cast... BRENT GORSKI – WRITER, ACTOR (Trevor) Brent Gorski wrote and co-produced the feature film Holding Trevor. Set in Los Angeles, the film follows Trevor Holden on his cynical journey of self-exploration as he tries to cope with romance, friends, and everything in between—A sort of “Reality Bites” from the vantage point of a young gay protagonist. Gorski, himself, stars as the title character in Holding Trevor. His acting career began years ago on the stage, where he has had the opportunity to perform in various cities around the world, including Germany and Japan. As a teenager, Gorski majored in theatre at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio. He followed that up with a two-year stint at the University of Cincinnati’s arts conservatory, CCM. Upon leaving college he headed to Los Angeles where he also moved from stage to film. Gorski went on to act in a number of Independent short films (Nightshadows, Fast Times at Hero High) before finally sitting down to write his first feature, Holding Trevor. Holding Trevor, opened to rave reviews at San Francisco’s International LGBT Film Festival, Frameline31 and has since screened at more than 25 festivals worldwide, including Outfest07 in Los Angeles and the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. The film was acquired by here! Films in 2007 for North American distribution and various other distributors for the international market. MELISSA SEARING – ACTOR (Andie) Melissa Searing was born and raised in Kansas City where she worked professionally as an actor starting at the age of 6. She went on to study Theatre and Film and Baylor University in Texas. Melissa currently studies acting with the acclaimed instructor Diana Castle in Los Angeles, and comedy/ improvisation with the world-renown Groundlings. She can be seen on the TV shows ER and Lucky as well as Aerosmith’s Blind Man music video. Her stage credits include Angels in America, The Secret Garden, The Real Inspector Hound and A Christmas Carol. Melissa can also be seen in the feature films Slap Her, She’s French and as the lead role in Charles Band’s Cutter’s Club opposite “The Candyman” Tony Todd. Melissa also stars in the feature films Deadly Beloved, Faith Happens and most recently Holding Trevor. JAY BRANNAN – ACTOR (Jake) Jay Brannan is a singer/songwriter living in New York City. He has been with Holding Trevor since its very conception. As the writer’s best friend, he read every single draft along the way and never held off putting in his 42 cents whenever necessary. And yes, he did manage to slip more than a few good lines into the script. The character Jake in Holding Trevor was partially inspired by Brannan himself. Brannan also recently appeared as "Ceth" in John Cameron Mitchell's latest feature film "Shortbus." Brannan writes and performs his own music, and is rising to the top of the unsigned folk artist charts on MySpace, where his EP "Unmastered" is the highest-selling album sold by an unsigned artist. His song "Soda Shop," featured in "Shortbus" and found on the film's soundtrack, was featured on YouTube's homepage and has accumulated over 1 million views. Another video, "Body's a Temple," was recently voted YouTube's No. 3 Best Music Video of the Year for 2006. myspace.com/jaybrannan youtube.com/jaybrannan jaybrannan.com ELI KRANSKI – ACTOR (Ephram) Eli Kranski was born and raised in Wisconsin. Refusing to be defined by his small-town roots, he ventured off the farm to New York City to explore his love of the arts and of performing. Eli studied at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and ultimately graduated from the University of Wisconsin -Stevens Point with a BFA in Acting. At university, he actively performed in many plays and musicals. His favorites included The Twilight of the Golds, The Elephant Man, Sweet Charity, Androcles and the Lion, and As You Like It. Upon graduation, Eli returned to New York, where he booked work in various Off-Off Broadway shows, short and student films, regional venues, and in the horror film Demon Resurrection (soon to be released nationally to DVD). The New York Times even highlighted Eli's work in the musical Extraordinary as "especially entertaining." Eli recently relocated to Los Angeles to focus his efforts on film and television roles. Work as Ephram in Holding Trevor soon followed, and he anticipates more great, diverse projects to come. CHRISTOPHER WYLLIE – ACTOR (Darrell) Christopher Wyllie is a Scottish born, Canadian raised actor who since the age of five has found himself incapable of pursuing a career outside of the acting arena. He has acted on the stage since he was a small child and finally after many years has come to Hollywood to pursue his dream of acting on film. Chris is a recent graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and since completing his course in July has been auditioning and, more importantly, booking many Independent films. He plans to continue in Los Angeles as long as it takes, knowing that this is where he has to be to achieve his goal of being a successful film actor. In Holding Trevor, Wyllie plays Darrell, a young man dealing with drug addiction. & crew… ROSSER GOODMAN – DIRECTOR After attending the Anthropology Film Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico Rosser Goodman got her start Assistant Directing on the set of NBC’s Earth 2. With a cast and crew of over 150 Rosser recalls it as “film boot camp.” While shooting 22 episodes, Rosser wrote, produced and starred in Top of the World. It successfully went on to screen at over 75 film festivals around the world including airing annually on PBS. The film won multiple awards and Wolfe Video acquired it for DVD distribution. Next, Rosser moved to Los Angeles continuing to freelance on many TV shows, commercials, pilots and films. In between, she was Head of Music Video at a Hollywood based company creating music videos for Capitol and Universal Records. She worked a year as Director of Development at an indie film company. For 4 seasons Rosser managed the iconic Egyptian Theater at the Sundance Film Festival. Simultaneously, she worked as staff Production Manager at a bi¬coastal, boutique commercial house. When requested she teaches filmmaking classes at the Learning Annex. IndieWire film critic Lydia Markus describes Rosser’s directing work as spanning from “moody…edgy…” to “charming and comical.” Ms. Goodman “boldly conveys… satire,” and her work can “haunt you for days.