Laura Fortino-Zeni
Meet the Players
Actress (Kate), Writer, Producer
Laura began her career after earning her Ba in theater and theater production at California State University Long Beach. She then went on to study Meisner technique at Playhouse West in Los Angeles . She has performed in many stage productions with her favorite role being that of Frankie in Frankie & Johnny. She has been in films and television and continues to work in film and as a Co-Director for the Playhouse West Film Festival in NoHo each year. One of her most satisfying experiences as an actress was to play multiple roles over a 10 year period in one of North Hollywood’s longest running plays- Welcome Home Soldier.
During her time studying Laura began writing scenes and one acts to perform and then moved on to short film scripts. She currently is writing and producing short films and theater as well as C'est La Vie. Her two most recent short films produced with Herve are in festivals. "As Angels Watch" just recently won The Award of Excellence at the Global Film Festival Los Angeles.
She enjoys sharing her acting passion, knowledge and skills with students all over the world as a private coach and teacher.
Debra Stolberg
Writer, Producer
Debra Stolberg began her writing career honing her skills in numerous well known sketch comedy groups in the Los Angeles area, including Monkey with a Shotgun and The Gay Mafia. One of her filmed sketches, Spanish for Your Nanny, went viral, creating opportunities for paid work with numerous content providers. After this, Stolberg segued into longer form work, penning comedy screenplays that were optioned by production companies and directors. She has been traveling the world recently with her family and was excited at the opportunity to be able to incorporate many of her recent relevant experiences into C’est La Vie. She is thrilled to be working with this talented and creative international ensemble
Hervé Remion
Director, Producer
Herve began his filmmaking studies at ESRA film school in Paris, where he directed his first short film. He then continued his studies at the New York Film Academy where he directed the short film "Destiny." While studying there, he directed his first music video. His work in music video and advertising quickly was noticed and stood out, leading to commercials for Coca Cola, Renault, Nivea, and Crédit Mutuel, among others. His passion led him to want to know every job on set so he put on several caps, working as location manager, production manager, assistant director and second unit director. This experience made him a director who knows how to translate his artistic vision with great technical skill. He was nominated for a Strat & Com D'Or award and has won awards from the Caribbean Music Awards and Africar Music Awards. He currently has two short films produced with Laura that are in festivals. "As Angels Watch" just recently won The Award of Excellence at the Global Film Festival Los Angeles.
His credo is "the best technology in the world is worthless without a good story.”
Roxane Langard
Associate Producer, Actress-Sophie
Roxane has been passionate about acting from the youngest age. Her mother used to act and direct in amateur company and she would love watching them rehearse and attend their performances. She finally decided to pursue acting as a career and traveled to the United States to study theatre. After she completed her degree, she came back to France and studied acting for the camera in order to further and diversify her acting skills. That's where she first learned about the Meisner technique and took classes with Laura Fortino, leading her to discover a new way to approach acting that allowed her to experiment emotionally on a deeper level. Thanks to these classes, she met and grew closer to very talented actors and technicians with whom she was able to partake in various exciting projects. While she is still working in developing her acting career, she also recently began screenwriting.
Roxane elaborates, "I am very excited to be part of this project for many reasons. First of all, I have fallen in love with Sophie (my character in the show). Just like her I am a tiny yet crafty and capable woman and it gives me so much joy to be able to proudly express that through her. It is hard to share how I am similar to Sophie without spoiling anything but let’s say that in the production of the series I enjoy wearing different hats just as Sophie likes to wear different overalls! Speaking of overalls, I want to talk about the series more generally. It is cleverly written with a handful of colorful characters supported by a talented and diverse cast and I particularly love the female parts that stay away from stereotypes. They are real women with strong personalities but real relatable struggles that are approached with kindness and a lot of humor! There are more and more shows with strong female leads and the series totally follows in these tracks and I think this is a representation that is relevant, and even more so, important in the media nowadays."
Vanessa Dolmen
Actress-Fab
After obtaining a master's degree in English at la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Vanessa decided to pursue her calling for acting. She got hooked on her first class and embraced the fact that acting was what she was meant to be doing. She regularly trains with American acting coaches (Meisner technique, Monthes Method) and performs on stage (Amazing Grace is Yellow, Maya, une voix ...), in television shows (Access, Munch, Mytho...), and films and commercials. The French audience knows her face for being a TV host in France for over a decade. She also works as a voiceover artist (commercials, radio fictions, museums).
Vanessa shares, "I am really excited to be a part of the project C'est la Vie ! When I first read the project I burst out laughing and I kept that feel-good feeling for the rest of the day! I absolutely love Fabienne, I call her Fabulous Fab, she's witty, fun, sharp. I love her sense of humor - a little sarcastic and so French! The female characters are unique. I believe that we as women can easily identify with what they are going through. I think that the female gaze is important in the writing of C'est La Vie, even in the way men appear. C'est la Vie is like a tasty recipe, every character is the perfect ingredient to spice up the story! They are just fun to watch. It is exciting to see C'est la Vie come to life!"
David Liam
Actor-Michael
David is a British/Maori/French actor. David wanted to be an actor from the young age of nine and knew that was what he wanted to do. He studied in London acting schools for two years before going to LA to study under the Ivanna Chubbuck school. From there, he went to Paris to study Meisner and then began acting in small independent projects. Most recently, he was one of the lead roles in an episode.of the TV series, the Madame Blanc Mysteries, for Channel 5 opposite the fabulous Sally Lindsay. David truly enjoyed this incredible experience including filming in Malta.
