KRISTY MARTIN, MA/BA/AA/AAS
Kristy Martin, MA/BA/AA/AAS, Calliope’s CEO/Director of Agency and Talent Development/Talent Manager/Producer, began studying and working professionally in the entertainment, media, and show business industries after graduating from Smithson Valley High School in 1985. She started writing at the tender age of 7, and made her first 8mm film at age 10. She began performing in school and community theatre productions by age 13. Before going behind the scenes in college, Kristy was elected to office in SV’s Drama Club, International Thespian Society, Future Teachers of America, and Student Council. She was SV’s track meet announcer, athletic manager, and a member of the speech team. Kristy also narrated textbooks on tape for the Comal County School District.
Kristy starred in a number of school plays throughout high school, including her performance as Tigger in SV’s UIL production of Winnie the Pooh, in which she was honored with an All Star Cast Award. She also performed in community theatre for STAGE in her hometown of Bulverde. At age 17, Kristy auditioned for legendary theatre matron Maureen Halligan, and gained acceptance into the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Her devotion to family led Kristy to stay in San Antonio to attend college.
Kristy’s thirst for knowledge guided her to pursue four degrees, including a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Communication Arts, both from the University of the Incarnate Word; as well as an Associate in Applied Science Degree, and an Associate of Arts Degree, both from San Antonio College (all in Film/TV Studies). She landed on numerous Deans’ and Honor Roll Lists, and was a recipient of the Distinguished Honor Roll and the Highest Award for Academic Excellence. Kristy also attended the University of Texas at San Antonio and St. Mary’s University, and took several graduate level business, marketing, and leadership courses with Capella University, a nationally accredited distance learning institution.
Kristy’s Master’s thesis detailed the development and execution of a University level Communications and Performing Arts program. In her desire to continue pursuing her passion for academics, Kristy applied her extensive graduate level education to create one-of-a-kind teaching techniques and acclaimed, innovative curricula for Calliope students.
For three decades, Kristy has participated in numerous courses, seminars, workshops, and training sessions related to the entertainment, media, and show business industries. Topics included: acting/performance for all media; film and theatre studies/history; communication theory/history; production/direction for all media; media, script, creative, legal, publication, and technical writing; press releases; organizational leadership and team building; client/customer relations; entertainment/labor law; marketing/advertising/promotions; media ethics; public/community/customer relations; distribution/exhibition; interpersonal communications; aesthetics of vision and sound; broadcast and mass media; visual and liberal arts; women’s studies; culture and change; conflict resolution; psychology/sociology; and management/leadership/team building.
Notable former speakers/instructors of Kristy’s included film director James F. Robinson (writer/director, Still Breathing), Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov (writers/producers, Northern Exposure), Gregory Nava (producer, Selena), Steve Forbes (Forbes Magazine), Peggy Bowie (of Ashe Bowie/Matchframe distinction), and Fred Weiss (founding faculty/director of San Antonio College’s Radio/TV/Film/Music Department).
Kristy’s future academic objective is to pursue a doctoral program focusing on Media Studies, Cinema, Education, and Psychology. One of her long term goals is to launch an accredited conservatory in San Antonio, offering Associate Degree programs in the Performing Arts.
Before opening Calliope in 1993, Kristy worked in production, casting, theatre and theme park management, media writing, and talent agenting. Early on, she was a student DJ at KSYM Radio. An internship with the legendary Jo Edna Boldin at Third Coast Casting led to her first job as a talent agent at Select Artists. Kristy then repped talent at Condra & Co. (in which she oversaw talent during pilot season in LA) and Sinclair Talent International. She worked as a production assistant/instructor for Paragon Cable, where she taught corporate clients and public access producers in video/audio production techniques. Kristy was also a production/talent coordinator for White Lion Pictograph. She edited published works and wrote scripts for the University of Texas Health Science Center, Northside Independent School District, and PBS/KLRN. She was an operations supervisor for Fiesta Texas/Gaylord Entertainment during the theme park’s launch, and a manager/promotions coordinator at AMC Theatres, where she attended the Manager Training Academy at AMC Headquarters in Kansas City.
Since Calliope’s inception, Kristy has developed, designed, and taught numerous industry, performance, and self-improvement courses and workshops. She has produced and directed innovative and visionary showcases (LA101 ©/sm, The Calliope and Preeminent Awards ©/sm), theatre productions, red carpet premieres, fashion shows, model searches (most notably the Calliope/San Antonio Spurs Model Search), special events, and fund-raising drives. Kristy has made a number of TV, radio, and live promotional appearances. She has traveled coast to coast as a pageant and talent show judge, speaker, moderator, instructor, and consultant.
Kristy has developed, managed, and/or consulted a number of celebrities, musicians, and reality show talent, including Ricardo Chavira (series regular/Desperate Housewives), Jeff McMahon (keyboardist for Tim McGraw’s Dancehall Doctors), Arturo Meza (Selena’s drummer), and Jon Rutherford (Johnnie High Country Music Review’s Entertainer of the Year). She launched the careers of child stars Jesse Head (Mary Kate and Ashley’s So Little Time), Shelbie Bruce (Spanglish), and Ashly Holloway (Curb Your Enthusiasm). Kristy also worked with several reality stars from Survivor and Temptation Island.
