Bethany Rooney considers it a part of her ‘life purpose’ to share what she knows about directing narrative episodic television. She wants to help emerging directors learn the craft and understand how to apply it in the intense, crazy world of shooting TV.

To that end, Bethany co-wrote, with Mary Lou Belli, the directing textbook, “Directors Tell the Story: Master the Craft of Television and Film Directing.”  Using the book as a platform, Bethany created and began to teach the Warner Bros. TV Directing Workshop in 2012, which she still teaches to this day. This led to teaching numerous other Workshops, many aimed at Diversity & Inclusion directors.

In 2015, in partnership with Director Todd Holland, Bethany created the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Directors Development Initiative, a program designed to educate and provide networking opportunities for up-and-comers. They believed that the Guild was the perfect place to inspire directors with the slogan, “Craft. Joy. Network. Repeat.” The Initiative is now in its third two-year term of providing  workshops and mentoring opportunities. 

Bethany believes that because episodic TV directing is such a multi-layered job with unique scripts and visual styles, including different staff, cast and crew in every episode, learning is a continual and exciting aspect of the job. She still is deeply passionate about it and wants to share that love through teaching the craft.