Director Statement Our film is a daringly honest account of one woman’s shattered past as a child sexual abuse victim and the dramatic journey she undertakes to discard the mental, emotional, and spiritual scars, which she has borne throughout her nearly thirty years of life. It is a “coming home” story that illustrates the empowering wisdom that home is, ultimately, what you define it to be. Spin the Plate has a beating heart, sharp teeth, an occasional clenched fist, and a deep social conscience.

It offers an unpolished and bold depiction of the myriad of social ills that serve as the context within which the lead character’s life story unfolds. We are all impacted by child abuse, rape, domestic violence, post-traumatic stress disorder, juvenile sex trafficking, and animal cruelty; whether it is you yourself who has experienced these issues first-hand or someone you know and care for. All of these subjects are artfully woven into our story; each in their own way. Through the darkness of these experiences, the main characters in Spin the Plate are lead to an unexpected and heartfelt outcome.

Tom is a Professor at Boston University in the Questrom School of Business and has taught filmmaking, acting, and playwriting at Daniel Webster College and Southern New Hampshire University. He is the Owner/Manager of Pack of Dogs Productions, and in addition to producing Spin the Plate, has produced several short films, documentaries, and training films. He is an award-winning playwright (New American Playwrights' Festival (Deadline), New Hampshire Theatre Awards 2004, Best Original Play Christmas Stories (Music by Peter Bridges), and NH Theatre Award for Best Original Play, 2013 (Lazarus) produced by StageCoach Productions. Tom's Play Surviving Evil about NH Holocaust Survivor Stephan Lewy has been seen by over 5,000 people and went on tour to New York City in 2011. Tom is also a national best-selling author of Personality Selling (Sterling Publishing), Personality Negotiating (Sterling Publishing), The Fight-Free Marriage (Thomas-Nelson Publishing), and The Successful Entrepreneur (GlenbridgePublishing). Tom has attended several screen-writing/playwriting workshops with Academy-Award (R) winning sreeenwriter Ernest Thompson at Whitebridge Farm Productions "Write on Golden Pond" sessions.

Tom Anastasi SUBMISSION CONTACT, PRODUCER, WRITER IMDb PAGE »

As a film, television and theatrical actor himself of over 30 years, Eric has amassed a considerable filmography as a character actor in numerous independent film projects of note throughout New England, some of which have been accepted at film festivals throughout the country (among which are: Boston Int'l Film Festival, NH Film Festival, SLAMDANCE Film Festival in Park City, Utah, to name a few). Through the years Eric has directed productions for stage and short film; this is his directorial debut in the feature film category.

Eric Eastman DIRECTOR, ASSOCIATE PRODUCER IMDb PAGE »

Becki Dennis was born in Boston and raised in the suburb of Andover, Massachusetts, as the only daughter in a household with three brothers. Although her mother and father - a teacher and an accountant respectively - weren't in show business, her grandmother was a pianist and singer. Born with her grandmother's genes, Becki began entertaining audiences at the tender age of three when she grabbed a microphone and sang "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to an entire cruise ship during a family vacation. Since then, she has never missed an opportunity to shine in the spotlight.

Throughout her childhood, Becki was always using her creativity and imagination. She wrote poems, song lyrics, and stories; formed singing groups and sang in talent shows; made up dance routines and took dance lessons; and fell in love with, and watched, movies often. As she developed into an ambitious and self-motivated teen, she took her craft seriously, studying acting, voice, and dance several hours per week, while performing in plays, choral concerts, and dance recitals. The highlights of her high school years were dancing on an episode of MTV's Total Request Live (1998), writing and directing an original theatre piece for her senior project titled "Take Off Your Shoes," and playing Madame Thenardier in a production of "Les Miserables." It was her comedic performance in "Les Miserables" that stole the show and sealed her calling as an actor.

Becki Dennis ASSOCIATE PRODUCER, JO ORSIANO (LEAD ACTOR) IMDb PAGE »

After auditioning for college theatre programs, she was accepted to and attended Point Park University's prestigious Conservatory of Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, where she earned a B.A. in Musical Theatre in just three years; finishing off her credits with summer courses at Emerson College and Berklee College of Music. Upon graduation, Becki returned home to the Boston area, where she was determined to earn a living using her degree. Some of her first paid acting jobs were doing interactive dinner theatre, standardized patient work, and historical reenactments of the witch trials at the Salem Witch Dungeon Museum. She also found employment singing in Christmas caroling quartets and with a theatrical performance group called "The Stiletto Singers," which she was a founding member of. Simultaneously, she directed and/or choreographed over fifteen musicals for high schools and community theatres, as well as taught performing arts classes to youth. These jobs supported her while she auditioned for, and subsequently performed at, professional regional theatres in New England, such as the American Repertory Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse, Seacoast Repertory Theatre, and Palace Theatre.

