Mark Haapala

Puttin' the HA in HAAPALA

<p>Born and raised in Orange County, California, Mark Haapala is an avid lover of all things film. Although his initial foray into the world of entertainment was as a thespian, Mark soon found love for life behind the camera. A five year stint as a crew member on a&nbsp;<a title="" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387199/" target="_blank">hit TV show</a>, coupled with the mentorship and tutelage of one of the shows&nbsp;<a title="" href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0617042/" target="_blank">directors</a>, paved the way for Mark to pursue his own directorial endeavors.<br /><br />A former&nbsp;<a title="" href="http://www.markhaapala.com/clips.htm" target="_blank">stand up comedian</a>, Haapala found writing jokes for others to be a natural progression in his career. In 2009, as Co-Creator of the comedic web series&nbsp;<a title="" href="http://blip.tv/craftywebseries" target="_blank">CRAFTY</a>, Mark went on to Direct, Write and Produce 14 episodes of original content for blip.tv. The web series&nbsp;<a title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/CraftyWebSeries" target="_blank">CRAFTY</a>&nbsp;also provided Mark with a very rare opportunity to cut his teeth directing name talent like Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Jerry Ferrara, and Keith Coogan as well as veteran character actors Diane Delano and Daniel Roebuck.<br /><br />In 2010, Mark was one of 14 people accepted into the prestigious Directors Guild of America Producer Trainee Program. The&nbsp;<a title="" href="http://www.trainingplan.org/" target="_blank">DGA trainee program</a>&nbsp;provided Haapala with the chance to work on big production shows like SHAMELESS and NCIS LA. Mark garnered the experience and skills he needed from this once in a lifetime opportunity, and in 2011, set out on his own as a Freelance Director.<br /><br />In 2012, Mark teamed up with scribe Jim Landis and began Pre-Production on the WWII short film,&nbsp;<a title="" href="http://dogitdown.weebly.com/about.html" target="_blank">"DOG IT DOWN"</a>. The film, based on the true story of 3 US Sailors trapped aboard the USS West Virginia during the bombing of Pearl Harbor, is a departure for Haapala and his comedic roots. Mark, and the cast and crew of Dog It Down, wrapped principal photography in late April of 2012 aboard the&nbsp;<a title="" href="http://www.lanevictory.org/laneVgeneral.php" target="_blank">SS Lane Victory</a>.<br /><br />Mark holds a BA in Theatre Arts from&nbsp;<a title="" href="http://cfa.lmu.edu/programs/theatre/admissions/audition.htm" target="_blank">Loyola Marymount University</a>. A graduate of a 2 year&nbsp;<a title="" href="http://www.waynedvorak.com/" target="_blank">Meisner</a>&nbsp;program, Haapala has a reputation for being "An Actor's Director".</p>

About Me

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