Kristy lived and worked in both Texas and Los Angeles for over a decade, while managing the relocation and careers of scores of actors and models who moved from Texas to Hollywood. Kristy moved out of her home in downtown LA when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, but still manages several talent living and working in Los Angeles, along with actively maintaining her substantial network of colleagues on the West Coast.
Kristy’s specialties include talent development and management, acting instruction, coast to coast client relations, contract negotiations, publicity, producing, directing, mentorship, critical thinking analysis, and regulatory/legal issues. She is an accomplished media and entertainment writer. Her avid studies and observations of celebrity/entertainment/pop culture directly contribute to her training techniques and counsel. Kristy oversees all of Calliope’s divisions, including agency, talent/model/artist management, talent/model/artist development, extras casting, production, and promotions/marketing.
Kristy enjoys more longevity in show business than any other talent agency owner working in San Antonio today. She was named the Second Most Influential Woman in Texas Entertainment by SWAG magazine. Leading regional casting director Toni Cobb-Brock declared Kristy as “hands down, the best talent developer in the tri-state region.” Kristy is a board member of The Austin Alliance, an industry advocacy cooperative of agents, casting directors, and acting teachers in Texas’ central/south region. She is a former member of the Communication Arts Society of San Antonio and the American Association of University Women.
Calliope has held one of the longest-standing talent agency licenses in Texas. Calliope was twice named “Best Theatrical Agency” by the U.S. Commerce Association, and twice named “Best in Acting Instruction” by the U.S. Business Administration. Calliope is also the recipient of nine “Overall Agency of the Year” awards, seven “Overall Troupe Production/ Performance” awards, “Best Choreography,” “Most Creative,” and hundreds of individual talent trophies, during its four year showcasing tenure with Dallas’ MB Expo, where Kristy served as Regional Director.
Since its inception in 1993, Calliope has evolved as an industry leader in talent development, opportunity, and recognition. The firm’s groundbreaking mission reflects the necessary paths that talent must take in order to achieve long term success in the entertainment industry. Calliope provides its talent numerous and esteemed choices among training and development events; ongoing and national submission, audition, and booking opportunities; and focused publicity and recognition. Calliope is recognized for the personal attention provided to talent.
Calliope enjoys an exceptional reputation 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 Henry Thomas (actor - E.T., All the Pretty Horses); Jesse Borrego (actor - Fame, Bound By Honor); Joey Paul Jensen (casting director/producer – Soul Surfer); Toni Cobb-Brock (casting director – Prison Break, There Will Be Blood); and numerous other casting directors, talent agents, and coaches from coast to coast.
Calliope clients include casting directors, production companies, advertising agencies, talent and modeling agents, directors, photographers, and other industry professionals nationwide and internationally. Calliope represents talent in Texas, Los Angeles, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Atlanta, New York City, and other regional markets. Kristy’s vast network of international colleagues has directly contributed to hundreds of Calliope actors and models receiving co-representation contract offers 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 agents, casters, and longtime colleagues at talent conventions across the country and in Canada.
Calliope actors have booked countless lead and supporting roles in feature films, as well as 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, Entertainment Tonight, 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 Jesse Raphael, Geraldo Rivera Live, SA Living, People Magazine, US Magazine, TV Guide, Backstage West, Entertainment Weekly, Texas Monthly, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood, The Huffington Post, Variety, and The Sundance Film Festival.
Kristy is a longtime activist for legislative and regulatory reform related to entertainment industry issues in Texas and California. Her professionally related legal experiences and subsequent legal training/research/writing campaigns have directly contributed to substantial precedents and changes in state law and bureaucratic operations. Kristy worked with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the first and only detailed revision of the Texas Talent Agency Act. She also supports regulatory evolution in California (as a member of the Los Angeles Entertainment Managers’ Alliance). Calliope is sanctioned as an institution of learning by the Texas Workforce Commission, and has been bonded and licensed since 1993.
Kristy has actively supported breast cancer awareness since her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. Her mother has faced extensive medical care that has illuminated the importance of stringent advocacy to support a positive outcome for the patient. During the 2007 Komen Race for the Cure in San Antonio, Kristy’s team (The CoCo Strollers) placed as a top ten fundraiser out of 845 teams.
Kristy also supports mental health/mental retardation awareness (MHMR). She has provided media/marketing counsultation to 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.]
In illuminating an awareness for mental health issues, Calliope serves as the San Antonio Volunteer Coordinator for the Trevor Project (which provides support for GLBT youth contemplating suicide) to honor the memories of two highly successful Calliope actors, Jimmy Zerda and Brandon Kessel, who took their own lives three weeks apart from each other in 2006.
Kristy and her staff are proud to represent talent residing in Texas and California, and are delighted to be ongoing players in the show biz, media, and entertainment industries nationwide.