SHERI MANN, MFA
Sheri Mann’s background and experience in the entertainment industry truly informs her ability to gently and safely interview those wishing to leave a living legacy of their most memorable moments on DVD. She is sensitive to and honors clients’ reticence while creating a comfortable space in which clients may freely share whatever they wish. This ability to put people at ease in any situation is as natural to her as breathing.
Education
Sheri completed her MFA in Theatre with English and Music as secondary degrees at the University of Southern California. She then pursued graduate studies in languages at the Sorbonne in Paris. Working as an actress, she studied with well-known acting teachers Sandy Meisner, Stella Adler, Uta Hagen, and film director Daniel Mann.
Professional Experience
Sheri began her acting and singing career in a repertory company on the London stage and with the Edinburgh Festival of the Arts in Scotland. She performed in over 40 repertory company plays and musicals, costarring with actor John Ritter. She then went on to act and sing in European films and in television for the BBC and London Weekend Television. Hollywood roles followed her acting studies, which led to numerous performances in theater, cable TV, film, and network TV for many years in California and abroad.
Assisting her second husband, film director Daniel Mann, Sheri worked as a dialogue coach. She was eventually asked to start a coaching studio called the Actor’s Place in Hollywood where she trained actors and coached them for auditions. She has conducted many popular seminars and classes at colleges and universities.
Being so immersed in film, she subsequently became attracted to how the writing process generates films and became a literary agent in Hollywood, representing directors, producers, and writers. Her major skills were common sense and fair play while supporting the creative process.
Upon moving to Santa Fe after Daniel Mann’s death in 1992, her interests led her to advertising, public relations, and marketing work for a local, food and wine-focused newspaper. This work brought her in touch with all the chefs, restaurateurs, and hospitality staff in Santa Fe and beyond. Chefs were becoming celebrities, and many of these people had a need to refine their ability to interact with the public. So they enlisted Sheri as a Communication Skills Coach. She developed chef’s workshops in Santa Fe and in other parts of the country. Her coaching has helped college presidents, litigators, authors, doctors, and other presenters. Also throughout her years in Santa Fe, she has continued to teach acting and camera auditioning technique.
On a Personal Note
Sheri has experienced the same ups and downs that many of us have, all of which has enriched her understanding of the human condition. Following her divorce from first husband, actor/singer Harve Presnell, she moved to Mallorca, Spain, with their three children. It was during their five years there that she spent the summers performing at the Edinburgh Festival of Arts in Scotland. She found great comfort in Spain as her grandmother came from Avila.
Upon returning to California, she auditioned for Joe Darion, lyricist of The Man of La Mancha, who sent her to RCA Recording studios to record an animated movie version of Archy and Mehitabel, the stage version of which she had done earlier in her career. That job led to a beach party where she met her second husband, film director Daniel Mann. In sharing his life, she credits him with vastly expanding her knowledge and understanding of the art of film as well as what people need. She says of him, “Traveling to distant lands with him enriched me enormously, bringing about a compassion for my fellow beings and inspiring my curiosity about the many cultures we encountered.” Now in Santa Fe, Sheri feels at home, speaking Spanish, fitting in with her Hispanic culture, and enjoying one of the most beautiful, enchanted cities in America.
It gives Sheri great joy to use her skills to help people grow and develop in confidence. It is only a natural outgrowth of her background and experience that she should use these skills to help people tell their stories. As she says, “So much is gained for each of us from telling stories about our lives—how we were raised, our travels, our education, our passions and values, our awareness of self, plus any quirks and secrets we wish to share.”
CONTACT: Sheri Mann
Phone (505) 989-1214
Mobile (505) 501-2948
E-mail sherimann@gmail.com