David shares, "I am really excited to be a part of this project because it has such a multicultural cast, bringing in all different kinds of cultures and backgrounds making for really fun interactions. And most importantly I found the script to be so original, well written and hilarious that whenever we rehearsed it, it never felt like work. It felt like we were all having the time of our lives. And those are the kinds of projects I love to be involved in - ones that mix humor and depth all at the same time. Being a part of this series is really a gift. I am truly excited and I cannot wait to see it come to light."
Thomas Bocca
Actor-Olivier
After studying video editing in art school and working in some agencies, Thomas decided to learn acting to perform the text he wrote. He started to learn improvisation and, with a group of actors, created and performed original plays in Paris in small theatres and cabarets. He studied classical theatre at the Cour Cochet, created by the famous french actor Jean Laurent Cochet, and continues to perform his own texts and songs in musical shows, in bars and nursing homes. After that, he performed and co-directed his own play "Une vie d’artiste," a comedy with original songs, which had a three month run in Paris. To go deeper in acting, he studied the Meisner technique in Paris Meisner Studio.
Thomas adds, "I’m excited to be part of this project because it's a funny meeting between American and French culture!"
Gaetano Festinese
Actor-Andrea
Gaetano was born and raised in Naples, Italy and started his training as an actor at Le Cours Florent in Paris. After graduating, he discovered the Meisner technique, participating at workshops by Anthony Montes, Mark and Tracy Pellegrino and Laura Fortino and fell in love with the method. He has performed on stage in Italy and France. His last project was the play La Fuite at the Theatre 13 in Paris, directed by Fabio Gorgolini. He has also acted in web-series and various short movies, like As Angels Watch, directed by Hervé Remion & Produced & adapted by Laura Fortino-Zeni.
Gaetano adds, "I’m excited about being part of C'est La Vie because we have a great team and I love working with Laura!"
Laurence Guillotin
Actress-Alice
Laurence is a French actress who has always loved singing and acting since she was a child creating musicals for the family at Christmas! That’s why, after several years working in communication and marketing, she decided to live her dreams in becoming a professional actress thanks to Meisner Technique with American coaches she met in Paris. She also studied clowning and loves comedy as well as creating strong characters in theater and short films.
Laurence adds, "I am really excited to be part of the project because C’est La Vie is really fun and deserves to be on screen! We need good comedies to entertain and the audience can identify with these characters. The team is very professional and amazing and it’s a great pleasure to work with both American and French people in the same mood and with the same goal. And to finish, I really like embodying the character of Alice, who is totally hilarious without knowing it by her fantasy and the fact that she never has the correct behavior living in her own world."
Vincent studied in acting schools in Paris (Studio Muller) and in London (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, LAMDA). He started his career on movie sets and TV productions before being mainly involved in theater productions. Recently, he performed and created more than 20 characters in the romantic comedy "A" (by Élie Rapp, in Paris and on tour in France and Switzerland, 2019/2020). He is presently performing in "Les Kokemars" (touring in France, co-produced by Les Tréteaux de France) and is working on the creation of a one character play, "Robinson, au jour le jour,” written and directed by Anouch Paré. “
For Vincent, ”C’est La Vie brings me the great joy of playing the part of Benoît, the unpleasant character of the series. He is a jealous, frustrated, macho, somewhat foolish and ridiculous French guy. What a gift for an actor! Long live C'est La Vie!"
Vincent Paillier
Actor-Benoit
Apolline Denis
Actress-? She's too young for Genevieve
Apolline's dream of becoming an actress started when she was a teenager, thanks to her parents who gave her a taste for vibrant stories and words! It was first at the Conservatory of Bordeaux that she discovered this demanding art, then at the “Cours Florent-Paris,” and finally at “LaSalle School of Drama” in Singapore. It was then in English that she continued her training, acting for different companies and also discovered directing by creating “Tovaritch” by Jacques Deval. Then, back in Gironde, her native land, she joined La Théâtrerie where she met those who are still her friends and playmates today. Together, they created “The Memso Company.” When she discovered Robert Castle’s workshops, from the Actor’s Studio, it really changed her way of acting. This led to several years of a solo tour with “Ocean-Liberty” in Belgium and France. Then she created “La Petite Espérance,” adapted from a text by Charles Péguy. Now based in Paris, she shares her time between filming and creating on stage, with as much passion as ever.
Rita Schüle
Actress-Sandrine
Rita Schüle was raised in Germany and now lives in Paris, a city that she has chosen because she loves to explore foreign countries, their language and their culture. She has been attending the Meisner School in Paris for approximately 2 years, training with Tracy Pellegrino and Laura Fortino. She thanks them both for allowing her to enjoy this very valuable experience. Rita absolutely loves to explore different characters while using the Meisner Technique to bring them genuinely and truthfully to life. She is passionate about all kinds of art and she expresses it through acting, making music (transverse flute), dancing and modeling. Being a singer as well, Rita gives concerts (Gospel/Pop/World music) and her first EP (a duo with another german artist) came out in 2019. Rita is immensely thankful to be able to share her passion for art with the audience and to touch them through diverse performances.
Rita adds, ”I'm really excited to be part of this project because I truly believe that it has all the required components to become a really great show: a cracking good story, very well chosen characters and an amazing cast of actors from all over the world. For me personally it's a wonderful opportunity to work with international actors and I'm really looking forward to see this great project getting started, to bring to life my character and to start this adventure with this great cast!”
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