It was around this same time that Becki began delving into on-camera acting in film, television, commercials, and industrials. In order to prepare herself for the transition from stage to screen, she trained with Carolyn Pickman, Kevin Lasit, and Maura Tighe. Her first significant booking came when Maura Tighe cast her in a national commercial for Boys Town, a crisis hotline. What followed was even more exciting - Becki was flown to New Orleans to compete in the acting competition TV pilot Casting Call: Spring Break '83 (2009), where she was mentored by the judges of the show, seasoned actors Morgan Fairchild, Joe Piscopo, and Adrian Zmed. For the next few years, she continued to act in everything she could get her hands on - industrials for companies such as Dunkin' Donuts and Staples, print ads and voice-overs for big names like Progressive and PricewaterhouseCoopers, and principal roles in commercials for the Massachusetts Health Connector and

Millennium Training Institute. She starred in short films as an unconventional leading lady, as well.

After experiencing almost every type of job an actor could have, Becki began to explore new experiences by working behind the camera as a director, assistant director, producer, writer, casting director, production assistant, and stand-in. Functioning in all of these different capacities allowed her to gain an understanding of, and appreciation for, the many facets of the industry. In addition, she started her own business, Talent Tools, through which she provided marketing tools and services for actors, such as reel and resume editing, audition and career coaching, and educational workshops and events. Moreover, under the off-shoot Talent Tools Productions, she produced, co-directed, and cast music videos and the films last (2012) and Mildred's Millions (2013); the latter of which went on to screen at five film festivals.

But, her heart called her back to acting again when David O. Russell handpicked her for the role of Rebecca, a nanny and friend of Amy Adams character, in American Hustle (2013). The experience she had during this movie reignited her passion, making her realize how much she had missed acting. Therefore, when she was offered the demanding lead role of Jo, a sexual abuse survivor with PTSD in the independent feature film drama Spin the Plate (2017), she gladly accepted the challenge, and became a better actor due to how far her range and ability was stretched. Immediately after that shoot wrapped, Seth MacFarlanecast her as the receptionist in Ted 2 (2015) alongside Mark Wahlberg.

Following on the heels of these successes, and still living in Massachusetts at the time, Becki began commuting to New York City for auditions and workshops in an effort to expand her scope of potential work opportunities. Although she started to make some headway in New York, it was not long after she opened herself up to the possibilities outside of her comfort zone that a

serendipitous opportunity arose for her to attend the American Film Market in Santa Monica. It was during this trip to AFM that she also met with, and was then offered representation from, the Entertainment Lab in Los Angeles. Thus, in January of 2015, Becki decided to make the leap from the East Coast to the West Coast, and she has never looked back.

During Becki's first year in LA she studied at the renowned Second City in Hollywood, where she graduated from their improvprogram, and she was accepted into the Moving Picture Institute's film program, where her script "Time To Go" was a finalist in their pitch competition. She also appeared in a commercial for Just Dance, the short film Noise (2015), which screened at Warner Bros. Studios, and the web series Ladies Keepin' It Real (2015). In her second year in LA, she continued to hone her craft by taking audition technique with Wendy Davis, Lilach Mendelovich, and Alex D'Lerma. Soon after that, she started booking roles in major TV shows, such as the acclaimed This Is Us (2016) (episode directed by Helen Hunt),Speechless (2016) (acting opposite Minnie Driver), The Young and the Restless (1973), Pretty Little Liars(2010), GLOW (2017), The Fosters (2013), and Pure Genius (2016). Now in her third year in LA, Becki has recently worked on the hit shows Fresh Off the Boat (2015), Jane the Virgin (2014) (acting opposite Gina Rodriguez), How to Get Away with Murder (2014) (with Viola Davis), Shameless (2011) (directed by Emmy Rossum), and Life in Pieces (2015), the new shows I'm Sorry (2017) and Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. (2018) (directed by Anthony Hemingway), Goliath (2016) (with Billy Bob Thornton) and the music video Lorde: Green Light (2017) with Lorde. Having acted in a total of fifteen TV shows to date, she was able to join the esteemed Television Academy. Becki is still happily represented by the Entertainment Lab and has added Across the Board Talent Agency to her team of representatives. She looks

forward to continuing to impact audiences through storytelling and to having many more extraordinary experiences throughout her journey.

