CALLIOPE SA / CALLIOPE LA
BIOGRAPHY

Calliope Talent, Model, and Artist Management, LLC (#275) is a full service, licensed and bonded, award-winning agency launched in 1993 in San Antonio, Texas. Calliope Talent Management, LLC of Los Angeles, California opened in 1997 for the purpose of managing actors developed in Texas. Clients of both corporations include casting directors, production companies, advertising agencies, talent and modeling agents, directors, photographers, and other industry professionals nationwide and internationally. Calliope SA and LA have expanded placements into regional markets, including Louisiana and New Mexico.

Calliope SA and LA enjoy exceptional reputations for representing serious, skilled professionals (including union and non-union actors). Talent book consistently because of a faithful adherence to Calliope's training philosophies. Notable guest instructors have included Mona Lee (acting coach/publisher of The Biz Directory); Henry Thomas (actor - E.T., All the Pretty Horses); Jesse Borrego (actor - Fame, Bound By Honor); Terry Berland (LA casting director, author); Toni Cobb-Brock (casting director - The Ringer, Friday Night Lights); Steve Pena (Hollywood set coach/actor); and numerous other casting directors, talent agents, and coaches from Los Angeles.

Calliope SA and LA actors have booked lead and supporting roles in feature films, as well as parts in television pilots, episodics, and series (including series regular, recurring, guest-star, and co-starring roles). Calliope talent have also booked countless national and regional commercials, print and internet campaigns, music and industrial videos, and noteworthy live appearances. Celebrity appearances and features include The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Weakest Link, Dog Eat Dog, Lovers Lounge, MSNBC, E! True Hollywood Stories, VH1's Video Vixens and True Spin, Bravo's The Reality of Reality, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Sally Jessy Raphael, Rivera Live, People Magazine, US Magazine, TV Guide, Backstage West, and Entertainment Weekly.

Calliope is proud to have developed and launched the careers of many successful actors, including Ricardo Antonio Chavira (series regular/Desperate Housewives), Shelbie Bruce (star/Spanglish), Ashly Holloway (co-star/Polar Express; recurring/Curb Your Enthusiasm), Jesse Head (series regular/Mary Kate and Ashley’s So Little Time), Joel Klug (original cast member/Survivor), Ytosse Patterson (original cast member/Temptation Island), and Miss San Antonio 2008, Priscilla Garcia. Calliope has also provided showbiz/career consultation for a number of successful recording artists, including Jeff McMahon (keyboardist for Tim McGraw’s Dancehall Doctors), Johnnie High Country Music Review’s Entertainer of the Year Jon Rutherford, Arturo Meza (Selena’s former drummer), and multiple “Rammy” winner Michael Brouillet of Dog Men Poets.

Calliope SA and LA are recognized for the personal attention provided to talent. Talent development, opportunity, and recognition are top priorities. Calliope has produced and participated in award-winning talent showcase productions since 1996. Calliope SA was voted both Overall Agency of the Year and Overall Troupe Production winner nine times by international panels of talent reps. Actors and models have received contracts in major entertainment and fashion markets, including Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, Mexico, Taiwan, Tokyo, and London. Calliope staffers regularly scout new faces and network with leading talent reps at conventions across the country.

Calliope CEO/ Director of Agency and Talent Development/ Talent Manger/ Producer Kristy Martin, MA produces LA101 (©/sm), an intensive showcase for actors pursuing the Los Angeles market. Talent network, train, and showcase with several of the most respected agents and casting directors in the industry. Through the LA101 experience, actors are given the information, tools, guidance, and exposure necessary to compete in Hollywood.

Kristy also produces The Calliope and Preeminent Awards (©/sm), an elegant awards ceremony honoring the achievements of talent signed with Calliope SA and Calliope LA. Agents, producers, and casters from coast to coast attend The Callies (©/sm). Actors, models, singers, and dancers showcase their skills and talent via themed performances and production numbers. This gala provides a tremendous vehicle for talent to showcase and network with high profile industry professionals. Performers are honored through peer voting, and receive national recognition for their accomplishments.

Calliope SA staffers serve as active board members in The Alliance, an industry advocacy group based in Austin, Texas. Calliope LA is a member of The Los Angeles Entertainment Manager’s Alliance. In November 2007, Calliope CEO Kristy Martin was named the Second Most Influential Woman in Texas Entertainment by SWAG Magazine. Calliope regularly receives publicity in print and TV outlets statewide.

