Amanda Melby

Amanda Melby Crisalli, a native Minnesotan, made her way to Phoenix via Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., San Diego and Cleveland. She has worked in front and behind the camera in feature and short films, industrials television and commercials.

Melby has produced a number of film projects of varying lengths, including the recently-completed feature film "Raising Buchanan" that she starred in alongside René Auberjonois and M. Emmet Walsh.  She has been the creative force (writer/director/producer/editor) on 31 short films through her acting studio, Verve Studios. These Verve Studios films are used primarily as an educational tool for her students, but have gone on to be accepted into film festivals and to win awards. She directed the short film "Kerry and Angie," which had a fantastic festival run.

Melby was one of the creators of "Screen Wars," an Arizona-based 30-minute television program featuring independent film. As supervising producer for the first season, she oversaw the production of 28 original episodes and 26 encore episodes. The first season was nominated for seven Emmy ® Awards (Rocky Mountain Chapter of NATAS) and was awarded four; she was personally nominated for one. Melby executive-produced the 17 original episodes of the second season, which was again honored with six Emmy ® nominations, including two for Melby (Hosting) and best Arts/Entertainment Program (Producer). 

From 2005-2011, Melby served as the executive director of the Phoenix chapter of Independent Feature Project (IFP/PHX) working tirelessly to network, educate and showcase Arizona’s independent filmmakers. From 2006- 2012, she was a board member of the Phoenix Film Foundation and the Arizona Film and Media Coalition (AFMC).  She was the secretary of the SAG-AFTRA Arizona-Utah Board, having served on the separate unions boards prior to the merger from 2005-2013.

She was honored with the 2007 Phoenix Film Foundation Board Member of the Year, with the 2008 Layne Award and was nominated for the 2011 Governor’s Arts Award for her contributions to the Arizona Entertainment Community.

As an actress, she is in SAG-AFTRA and AEA and has worked in commercials (Courtyard by Marriott, Culver’s, McDonalds, State of PA, Trucks Only, Priceline.com), independent film (Raising Buchanan, Locker 13, Jake’s Corner, Netherbeast Inc.), Television (Candid Camera, S.I.S., Boston Public, Young & the Restless) and theatre (Mark Taper Forum, Actors Theatre of Phoenix, Theatre Artists Studio, Phoenix Theatre, Cleveland PlayHouse).

Melby is a faculty associate at Arizona State University, teaching Screen Acting, an accomplished cellist and actress, owner and head coach of Verve Studios. She holds a bachelor's in theatre and English from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota.