Darlene McDowell
Co-Owner / Executive Director / Nashville, TN

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Darlene McDowell, originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, moved to Nashville, TN in 1986.  She was a singer,   songwriter, and keyboard player in a musical group from 1980 to 1995, during which she also promoted and booked bands in the Midwest.  After moving to Nashville, TN, she continued to book artists and bands in the Southeast.  Darlene was approached by a major production company in 1988 to help supply talent for music videos, which led to booking talent for commercials and film.

Her first agency, Career Modeling & Talent Management, started in 1989, was a non-franchised agency.  When DS Entertainment developed in 1998, it became franchised with the unions, Screen Actor's Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which promotes local, national, and international talent and clients.

Lisa Lax
Co-Owner / Executive Director / Memphis, TN

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Lisa Lax brings 20 plus years of experience as a casting director, manager, and actress. Her most recent credits casting include feature films, My Blueberry Nights, Chasing the White Dragon, and the TV pilot Southern Comfort. She has often been asked to travel with her clients to Los Angeles to sign them with a west coast agent – not an easy task. She also has frequently brought industry celebrity guests to Memphis to further her actors’ education. Starting out as an actress in the industry, she found she had a talent for marketing herself and others.

“I was going to Los Angeles opening doors for my daughter Cydney (a child actor) 12 years ago.” While I was there I was meeting agents, managers, producers, directors that would soon become friends. “That would soon help me open doors for other talent! “ The last 5 years Lax has been casting commercials, TV and Film for the Mid-South. It’s really given her the opportunity to know and appreciate the Memphis talent.