journalism

Vida Ghaffari

Bio: 
Vida Ghaffari has been active on the Tinsel town scene as an actress and a reporter. She just shot a supporting role in the indie film “Shirin in Love” starring headlining comics George Wallace and Maz Jobrani. Vida has worked alongside a couple of well known child stars. She shot a supporting role in an indie film called “The Bilderberg Club” with Allison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson) of “Little House on the Prairie” as well as acting with Jeremy Miller (Ben Seaver) of “Growing Pains” in a TV pilot. She has also played an Iraqi wife in an episode of Comedy Central’s “Mind of Mencia.” Vida also made her web series debuts in two comedic projects. In “Alternative Brother,” she plays a flashy damsel in distress and in “Green Manor,” she will act along side Tony Moran, the original Mike Myers from “Halloween.” She has also acted in many plays at established Hollywood venues such as the Zephyr Theatre and Theatre/Theater. She also has a very strong background in comedy as an improviser, stand-up, and sketch comic. She has performed stand-up at the Improv and the Comedy Store. She has performed in improv and sketch shows at prestigious theatres such as Improv Olympic West, The Second City Los Angeles, and Upright Citizens Brigade Los Angeles (UCB). She has also studied longform improv at UCB. Ghaffari is also a voiceover artist and is the voice of Singular Magazine. She has also done voiceover work for Fidelity Investments and other companies. This multi-talented performer also works as an entertainment correspondent for GEM TV. She reports from many Hollywood red carpet film premieres and galas interviewing a wide range of celebrities such as Oscar winners Cuba Gooding Jr. and Melissa Leo, Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Shohreh Aghdashloo, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Miley Cyrus to internationally known musicians such as Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and Chris Isaak . She has worked for various media outlets such as the popular online media station MaximoTV.com as well as being an on-air host and an associate producer for ATV’s (Andisheh) “Cinema Now” and “City of Angels” shows. Born and raised in the DC area, she comes from a long line of diplomats, scholars, actors/directors, writers, and poets. Ghaffari wants to uphold the family tradition through the arts and the media. As a print journalist, she has written for the Iran Times International, the Persian Mirror, and Namak Magazine as well as many local papers in the DC metropolitan area. She has received research and writing grants from the Woodrow Wilson Center and the National Journalism Center among others. She has a BA in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park with a minor in Journalism and Theatre. While she was studying at the U of M, she wrote for the Diamondback newspaper that had a student readership of over 40,000, as well as hosting her own show on WMUC, the campus radio station. She has also worked for WUSA, the CBS affiliate in Washington DC.
Course of Life
Area(s) of Expertise: 
improviser
spoken word
acting
theater
journalism
Education: 
BA Economics with a minor in Theatre and Journalism from the University of Maryland
National Journalism Center
UCB Theatre graduate
various acting coaches like Joan Darling
etc.
Area(s) of Interest: 
Acting
journalism
Improvisation
Mentors and Inspiration: 
Farrokh Ghaffari
Abbass Malayeri
Doug Rye
Location
City or Town: 
Los Angeles
State or Province: 
california
Country: 
United States

Alexander Billet

Bio: 
Alexander Billet, a music journalist, writer and activist living in Chicago, runs Rebel Frequencies. A columnist for SleptOn.com and the Society of Cinema and Arts, his articles have also appeared in Z Magazine, New Politics, CounterPunch, Socialist Worker, PopMatters.com, Dissident Voice, the International Socialist Review, the Washington Peace Letter, MR Zine and Razorcake.org among others. His article “Is Russell Simmons Playing Politics with Hip-Hop?” appears in the academic collection At Issue: Should Music Lyrics Be Censored For Violence and Exploitation? released in 2008 by Greenhaven Press. Billet has also been interviewed on Radio Free Adelaide in Australia and W.E.A.L.L.B.E. radio show. His All-Time Top Five artists are the Clash, Public Enemy, Nina Simone, Massive Attack and Rage Against the Machine (with a close sixth being a tie between Lauryn Hill and Manic Street Preachers). Contact him at rebelfrequencies@gmail.com
Course of Life
Area(s) of Expertise: 
music
journalism
Education: 
Syracuse University
class of 2006
Area(s) of Interest: 
music
literature
journalism
Film
travel
Social Change
Location
City or Town: 
Chicago
State or Province: 
Illinois
Country: 
United States
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