Calliope supports Reaching Maximum Independence (RMI), a private non-profit corporation whose purpose is to provide high quality residential and vocational alternatives in San Antonio neighborhoods for persons with mental retardation or related disabilities. [Kristy’s Aunt Debbie is an RMI resident.]

Kristy has also engaged Calliope in promoting breast cancer awareness since her mother’s 2006 diagnosis and subsequent healing. During 2007’s Komen Race For the Cure in San Antonio, Kristy’s mom’s team (The CoCo Strollers, which included several Calliope talent) placed as a top ten fundraiser out of 845 teams.

Kristy and her staff possess exceptional work ethics and shared passions for "the biz," and are proud to represent talent residing in Texas and California. Calliope Talent, Model, and Artist Management, LLC, and Calliope Talent Management, LLC are delighted to be ongoing players in the show biz, media, and entertainment industries nationwide!

Charities We Support

RMI

RMI is a private non-profit corporation whose purpose is to provide high quality residential and vocational alternatives in San Antonio neighborhoods for persons with mental retardation or related disabilities, like organic personality disorder, mental health disabilities, seizure disorder, etc. We have 5 homes in San Antonio. RMI once stood for "Residential Management, Inc." The name has recently changed to "Reaching Maximum Independence."

A group of seven families with adult disabled children or siblings founded our organization through The Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) in 1982. [Calliope CEO Kristy Martin has a mentally retarded aunt living in one of RMI's residences. Kristy's father, Tony Martin, is one of RMI's founders, a past president, on the board of directors, and a former president of ARC.] RMI was separately incorporated in March 1988 and obtained its 501(C)(3) in 1990. We changed our name from Residential Management, Inc. to Reaching Maximum Independence in January of 2003. We hope the new name more accurately reflects our mission, which is to help each of our consumers reach their individual level of maximum independence.

We started with 7 clients and now serve eighty-five people with mental retardation and related disabilities. Most of the individuals live in homes or apartments we provide, but a few live with their families or in their own apartments. RMI provides the support they need to remain at home. We employ 84 people, with the majority (74) involved in the direct care of our clients.

Due to political changes, funding assistance for programs like ours has declined. We find ourselves struggling to continue to support our residents in the same level of comfort as we did previously. In an effort to increase revenues, RMI seeks community sponsorship through grant applications and fundraising events.

RMI Programs

Semi-independent Living or Apartment Program

• This was our original program started in 1982 by the Association for Retarded Citizens.
• Thirty-eight individuals live in normal apartments within our community.
• They have daily contact with staff but don't have 24-hour supervision, which allows individuals to develop their abilities without unnecessary risk.
• SSI or SSDI (Social Security Disability) and employment earnings cover expenses without additional governmental assistance.
• 80% of our residents have community jobs and 20% of our residents work in sheltered workshops.
• Many do not have sufficient income to cover all expenses.

Intermediary Care for the Mentally Retarded Program (ICF MR)

• This Medicaid program began in 1988.
• Serves 30 individuals in five suburban homes.
• Homes are modified with life safety, fire, smoke, and sprinkler systems.
• Many homes have extensive accommodations for those with physical disabilities.
• Serves individuals with moderate to profound retardation.
• One-on-one assistance available for those with significant disability.
• Twenty-four hour supervision.

Home and Community Support, (HCS)

• This Medicaid waiver program was added in 1996.
• Eight individuals live under this program.
• We own two community homes and serve others in their own homes.
• Most clients served were discharged from state institutions and require extensive assistance.
• This program allows clients and their families to select only those services they desire from a menu of services available.
• The intent is for consumers to exert more control over the assistance they receive.
• This program will probably become the preferred Medicaid funded service delivery method absorbing the ICF MR program.

Training Center Day Habilitation

• Opened in 1989.
• Provides day activities, arts and crafts, daily life skill training, and community outings.
• Serves twelve seriously disabled residents. Many are non-verbal and physically challenged.

The Workshop

• Opened in 1992.
• Is located at our main office within walking distance of many of the client's homes.
• Fifty individuals receive workshop or community based vocational services.
• Provides daily work skill development for those not quite ready to enter the job market.
• Is open to disabled individuals within the community who reside at home or other residential programs.
• Activities include contract work, woodcraft, and custodial work.
• Clients are paid for all productivity on a per piece basis based on production time studies.
• Provides community job development and placement in competitive jobs.
• Ongoing job coaching and vocational support is provided for the lifetime of the job.
• Allows residents to hold regular employment in the neighborhoods where they live.

If you would like more information on any of our programs, please contact Pamela Kelly or Sara Rideout at (210) 656-6674. We welcome volunteers and the opportunity to bid on contract work for the workshop.