Join us for one week of Continuing Education classes on directing. This series focuses on both narrative and documentary directing, with topics including a breakdown of the director’s craft, working with actors, applying techniques through hands-on exercises, and more. In addition, you’ll hear from working directors about their experiences and get the opportunity to ask them questions, all to enhance your professional development.
Below you can briefly meet each of our instructors for the directing sessions.
INSTRUCTOR BIOS
Stephen Ohl
Classes: The Director’s Craft (July 6); Directing Actors for the Camera Pt. 1&2 (July 7 & 8)
Stephen Ohl is an award-winning writer/director with over 15 years of professional experience. He received an MFA in directing from the AFI Conservatory. He made his feature debut with the hilarious USELESS HUMANS, which was released on Showtime in 2020. Most recently, he directed an eight-episode comedy series called Sales are Dope, which was originally released in early 2023 but has been re-released as a feature film on Amazon Prime this year.
Andrew Richey
Class: Documentary Directing (July 9)
Andrew C. Richey is an award-winning producer and director whose work has screened internationally and aired on some of the world’s most prestigious platforms. His credits include FIG (dir. Ryan Coogler), a narrative short on human trafficking purchased by HBO; CODE BLACK, a critically acclaimed documentary that earned the Jury Prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival and was adapted by CBS into a three-season drama series; and VOYAGE OF TIME (dir. Terrence Malick), which won the Green Drop Award at the Venice Film Festival. He served as executive producer and writer on The World According to RZA, a Showtime pilot developed with the Wu-Tang Clan exploring Hip Hop’s global reach. His most recent feature, TONKAWA: THEY ALL STAY TOGETHER, documents the Tonkawa Tribe’s efforts to preserve their language and culture. He is now directing SPARED, a documentary following a Rwandan genocide survivor turned professor as she returns to her homeland thirty years later in search of healing and forgiveness. Andrew holds an MFA in Cinematic Arts from USC and a BFA in Theater Directing from Southwestern University. He has worked across three continents in film, television, and education over three decades.
Kayla Abuda Galang
Class: Ask Me Anything +. Mixer (July 10)
Kayla Abuda Galang is a filmmaker based in Austin, Texas, drawing from the humor and details of her communities, surroundings, memory, and the television that raised her. With curiosity and care for the fleeting moments that shape identity and belonging, she aims to spark unexpected connection and shared laughter across her work. Her work includes “When You Left Me On That Boulevard” (Short Film Grand Jury Prize, 2023 Sundance Film Festival) and “An Ongoing List of Things Found in the Library Book Drop…” (World Premiere, 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival). She was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film and received the Ani ng Dangal from the National Commission for Culture and Arts of the Philippines. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is currently developing her first feature film, “On Earth as it is in Heaven,” with Sleepover. She works as a video producer and editor at the University of Texas.
Kat Candler
Class: Ask Me Anything +. Mixer (July 10)
Kat Candler’s award-winning feature Hellion starring Aaron Paul and Juliette Lewis, played in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Her short films Hellion and Black Metal both premiered at Sundance. Candler’s work in television includes directing nine episodes of Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey’s highly acclaimed Queen Sugar. She’s directed episodes of 13 Reasons Why, Sorry for Your Loss starring Elizabeth Olsen, three episodes of the Apple + show Home Before Dark, Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story and Truth Be Told starring Octavia Spencer. She also directed the pilot for the CW drama The Republic of Sarah and the pilot for the Netflix limited series Echoes starring Michelle Monaghan and Matt Bomer. She oversaw Season 2 of Queen Sugar as the producing director, Season 3 as the Showrunner and Season 3 of 13 Reasons Why as the Consulting Producer. She developed a TV series inspired by the 2005 film Lords of Dogtown produced by Shawn Ryan, Marney Hochman, MiddKidd Productions and Sony TV. As a writing team with Aaron Marshall and Yen Tan, she developed and sold a limited series about the making of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre to HBO Max, as well as a one-hour drama pilot to Endeavor Content with Michelle Yeoh attached to star. In 2023, Candler wrote, directed and produced a romantic drama pilot starring Joshua Jackson and Lauren Ridloff for Starz. She recently served as a co-executive producer and producing director on the Hulu limited series Murdaugh: Death in the Family starring Patricia Arquette and Jason Clarke and directed two episodes of Little House on the Prairie for Netflix.