“ In 1999, Rosser directed, wrote and shot Wet Dress. That film and subsequent ones also directed, written and shot by she won festival awards and screened over and over worldwide. CFMDC in Toronto acquired the entire KGB FILM’S shorts collection for international broadcast distribution. Other work and festival favorites include both narratives and documentaries: Daddy-O, Life’s a Butch!, Drama and Pain. In 2005, Rosser was approached by record label executive, Nicole Ehrlich, to direct the rock music documentary DROPPED; a tell-all expose about a band dropped from a major label in the 90’s. Dropped currently airs on the Sundance Channel and is available for rental from Netflix. In 2006, Rosser directed, as well as produced the character driven, narrative full-length screenplay, Holding Trevor. Shot on tapeless high def with multiple cameras the project blossomed into a melodic and complex narrative about youth culture, addictions, HIV, friendship and self-discovery. The film hits festivals in spring/summer of 2007. Growing up on the East Coast and attending the Columbia School of Theatrical Arts, Rosser is an actor’s director. Her life experiences, education and travels make her a “real people” director. After winning multiple writing competitions, Rosser continues creating atypical stories such as: mongoose8, Saint Hell, and COWBOY. Her production company KGB FILMS has these projects and others in development. “mongoose8” is the 2004 Winner of the Panasonic Filmmakers’ Grant. Much of Rosser’s short form work streams on iFilm, media-match.com, PlanetOut, Group101Films.com and yes, even youtube. ONEITA PARKER – ASSOC. PRODUCER, COSTUME & PROD. DESIGN Sought after, Oneita Parker, is a new talent to watch on the Costume Design circuit. Ms. Parker's inspirations are timeless muses, ranging from nature, architecture, art, geometry, to culinary interests, and the animal kingdom. As a child, she loved to sew, and was bitten by the designing bug early on. Halloween was exciting every year. This marked the beginning of Ms. Parker's costume design career! Staying close to her roots in the San Francisco Bay area, she designed costumes and fashion as an adult. Quickly, she made a name for herself, and new clients started requesting her designs.Now, based in Los Angeles, she delights in traveling to wherever her work calls her. Ms. Parker designs and styles for print work, movies, commercials and music videos. Ms. Parker studied Design at The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and FiDM in San Francisco. Her clients include the Music Video Production Association, Mark Webb, Jay Martin, as well as Immigrant Films marking the long list of illustrious clientele who request her uniquely imaginative talents.Elated that her childhood love is now a serious career for nearly a decade, when asked what she does for a living, Ms. Parker practically gushes while she lays one of her lovely smiles on you. One thing's for sure, her enthusiasm is contagious... holding trevor STEPHANIE SKLAR – LINE PRODUCER California native Stephanie Sklar got her start in the entertainment industry during her education at Boston University. She spent her summers interning in New York, Los Angeles, and eventually Sydney, Australia, trying to get as much experience under her belt before she left Boston. Upon graduation, she moved to Manhattan, and began working in a documentary unit at HBO. She left documentaries and moved on to coordinate commercials with the MTV Promos department. After four years in New York, Steph packed her bags and spent a year in Australia bumming at the beach. With the best tan of her life, she eventually headed to Los Angeles, freelancing at MTV--Production Managing during the boom of Reality Television. Gaining experience in live events, dating shows, and chronicling the lives of celebrities, Steph went on to Line Produce her first film, “Holding Trevor,” directed by Rosser Goodman. She has since helped produce the first webisodes for Bud.tv, and is currently the Executive in Charge of Production at Eyeboogie, Inc. Her credits include, "Real Sex," MTV Movie Awards Short Films, the VMA's, "Til Death Do Us Part, Carmen & Dave", "The Ashlee Simpson Show", "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List," "Date My Mom," "Next," "Final Fu", amongst many others. Aside from production, Steph participates in the AIDS Lifecycle (rider #1156), runs a company called dontsquat.com, and writes a blog about her cat’s adventures in Hollywood. She blames her dad for her obsession with T.V. and films. DONNA MATHEWSON – EDITOR Donna Mathewson attended film school at Academy of Art University in her home town of San Francisco, matriculating as the film department valedictorian in 2004. She moved to Los Angeles shortly thereafter as part of a career shift from software engineer to film editor. She quickly found work in the film industry. Holding Trevor represents her fifth feature length film as an editor, and her third feature to play at Frameline, the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival.