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HIGHLIGHT AN UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT AT THIS YEAR’S 33RD ANNUAL STELLAR GOSPEL MUSIC AWARDS, WITH AN ALL-STAR LINE-UP OF PERFORMANCES BY TASHA COBBS LEONARD, TRAVIS GREENE, ANTHONY BROWN & group therAPy, TORI KELLY, LE’ANDRIA JOHNSON, KIERRA SHEARD, JONATHAN MCREYNOLDS, RICKY DILLARD & NEW G AND MORE

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This year’s spectacular show open featured Stellar Awards alum Erica Campbell reuniting with her sister Tina Campbell as the hit gospel duo Mary Mary for the first time in more than six years. The show also included an all-star tribute to the late, great Edwin Hawkins, with his sister Lynette Hawkins accepting the Edwin Hawkins Icon Award in his honor. Also, a stand out moment featured the multi-platinum award-winning Snoop Dogg performing material from his new gospel album, “Bible of Love.”

The night included performances by Snoop Dogg, Mary Mary, Kierra Sheard, Tori Kelly, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Anthony Brown, JJ Hairston, Travis Greene, Jonathan McReynolds, Ricky Dillard, Todd Dulaney, Tasha Page Lockhart, KeKe Wyatt, Canton Jones, Deitrick Haddon, Koryn Hawthorne, Le’Andria Johnson and more. Special presenters included Donnie McClurkin, Merle Dandridge, David Mann, Anika Noni Rose and more.

Top winners of the night were JJ Hairston winning six awards; Tasha Cobbs Leonard and Travis Greene each winning four awards; and Anthony Brown winning two awards.

Don Jackson bestowed special honors upon gospel greats who have made significant contributions to the genre. The incomparable Tamela Mann was the 2018 recipient of the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award and the legendary Rev. Milton Biggham received The Ambassador Dr. Bobby Jones Legends Award. Stellar Honors Hall of Fame Inductees includes Kurt Carr, Ben Tankard, and Dr. Marabeth Gentry – President of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses.

The Stellar Awards telecast will premiere on TV One on Friday, March 30 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT and air in broadcast syndication on 130 stations in more than 110 markets around the country March 31 – May 6, 2018.  For more information visit us at www.thestellarawards.com.

We Speak Entertainment

ANGELICA FIGUEROA TAKES CENTER STAGE ON THE ANDREW EBORN SHOW ON OCTOPUS TV

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Los Angeles Production Designer and Art Department Professional Discusses the Creative Vision Behind Building Worlds for Film and Entertainment

Mexican-born Production Designer and Art Department professional Angelica Figueroa is stepping into the international media spotlight with a featured appearance on The Andrew Eborn Show on Octopus TV.

The interview, “The Invisible Architect of Hollywood: How Mexican Visionary Angelica Figueroa Builds Worlds in Films,” explores the creative work audiences rarely see happening behind the camera — and the extraordinary amount of research, imagination and craftsmanship required to create the visual environments in which stories come alive.

Figueroa, originally from Morelos, Mexico, earned a BFA in Filmmaking from the New York Film Academy and has established herself in Los Angeles working across Production Design, Art Direction, Set Dressing and Prop Master roles.

Her growing body of work demonstrates the versatility required of a modern Art Department professional, spanning narrative filmmaking, music and performance videos, promotional productions and independent projects.

Rather than simply decorating a set, Figueroa approaches production design as an extension of character and story. Research, sourcing, props, color, texture, architecture and period-specific details can all become part of the visual language of a production.

That philosophy has helped define her emerging career.

As a Production Designer, Figueroa worked on What a Valentine, starring acclaimed actor Jim Beaver, and Tamales, starring Virginia Novello.

Her credits also extend into major music and entertainment productions. Figueroa has worked as a Set Dresser on a Willow Smith performance video, a promotional production for Wild ’N Out, and the “Tell Me” project by OneRepublic and Karan Aujla.

Her work as Art Director on the period short film Sunrise Boulevard, set in 1955, required the creation of a visual environment capable of transporting audiences into another era. Figueroa contributed through art direction, set dressing, props and sourcing, helping establish the film’s period-specific world.

Sunrise Boulevard was subsequently selected for the Burbank International Film Festival and received a nomination in the Best Production Design / Art Direction category.

Additional Art Department credits include Canta Santiago, Oroboros, Ikigai and Rebel Flower(s). On Oroboros, Figueroa served as Prop Master, working with story-specific and actor props as well as sourced, practical and breakable set pieces.

Her appearance on The Andrew Eborn Show gives audiences an opportunity to discover the person behind that work and gain insight into a profession that plays an essential role in filmmaking while often remaining invisible to the audience.

Andrew Eborn brings an extensive international media background to the conversation. An international lawyer, strategic business adviser, broadcaster and media personality, Eborn is known for conversations spanning entertainment, television, film, business, technology and culture.

For Figueroa, the interview represents another opportunity to bring attention not simply to individual credits, but to the specialized creative discipline behind them.

Production designers and Art Department professionals help determine what audiences ultimately see on screen. Before an actor enters a room, someone has considered what that room communicates about the character. Before a period story can feel authentic, someone has researched the objects, furnishings, materials and visual details necessary to make that world believable.

That is the space in which Angelica Figueroa has been building her career.

Her work reflects an ability to move between creative vision and practical execution — transforming research and storytelling concepts into physical environments that can exist convincingly in front of the camera.

As Figueroa continues developing her career in American film and entertainment, her appearance on The Andrew Eborn Show introduces a wider audience to a filmmaker whose contribution happens largely behind the scenes but becomes visible in virtually every frame.

WATCH THE INTERVIEW

Watch Angelica Figueroa on The Andrew Eborn Show on Octopus TV:

ABOUT ANGELICA FIGUEROA

Angelica Figueroa is a Los Angeles-based Production Designer and Art Department professional originally from Morelos, Mexico. A graduate of the New York Film Academy with a BFA in Filmmaking, she works across Production Design, Art Direction, Set Dressing and Prop Master roles. Her credits span narrative films, performance videos, promotional productions and independent projects, with a creative approach centered on research, visual storytelling, props, sourcing and detailed environmental design.

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