Award-Winning Director, Producer, and Author

Mary Lou Belli

Older white woman with blonde hair smiling

Movers, Shakers, Designers, Makers 2.0

Conversations with A&A Artists

Penn State School of Theatre alumna Mary Lou Belli, award-winning television director and author, will talk with B. Stephen Carpenter II, Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos Dean in the College of Arts and Architecture, about her life and career, in a livestreamed conversation at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30.

Belli has directed or produced hundreds of television shows, including “Monk,” “NCIS New Orleans,” “Bull,” “Girlfriends” and more. She also co-authored four key texts on acting and directing, including “Directors Tell the Story,” recently released in a third edition.

In addition to serving on the College of Arts and Architecture Dean’s Circle and Bellisario College of Communications Hollywood Board, she has mentored Penn State students and young alumni pursuing careers in the entertainment industry. She received the College of Arts and Architecture Alumni Award in 2018 and was named a Penn State Alumni Fellow in 2024.

  1. Primetime EMMY directing nominee: 2022, 2023 and 2024

  2. Director and EP: The Ms Pat Show

  3. Governor, TV Academy

  4. Author of "The NEW Sitcom Career Book," "Acting for Young Actors," "Directors Tell the Story," and "Acting for the Screen"