ANTHONY BARNAO
Biography
With an eclectic thirty-five year career in film, television and theatre, Anthony has worked extensively in New York and Los Angeles as a casting director, producer, director and writer.
He co-produced several independent features and television projects including the film Palo Alto, the most attended feature at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, and As Seen on TV, selected Best Comedy Pilot at the 2006 Independent Television Festival.
As a casting director, Anthony was Director of Casting for Movies & Mini-Series at CBS, Head of Casting for Empire Pictures in Los Angeles and Rome and the Resident Casting Director for LA Stage Company. Independently, Anthony has cast numerous feature films, television movies, pilots and series as well as stage productions in Los Angeles, New York and regionally.
He has directed numerous stage productions in Los Angeles and New York including the premiere of In the Bargain starring Catherine Keener and the revival of Bullpen starring Patrick Warburton. He also directed the premiere of The Big Voice in Los Angeles. The critically acclaimed production won the LA Drama Critics Circle, Ovation, LA Weekly, GLAAD Media, PFLAG and Valley Theatre League Awards before moving off-Broadway where it continued to enjoy and great success. Anthony also directed the premiere of Forty Days and Forty Nights which was later made into a feature film starring Josh Hartnett.
Anthony was the Founder and Artistic Director of Blue Sphere Alliance, a theater company based in Los Angeles. Known for presenting provocative, socially relevant productions and working with playwrights to develop new work, BSA received much critical acclaim and commercial success in addition to garnering numerous awards. The LA Times is quoted, “Blue Sphere Alliance stakes a claim to high artistic standards and social relevance - a committed theater company that merits close watching.” Back Stage West is quoted, “We discover yet again why this up-and-coming young theater company is one to keep an eye on. This company is sound proof why small theater is getting big notices in LA.”
Anthony’s film directing credits include the feature Annie's Garden, a psychological drama starring Grace Zabriskie and the comedy short The Home Branch starring Leslie Hope.
Anthony wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Rockwell: Life on a Palette based on the life of Norman Rockwell and inspired by his paintings. He also wrote the book and lyrics and directed the musical It’s a Jungle Out There, a Tarzan spoof, which ran at the Cast Theater in Los Angeles. For television, Mr. Barnao co-created and co-wrote a half hour pilot called The Ronny Rainbow Show, optioned by Paramount, and co-wrote the lyrics for a children’s musical series entitled The Music Shoppe.