Donna Anastasi ADAPTATION, AUTHOR OF ADAPTED MATERIAL (NOVEL) IMDb PAGE »

Donna Anastasi wrote the popular Complete Guide to Gerbil Care in 2005 (Bowtie Press) and a chinchilla guide in 2008. Spin the Plate is her first novel. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, two teenaged daughters, and an ever-changing menagerie. When asked why she wrote Spin the Plate she says, "I wrote this book because I didn’t have the option not to. That morning after Jo’s flashback scene popped into my mind, the storyline and main characters just kept coming like crashing waves. It was all I could do over the next several days to get it down fast enough on sticky notes and scraps of paper, so that it would not be lost. The following 18 months were spent filling in the blanks in whatever free days or hours I could find, depending on the help of many including my husband Tom, who is an author and playwright. From the day the story came to me I’ve felt a driving obligation to write and publish it."

Dan Merriman FRANCIS MANGIANONI (LEAD ACTOR) IMDb PAGE »

Dan has had starring roles in the distributed movies "Psyclops" and "Arachnia," and supporting roles in "Alien Opponent" with Jeremy London and "Trees 2" with Ron Palillo. He has acted in many other indie feature films and major motion pictures. Dan is also quite active in theatre. In 2015, he won "Best Actor" at the AACT regionals and is a 3-time NHTA top finalist. His pursuits have lead him to work and live in Chicago and Los Angeles, but he currently calls his native New England home.

Rajah Samaroo CINEMATOGRAPHER/DP IMDb PAGE »

Rajah Samaroo is the Founder of Samaroo Studios. He has 18 years of experience in media and film production. After graduating with a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, he started working in the camera department for various independent films, television and production companies. While doing so he directed his first post college film entitled: "Worm Free Society". This short went on to win several awards including Best Scifi at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. His interest in video marketing developed after working as a contractor for InMusicBrands. He was hired on as a Video Production Specialist for their marketing department and soon became their Video Producer. He produced a few eye-catching lifestyle commercials that successfully launched their flagship products such as the MPC and their Ion brand Blockrocker series of speakers.

Itching to move to New York, Rajah left InMusic to further pursue his growth as a Video Producer and Filmmaker. He built strong relationships with a few production companies in New York, LA and New Jersey. He works between New York and New England frequently and has residence in both regions. In 2017, he directed his second short film entitled "Pseudo Love" which will be released in festivals in 2018. He enjoys using his experience to nurture up-and-coming Directors making their way into the film world. His cinematography work has helped them screen across the world from Mumbai and New York to Cannes. These collaborations have won over two dozen film festivals, including several Best Director awards. Rajah prides himself in being able to bring his knowledge to help his clients and follow filmmakers, regardless of the scope of the project.

Andy Crosby EDITOR IMDb PAGE »

Andy has been editing video since high school, and has worked his way through the corporate and broadcast world over the past 12 years. From assistant editor to his own edit suite, Andy has had the pleasure of editing and compositing for companies such as Toyota, Hasbro, Reebok, and Cinemax, including the main title sequences for 4 seasons of the hit show Banshee (2013-2016), and the main title for the show Quarry (2016). Last year he cut his first feature film and a 6 episode sitcom web series, and recently finished production on a 7 episode drama web series called Bench. Andy is currently cutting a feature documentary about craft beer and enjoys working with other like minded, hardworking teams of talented individuals.

Benjamin Roberts ORIGINAL MUSIC/COMPOSERIMDb PAGE »

Benjamin Roberts is a United States based Film and Television composer with a specialty of creating virtually any genre of music for the world of modern visual media. Most well known for his underscore in Upstairs Inferno (2015) The Amazing Wizard of Paws (2015), Halloween Hell (2014), Shades of Darkness (2015) and web series Oh-Bama (2016), Roberts has the reputation of producing music on a strict time limit.

A Massachusetts native, Roberts began his career as a Jazz Pianist and composer leading him to graduate from Berklee College of Music with a dual major in Film Scoring and Jazz Composition. After working as a Jazz Pianist, Benjamin relocated to Los Angeles, California where he produces musical works for media entertainment.

Robin Lane ORIGINAL MUSIC/COMPOSERIMDb PAGE »

Robin Lane was born into a musical family in the city of Los Angeles. Her father was a songwriter and musical director for Dean Martin who wrote the hit "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime." During high school, the valley girl became immersed in the music scene and the alternative life style of the late 60's and was inspired to write her own songs. She began informal collaborations with the band Crazy Horse. This association led to her more formal debut - singing with Neil Young on his album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.

