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Talkhouse

Cassandra Peterson was born in Manhattan, Kansas. At age 17, she became the youngest showgirl in Las Vegas history, and after receiving advice from the King himself, Elvis Presley, she traveled to Europe where she pursued a career as a singer and actor. Upon returning to the States, Peterson toured America as star of her own musical-comedy show, Mama’s Boys. She eventually settled in Hollywood, where she spent four years with the Groundlings, Los Angeles’ foremost improvisational comedy group. In 1981, she created the character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, for a local Los Angeles television station. Elvira and her show, Movie Macabre, became an overnight sensation and was soon picked up by stations across the country. Peterson cowrote, produced, and starred in two feature-length films, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark and Elvira’s Haunted Hills. In 2021, she published her memoir, Yours Cruelly, Elvira, which became a New York Times bestseller. Peterson has spent over four decades solidifying the Elvira brand, one that has become synonymous with Halloween and the horror genre. Her latest book, <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/cassandra-peterson/elviras-cookbook-from-hell/9780306832864/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elvira’s Cookbook from Hell: Sexy, Spooky Soirées and Celebrations for Every Occasion</a>, is published September 30 by Grand Central.

Cassandra Peterson

Film

Three Great Things: Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira)

Shannon Plumb has shot over 200 short films, which have been exhibited in museums, galleries, and on international screens. She started by shooting herself as various characters, acting out three-minute situations using humor and silence as her vehicles for storytelling. In 2013, her first feature film, Towheads, premiered at MoMA as part of New Directors / New Films; it is now streaming on the <a href="https://www.criterionchannel.com/towheads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Criterion Channel</a>. You can see her short films at <a href="http://shannonplumb.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shannonplumb.com</a> and Towheads is available on Netflix and iTunes. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, director Derek Cianfrance, and their two sons.

Shannon Plumb

Getting the Link Out

Katy Swailes is a documentary filmmaker and audio professional based in Toronto. Her film projects include the feature documentary <a href="https://utkfilm.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Untying the Knot</a> and the short documentaryThe Ravenite, available on Prime. Her latest feature documentary, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF6uqCU07Jc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anton: Circling Home</a>, is currently playing on the film festival circuit and is available until Sunday May 2 as part of the Alexander Valley Film Festival. (Go <a href="https://www.avfilmsociety.org/events/anton-circling-home/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> for tickets.)

Katy Swailes

After Telling the Stories of Others, It’s Time to Find My Own

Liz Manashil earned her B.A. in Film and Media Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, and her M.F.A. from USC&#8217;s School of Cinematic Arts. Post-graduation, Liz spent several years as a film critic for the PBS/Hulu series Just Seen It (which she also helped produce and direct), while also working with distribution guru Peter Broderick. In 2016, Liz became the manager of Sundance&#8217;s groundbreaking Creative Distribution Initiative until the program&#8217;s close in 2019. Her debut feature, Bread and Butter, which was called “an absolute must-watch for women everywhere” by HelloGiggles, was released by The Orchard and can be seen on VOD nearly everywhere. Liz’s second feature film, Speed of Life (starring Ann Dowd and Allison Tolman), will be released January 10, and she is now in production on her third, Lady Parts. She lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Laura Palmer, her partner, Sean Wright, and her son, Colin. She currently works as the Senior Manager, Impact Distribution for Picture Motion. To watch Speed of Life: <a href="https://www.speedoflifefilm.com/how-to-see-speed-of-life" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.speedoflifefilm</a>.

Liz Manashil

Looking Backwards and Forwards

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