Industry Mentorship & Training Program: Craig McMahon & Pino Amenta

INDUSTRY MENTORSHIP & TRAINING PROGRAM with Craig McMahon, Founding Artistic Director, International Artist Manager & Mentor; Executive Television Producer and Show Creator/Director Pino Amenta; and special guest Briana Dunlay, USA Prime-Time Casting Director (White Lotus).

In-Studio. 163 Victoria Avenue, Albert Park Melbourne // 6 Week Program // $300 (GST Inc)
Commencing February 14, 2026

We’re excited to launch our INDUSTRY MENTORSHIP & TRAINING PROGRAM, designed as an actors’ refresher course, keeping the wheels turning with a combination of creative and technical instruction and a professional showcase of your work.

Over six weeks, you’ll gain access to top-tier industry professionals working at the coal face. Craig McMahon, internationally respected manager and mentor, and Pino Amenta, award-winning director and executive producer, will work together, complementing each other’s guidance to provide insight into both the craft and the business of screen acting.

Each block concludes with a different casting professional, currently working at the top of their field, offering real-world feedback and insight into what today’s casting directors are looking for. Throughout the program, you’ll work on camera weekly, receive personalised feedback, and gain career-focused guidance grounded in the real expectations of the film and television industry.

This is a unique opportunity to sharpen your craft, connect with the industry, and showcase your talent, keeping your career moving forward.

Week 1: Craig McMahon

Actor–Agent Mentorship & Industry Positioning

An on-camera assessment of each participant’s work, led by Craig McMahon, with a focus on professional standards, audition readiness, and long-term career strategy. Actors gain insight into how agents assess talent, build momentum, and position performers for sustainable careers.

Week 2: Pino Amenta

Performance for Camera: Craft, Truth & Story

Led by AACTA Award-winning director and series producer Pino Amenta, this session draws on his five-decade career directing premium Australian drama. Actors work intensively on screen performance, text interpretation, emotional clarity, and delivering truthful, grounded work that serves both character and story.

Week 3: Pino Amenta

Working with Direction: From Blocking to Final Take

Continuing with Pino, actors experience the rehearsal-to-shoot process from a director’s perspective. Drawing on his work across major series including High Country, Wentworth, Home & Away; Five Bedrooms, 800 Words, and Blue Heelers, Pino focuses on blocking, chemistry, continuity, and responding to direction with precision, confidence, and flexibility.

Week 4: Craig McMahon

Industry Readiness & On-Camera Precision

Craig returns with targeted on-camera work aligned with professional expectations. Sessions focus on consistency, screen identity, and the habits that distinguish working actors. Participants receive direct feedback shaped by current industry demand and representation standards.

Week 5: Craig McMahon

Career Strategy, Auditions & Professional Longevity

A deeper dive into audition strategy, communication, and career sustainability. Actors receive personalised guidance on navigating auditions, feedback, rejection, and momentum, with an emphasis on professionalism, reputation, and long-term growth.

Week 6: Briana Dunlay

Casting Showcase & USA Prime-Time Insight

Actors present their work to Briana Dunlay, USA Prime-Time Casting Director (The White Lotus), gaining first-hand insight into international casting processes, audition expectations, and what casting directors look for at the highest level. Direct feedback provides invaluable clarity and perspective.

Craig McMahon is the Founder and Director of McMahon Management, one of Australia’s leading boutique talent agencies representing dynamic and world-class actors across Australia and the United States. Renowned for his discerning eye for talent and his strategic, career-driven approach to representation, Craig has been instrumental in shaping the trajectories of some of the country’s most recognisable screen performers. Alongside his wife, Dominique, he co-founded Film & Television Studio International in 1999, now one of Australia’s most respected national training institutions for screen actors, where he continues to guide, mentor, and refine emerging talent at every stage of their development. With a career spanning nearly three decades at the forefront of the film and television industry, Craig brings both artistic insight and global industry knowledge. His influence as a manager and creative advisor has accelerated the careers of countless actors, many of whom have gone on to become household names. Alumni and clients include Silver Logie winner Luke Mitchell, Silver Logie nominee Ashleigh Brewer, AACTA nominee Phoenix Raie, Claude Jabbour, Eleanor Webster, Jackson Tozer, Logie nominee Sharni Vinson, Gold & Silver Logie nominee Esther Anderson, Zima Anderson, Amy Ruffle, Gemma Forsyth, Mitchell Ryan, AFI nominee Christopher Milligan, Andrew Morley, Taylor Glockner, Silver Logie nominee Matthew Werkmeister, Nick Bracks, Valentino del Toro, Lester Ellis Jr, Melissa Howard, Dan O’Connor, Simone Buchanan, and many more. Craig also represents a select group of light-entertainment personalities and continues to cultivate new talent set to debut on the international stage.

