making our work possible.
storytelling salon performers
Shermaine Barlaan
Born in Pasadena, California, Shermaine predicted her mother’s death that left her orphaned. After attempting to escape Southern California—calling San Francisco, Manila, and Brooklyn home—she eventually returned and then lost her home to the Eaton Fire. Shermaine has been both a UCLA Extension Writing Program and VONA Voices of Our Nations Art Foundation scholar. She now lives by the sea, enjoying sunsets and homeschooling her identical twins.
Jason Katims
Jason Katims is an Emmy Award winning writer and producer of television shows including FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, PARENTHOOD, MY SO-CALLED LIFE, ROSWELL, AS WE SEE IT, DEAR EDWARD, ABOUT A BOY, THE PATH, AWAY, and RISE. Feature credits include THE VOW and THE PALLBEARER.
Tamara Rawitt
Tamara Rawitt is an Emmy Award winner for “Outstanding Variety/Musical/Comedy Series” for In Living Color. She co-created the show and produced the first four seasons, during which time she was responsible for discovering Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Lopez, David Allan Grier, as well as the entire Wayans family.
An industry veteran Rawitt is widely recognized as one of the most creative producers, and one of the shrewdest observers, in the comedy world; she has worked as a producer of film and television, and as a studio executive at Paramount, United Artists, and Columbia.
Prior to In Living Color, Rawitt produced the feature cult hit, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, for MGM/UA, following a run as a Feature Production Executive for United Artists and Vestron, working on such films as Rain Man, Dead Poets Society, Prince of Tides, and Dirty Dancing. She transitioned to Vestron from Eddie Murphy Productions, where, as Vice President in Charge of Production, she developed motion picture and television projects including Beverly Hills Cop II and Raw.
Before beginning her production career, Rawitt was Vice President of Marketing, Publicity and Promotion at Paramount Pictures for six years, working closely with Warren Beatty, Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, Jim Brooks, and Frank Mancuso in the marketing of such films as Beverly Hills Cop, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Trading Places, Reds, and Terms of Endearment, among many many others.
In addition to the Emmy, Rawitt’s awards include 1990 NAACP award for Best New Television Comedy and she is an active member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Rawitt also a sought after humorist and trend specialist for Los Angeles Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter and Angeleno Magazine on all things lifestyle.
Karen Leigh Hopkins
Karen Leigh Hopkins is a screenwriter, producer, and director for film and television. She wrote the screenplays for such films as WELCOME HOME ROXY CARMICHAEL, STEPMOM which starred Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon, BECAUSE I SAID SO starring Diane Keaton, and the Katie Holmes indie MISS MEADOWS, which she also directed. Hopkins received an Emmy nomination for Showtime's WHAT GIRLS LEARN, and won the Humanitas Award for SEARCHING FOR DAVID’S HEART. She was also a Writer and Producer on the JJ Abrams/Sara Bareilles Apple TV+ series, LITTLE VOICE. Karen is currently developing an original limited series for Netflix and Nuyorican Productions, and an original feature film for Elizabeth Gabler’s 3000 Pictures and Sony.
Priscilla Ahn
Since her 2008 debut LP, A Good Day, for Blue Note Records, and its heart-resonant breakout hit, “Dream,” Ahn’s lyrical, melodic worlds of innocence and melancholy have had a delicate, but profound impact. Priscilla is a regular presence in film and TV soundtracks with her own original songs, including the theme song for the Oscar nominated Studio Ghibli film, “When Marnie Was There,” as well as lending her vocals to films such as Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim” and Damien Chazelle’s Oscar-winning “La La Land.”
Megan Chan Meinero
Megan Chan Meinero is a screenwriter and playwright who splits her time between New York and Los Angeles. Most recently, she served as an executive story editor on Grey’s Anatomy. Prior to that, she worked on two seasons of Jason Katims’ Dear Edward for Apple TV+. She has developed original feature and television projects with MRC/A-Major, Amazon/Temple Hill/Purple Pebble and Emmy Rossum’s Composition 8. As a playwright, Megan’s work has been produced/developed with The New Group, Ensemble Studio Theatre, American University, Less than Rent, Concord Theatricals’ OOB Festival, Rule of 7x7 and many others. She is a proud alum of EST/Youngblood and Second Stage Theater’s Lark Playwrights Workshop. For better or worse, she is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets.
