Commercials
Sheila Manning
As president of Sheila Manning Casting, Inc., Sheila Manning casts, directs, handles union matters and negotiates contracts for thousands of actors each year. She co-founded and was president of the first Association of Independent Commercial Casting Directors, and was honored with the Max Award, as well as the Media Access Award and the Seymour Heller Award. An active public speaker, Manning was invited by UCLA to be an adjunct lecturer on acting in commercials. She has served four terms as governor of the Television Academy's Commercials Peer Group, and is especially proud of spearheading the successful campaign to create an Emmy for commercials. She served as Television Academy secretary four times, and has chaired the Bylaws and Membership committees. In addition to her Television Academy service, she serves on the board of New Leash on Life and the Synagogue for the Performing Arts.
Brian O'Rourke
With over 20 years of experience at advertising agencies, Brian O'Rourke has produced thousands of commercials. As an executive producer for the global band specialists TBWA\Chiat\Day, he is currently at the forefront of blending short-form with long-form content, bringing to life a number of award-winning branded entertainment platforms via TV shows and second screen. Ultimately, he creates multiplatform experiences that build emotional connections with audiences, endearing them to a message or brand. Companies that have sought his expertise include Sony, Nissan, Gatorade, Adidas, Pepsi, Visa and many others. O’Rourke’s production roots run even deeper than his ad tenure, including work at television stations and production companies. In addition, upon graduating with a double major in Television Production/English from Loyola Marymount University, he actually toiled as a Television Academy Foundation intern many moons ago. Through it all he has cultivated specialized storytelling abilities, whether delivering a narrative in 30 seconds or 90 minutes.
