Disney & ABC Announce 2014 Talent Showcase Performers

As part of Disney/ABC Television Group's ongoing commitment to find, foster and champion diverse talent, ABC Casting will present its 34th annual 2014 Talent Showcase TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28 at the El Portal Theatre Center for Performing Arts in North Hollywood. Twenty featured actors, selected from nearly 7,000 candidates who submitted resumes and approximately 700 who auditioned for ABC casting executives in Los Angeles, will participate in the showcase.

Keli Lee, Executive Vice President, ABC Casting, said, "After a successful showcase in New York just weeks ago, we can't wait to now spotlight our enormously talented group of 2014 West coast showcase actors. I can't say it enough; our priority for the past 13 years has been and will continue to be finding, mentoring, and developing talent with authentic voices reflective of our world. We know these actors will bring the projects of creative visionaries, storytellers and producers to life in new and exciting ways."

This year's talented showcase performers include: Daniel Bellomy (Detroit, MI), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Springfield, OR), Julissa Calderon (Miami, FL), Vinny Chhibber (Point Pleasant, WV), Jon Ecker (San Marcos, TX), Luis Fernandez Gil (Los Angeles, CA), Kirby Howell-Baptiste (London, England), DaJuan Johnson (Miami, FL), Khalilah Joi (Hampton, VA), Cindy Luna (Miami, FL), Mapuana Makia (Kihei, Maui), Vera Miao (New York, NY), Amy Okuda (Torrance, CA), Michelle Ortiz (Tucson, AZ), Eddie Ramos (Queens, NY), Byron Reo (Los Angeles, CA), Cornelius Smith Jr. (Detroit, MI), Manny Streetz (Jacksonville, FL), Jim Titus (Queens, NY), and Tom Williamson (Washington DC).

The actors will perform one-act original scenes written by John Cariani (New York), Robbie Chafitz (New York), Wendy Mateo and Lorena Diaz (Chicago), Chum Ehelepola (Los Angeles), Avi Glijansky (Los Angeles), Angelo Ierace (Los Angeles), Kristine M. Reyes (New York), Andrew Sanford (New York), Christy Smith-Sloman (New York), and Joseph Vargas (Los Angeles) and directed by Sue Hamilton (Creative Director), Jaffar Mahmood, Jude Weng and Ellen D. Williams.

Many of the actors selected were submitted through showcase partners SAG-AFTRA, CAPE, East West Players, Nosotros, UCB, SAMMA, Native Voices, The Robey Theatre and Media Access, as well as theatre companies and organizations throughout the country. Following the showcase, the actors will work closely with ABC casting executives, who will mentor and guide them throughout the year. The actors will have the opportunity to audition for ABC Entertainment Group's current slate of series and pilots.

The Talent Showcase is spearheaded by Lee, Claudia Lyon, Vice President, ABC Studios Casting; John Villacorta, Vice President, ABC Casting; Patricia Yuen Kern, Manager, ABC Casting; Emily DesHotel, ABC Casting Consultant; Lynn Esparo, Coordinator, ABC Casting; and the Los Angeles ABC Casting Office.

Disney/ABC Television Group's Los Angeles and New York Talent Showcases continue to serve as a launching pad for discovering new talent, including Randall Park of ABC's new comedy "Fresh Off The Boat," Jesse Williams, of "Grey's Anatomy," "Dancing with the Stars" judge Carrie Ann Inaba, and Academy-Award Winner Lupita Nyong'o.

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