Robin opted to leave the wild and overwhelming music and show business scene of LA, moved to Pennsylvania farm country, Manhattan, and finally Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was in Cambridge in the late 70's, in an environment of cultural and intellectual experimentation that Robin was able to integrate punk and new wave influences, East Coast folk, and West Coast rock in her songs and her band -- the legendary Robin Lane and The Chartbusters. The band included ex-Modern Lovers Asa Brebner and Leroy Radcliffe who infected Lane's songs and sensibilities even further with their garage rock sound.

Robin Lane and the Chartbusters recorded three albums for Warner Brothers Records: Robin Lane and the Chartbusters (1980), the live EP 5 Live, and Imitation Life (1981). Two singles from her first album, "When Things Go Wrong" and "Why Do You Tell Lies?" received extensive national airplay. Robin Lane & The Chartbusters had the 11th video played on MTV.

The New Rolling Stone Record Guide gave the first album a prestigious four-star rating. Wrote Geoffrey Himes for the Washington Post, "Though Blondie's Deborah Harry and the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde have had more hits and better press, Robin Lane looms large as the most talented female artist to come out of New Wave Rock."

Robin Lane and the Chartbusters toured extensively as headliners and opening for such bands as The Kinks, The Cars, Hall and Oates and XTC. The band's last album together was the indie release, 1984's Heart Connection, which was well received.

In 1985, after the band stopped performing together, Robin split her time between raising a daughter, honing her songwriting, and performing solo. She appeared at festivals in Holland, England, and Germany, and opened for Warren Zevon, John Hiatt, Taj Mahal, Tim Finn, Dave Mason, Steve Earle, and T-Bone Burnett. She accepted the Boston Music Award for Outstanding Female Vocalist in 1988. In 1990, Susanna Hoffs (Bangles) recorded Robin's song "Wishing on Telstar" for her first solo album, When You're A Boy. Robin also sang on the CD.

In 1995 Robin released Cat Bird Seat on Ocean Records, her first album in a decade, and toured the East Coast for over a year. This CD garnered rave reviews, including a featured article on the cover of Billboard magazine.

In 2002 The Chartbusters reunited. Their CD, Piece of Mind, was released in February, 2003.

In 2010 Robin founded Songbird Sings. Songbird Sings is dedicated to helping people work through and recover from traumatic experiences by writing and recording their own songs. The workshops help to transform those who've been silenced by domestic violence, sexual exploitation, childhood abuse, and the

horrors of war. She is involved with Theo and Paul Epstein’s Foundation to be Named Later and performs with Peter Gammons, Theo Epstein, Bill Janovitz, Tanya Donnelly at Hot Stove Cool Music, each year raising money for charities. Her workshops have been supported, among others, by Pearl Jam’s VitalogyFoundation. Robin continues writing songs, performing House Concerts and various café’s and clubs

Production Notes Our Film's Relevance Spin the Plate is based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Donna Anastasi, and although this film has been in the works for years, its completion right now couldn't be timelier. With the current #MeToo movement shedding light on sexual abuse and misconduct across all industries, and rightfully so, we must now also turn our attention to the oft forgotten victims of sexual abuse in the home. Children are being stripped of their clothes and childhoods behind closed doors in many households across the Globe, and sadly many of these acts are being perpetrated by the people who are supposed to love and protect them the most –their family. This film gives a voice to the voiceless victims of child sexual abuse, and depicts it in a tasteful and accessible way. While the subject matter may seem dark, the film has hope, as our protagonist, Jo, seeks justice against her abusive father, frees herself from the shackles of her past, and opens her heart to love again.

Jo is a hero. She saves vulnerable people and animals from harm, and doesn't do it for any attention or recognition. Through her example, she shows women that they can be powerful, fight back against evil, and win in the end.

We feel that this film will move audiences and empower women, and men, alike. Thank you for taking the time to review our submission. It was an honor to play Jo and it is our pleasure to share our film with you.

- Becki Dennis, Lead Actor/Associate Producer

Short Summary Spin the Plate is a truthful fiction that follows the character of Jo Orsiano, who is a survivor of child sexual abuse perpetrated by her father, and permitted by her mother, from the ages of three to fourteen. As a result of her horrific childhood, she suffers from a serious form of post-traumatic stress disorder as an adult, with flashbacks haunting her daily. These constant reminders of how cruel the world can be cause her to develop a deep distrust of people, in particular men, and an inability to function normally in society. But there is hope for Jo – she ends up encountering a series of individuals, who challenge her view of the human race and allow her to undergo a significant transformation, whereby she frees herself from the pain of her past and begin anew.

The title, Spin the Plate, means to see things from a fresh or different perspective, which is ultimately what Jo ends up doing as she comes to view her life in a new light. What happened to her as a youth may have initially damaged her, but as she learns throughout her journey, life is really what you make of it. She channels her pain into helping others and creates a meaningful existence.

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