Chris Douridas
Chris Douridas is among the premier musical tastemakers in the world. He began his career as music director and host of Morning Becomes Eclectic, at the flagship Los Angeles NPR station, KCRW-FM, one of the most respected and progressive radio stations in the world. In film and TV circles, Chris is best known as a 3-time Grammy-nominated music supervisor for both American Beauty, and the Shrek series, as well as Heat, As Good as It Gets, Austin Powers, Captain Fantastic, In a World, Flaked, House of Lies, The Addams Family, and the upcoming Netflix animated feature In Your Dreams. Chris continues to champion the best new artists from around the world on his weekly KCRW radio show (Sundays 12n-3p), KCRW's all-music channel Eclectic24, and through his long-running live music concert series School Night, a breaking new artist showcase in Los Angeles, Toronto, London and Sydney. While School Night was on hiatus during the pandemic, Chris co-founded and launched a new worldwide streaming series called School Night at Home.
mehro
Pronounced “marrow,” the name mehro encapsulates his desire to become something essential — like marrow itself, vital but unseen. “The concept was born from bone marrow: It’s essential for us to live, but we never see it,” mehro explains. “I hope my music can be the marrow of someone’s soul.”
That philosophy deepens with weirdthrob — a project not designed to impress, but to awaken. An entrance and an exit. A reflection rather than a performance. The kind of art that doesn’t ask to be understood — only felt. “This music isn’t meant to explain itself,” he offers. “It’s meant to meet you where you are and hold space for what you might find there.”
In many ways, mehro sees himself not just as an artist, but a conduit. A vessel for quiet truths, emotional noise, and the contradictions we’re all learning to hold.
David M. Israel
David M. Israel is an Emmy and Golden Globe winning TV Writer/Producer/Showrunner who’s worked on one-hour dramedies (Dynasty, UnREAL) and 30-minute comedies (About a Boy, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Grounded for Life, TheTracy Morgan Show… ). He’s currently developing live-action and animated projects including one with the Jim Henson Company. Before moving to LA, he was a Writer/Producer/Editor at Major League Baseball Productions in NY and was in the locker room in 1986 when the Mets won the World Series.
Jessica Goldberg
Jessica Goldberg is a playwright, television and screenwriter. Her plays have been produced all over the world: Playwrights Horizons, The New Group, Mark Taper Forum, The Echo Theater Company, Collaboraction in Chicago, The Schaubuhne in West Berlin, and La Perla in Barcelona. Jessica’s television work includes Parenthood; creating THE PATH on HULU; and showrunning AWAY on Netflix. Jessica’s film work includes ALEX OF VENICE and CHERRY.
Al Madrigal
Best known as a correspondent on THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART, Madrigal’s stand up career took off when he won a JURY AWARD FOR BEST STAND-UP COMEDIAN at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. He’s performed stand-up multiple times on THE TONIGHT SHOW, JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE, and CONAN O’BRIEN. His first one hour special, WHY IS THE RABBIT CRYING? premiered on Comedy Central and was named one of the top 10 comedy specials of that year by both Westword and The Village Voice. Just after his award winning docu-comedy HALF LIKE ME was released, his next special, SHRIMPIN’ AIN’T EASY was named in Decider and Vulture’s Top 10 Lists. In an article titled “The Best Stand-up TV Right Now,” Rolling Stone Magazine said, “The Daily Show alum spins comedy gold.”
Most recently, Al played Oscar on the NBC comedy LOPEZ VS. LOPEZ. In addition to being an actor on numerous TV shows including CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, BOB’S BURGERS, and ST. DENIS MEDICAL Al’s many film credits include AIR and THE WAY BACK with Ben Affleck and NIGHT SCHOOL alongside Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish.
Tom Freund
Over the course of his career, singer/songwriter Tom Freund has released more than a dozen records, collaborated with legends such as Elvis Costello and Jackson Browne, and his long time collaborator Ben Harper with whom he’s made numerous albums and toured the world.
He joined rock legend Graham Parker on a world tour as well as appearing with him in Judd Apatow’s “This Is 40.” Tom has spent much of his career traversing genres, melding whatever sounds that have happened to catch his whimsy.
Tom is also well known as a multi-instrumentalist, performing on guitar, upright bass, mandolin, ukulele, piano or whatever else is in the room!
His songs have been featured on TV shows including Better Things, Parenthood and One Tree Hill. For his latest television project, the Amazon show Pete The Cat, Freund has co-written, sung and played songs with Elvis Costello, KT Tunstall, Dave Matthews and Diana Krall.