A highly respected figure within the industry, Craig serves as an ongoing judge for the prestigious TV WEEK Logie Awards in the categories of Most Outstanding Drama Series, Most Popular New Talent, and the Graham Kennedy Hall of Fame Award. His work has been recognised nationally with the Most Outstanding Achievement of the Year Award for over a decade of creative excellence at Network Ten, spanning presenting, producing, and writing. Today, he divides his time between Melbourne, Los Angeles, and New York, providing hands-on guidance to his clients. Under his leadership, McMahon Management continues to set a benchmark for inspired, strategic, and internationally focused talent representation.

PINO AMENTA is one of Australia’s most prolific and enduring film and television Directors and Series Producers.  Winner of an AACTA Award for Best Television Drama for Wentworth, he then went on to become the series producer in 2016 from the 4th season onwards.  Most recently directing Home and Away, and series producing Five Bedrooms, and upcoming TV Mini-Series Darby and Joan,Pino began his career as a television director in the mid to late-1970s, through shows such as Chopper Squad (1978) and The Sullivans (1976).  Over nearly five decades, he has directed 800 Words; Winners and Losers; The Doctor Blake Mysteries; Worst Year of My Life, Again!; Packed to the Rafters; Conspiracy 365; City Homicide; All Saints; Mortified; Holly’s Heroes; Last Man Standing; Silversun; Noah & Saskia; Always Greener; Marshall Law; Beastmaster; Crash Palace; The Lost World; Flap Chat; Chuck Finn; Crash Zone; Farscape; Blue Heelers; Good Guys Bad Guys; Snowy River: The McGregor Saga; Us and Them; All Together Now (92 Episodes!); Acropolis Now; The Flying Doctors; Boulevard of Broken Dreams; Nancy Wake; Sons and Daughters; My Brother Tom; Anzacs; Carson’s Law; All the Rivers Run; Taurus Rising; Bellamy; Cop Shop; Young Ramsay; and many more.  

Over the past five decades, he has directed and/or series produced some of Australia’s finest actors (some in award winning performances), including Leah Purcell, Chris Hemsworth, Susie Porter, Ryan Corr, Marta Dusseldorp, Aaron Jeffery, Orpheus Pledger, Danielle Cormack, Kate Jenkinson, Kate Atkinson, Katrina Milosevic, Celia Ireland, Socratis Otto, Sigrid Thornton, Robbie Magasiva, Georgie Parker, Erik Thomson, Denise Scott, Craig McLauchlan, Nadine Garner, Roger Corser, Anna McGhan, John Wood, Pamela Rabe; Tammy Macintosh, Nicole Da Silva, Bernard Curry, Rebecca Gibney, Michael Caton, Hugh Sheridan, Angus McLaren, Jessica Marais, James Stewart, Jessica McNamee, Zoe Ventoura, Brooke Satchwell, Shane Bourne, Noni Hazelhurst, Daniel McPherson, Libby Tanner, Judith McGrath, John Howard, Marny Kennedy, Kate Box, Zoe Terakes, Maia Mitchell, Matt Passmore, Damien Bodie, Kat Stewart, Michala Banas, Scott Major, Nathanial Dean, Grant Bowler, Lisa McCune, Alison Whyte, William McInnes, Anne Phelan, Jane Hall, Francis Greenslade, Radha Mitchell, Kerry Armstrong, Jane Hall, Gary Sweet, Caroline Gilmer, Bryan Brown, John Waters, Stephen Peacocke, and so many more.  Too many to list!  His contribution to the Australian film and television industry has been incredible.  

Industry Showcase with Special Guest: Briana Dunlay – Casting Director of HBO’s The White Lotus.

In Week 6, participants present their work directly to USA Prime-Time Casting Director Briana Dunlay, the acclaimed Casting Director behind the hit HBO series The White Lotus. With a powerhouse résumé spanning film, television, and Broadway, Briana has collaborated with leading USA casting offices including Meredith Tucker Casting, Erica Hart Casting, Gayle Keller Casting, Julie Schubert Casting, and Caparelliotis Casting.

Currently working alongside Nikki Barrett Casting – Sydney (Run [Filming], Big Girls Don’t Cry, Leviticus, The Fox [Post-production], The Engagement Party [Pre-production], Tenzing [Filming], An Ideal Wife [Pre-production], Top End Bub, Bay of Fires, The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Black Snow, Eden, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, The Moogai, Boy Swallows Universe, Elvis, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Jack Irish, Holding the Man, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Water Diviner, Ride Like a Girl) and with several upcoming projects slated for 2026/2027, Briana brings international industry insight to this highly focused session.