Lights, Camera, Action! 

For the second year in a row, The Temple University Public Relations Student Society of America, invited members across the country to PRSSA’s 2026 Mid-Atlantic District Conference, “Mic Drop: PR in Entertainment.” The event explored the interaction of music, art and entertainment with communication and public relations.  

The two-day conference on March 27 and 28 took place in Annenberg Hall. Attendees from Boston University, University of Delaware, American University and 10 other universities traveled to hear more about what Mic-Drop had to offer.

On Friday evening, Caitlin McGeehan, Rachel Rosenberg and Amy Sciarretto, founder of music PR firm, Atom Splitter PR, vocalized their experiences in music publicity. The team shared how they handle everyday situations on the job.  

“There is never a dull moment; somebody is going on tour or a band breaks up,” Rosenberg said. “You always have to be on alert.” 

The night finished with networking and soft refreshments.  

Early Saturday morning, the guests gathered back on Main Campus to start their morning hearing from PRSA Philadelphia members and the benefits PRSA offers graduation.  

Attendees visited breakout rooms with topics from music to sustainability. Account Executive at DKC/O&M, Ellie Detweiler, described her path to the niche field of theatrical PR. While working for DKC/O&M, Detweiler helps manage relationships with media outlets and actors to secure positive opening-night reviews.  

“Once the show is open, the reviews will normally come out the next morning,” Detweiler said. “Hopefully, they are good and get a New York Times critics’ pick that you can put on all your advertising for the year on out.” 

Account Executive at Allied Global Marketing, Tiara Robinson-Makidi, KLN ’21, reflected her Temple journey, finding her path to film publicity. She consistently juggles thinking ahead of ways to spotlight her client for awards consideration in the next year. She recently helped with talent logistics for the Netflix House in Philadelphia last fall.  

Marketing Director for Northeast, Live Nation Entertainment, Vin Angiolillo, spoke on working with venues to target artists and demographics who may attend the event. He works with day-to-day promotion of events to consistency evaluation of what is working for a clients' campaign to help sell more tickets.  

“We make ongoing adjustments using a variety of tools that help us track ticket sales and digital media performance,” said Angiolillo. “We look at factors like timing, platforms and promotional materials to determine what drives the most ticket sales. It is a constant evaluation process, allowing us to identify what works and refine our approach.” 

The conference was highlighted by keynote speaker Victoria Hamersky, owner of VH MGMT Artist Management Group. She articulated the process of crafting and messaging the perfect pitch for artists to earn editorial coverage.

The conference resumed breakout sessions, hearing from the owner of Philly PR Girl, Kate Marlys Rogers. She discussed a period of her life where she felt burned out. She wanted to try something new, which led her to start her blog. This eventually led to building her own full-service PR firm in 2013, Philly PR Girl.  

Event Sustainability Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Laura Snite explained the importance of sustainability when curating an event. She recommends implementing more digital entities, water refill stations and finding ways to reuse materials through the event.  

“Giving things a second life is a great way to keep your material,” said Snite. “Our end goal is to keep it out of the landfill. Can we think of a way to reuse it?” 

Director of Program Public Relations for The Philadelphia Orchestra, Lauren Wooodard Hall, offered her perspective on what it’s like navigating publicity for one of the nation's leading performing arts centers. She discussed community initiatives to allow more demographics to attend shows in their spare time.  

From Rock Lititz, Matt Ricciotti, client services manager and Rachel Pfennig Hales, brand and content, shared the essential skills one needs to succeed in entertainment marketing. The duo shared how to build trust and retain confidentiality between clients. 

Mic Drop offered attendees the opportunity to win prize giveaways featuring musical tickets, gift cards and potted plants.   

The last session of the day featured PRSSA International Vice President of Professional Standards Talia Sinclair. Sinclair informed students about ways to get involved at the university and leverage the location around.  

Lead District Conference Coordinator Meghan Kelly found gratification in what the event offered.  

“It’s so rewarding to see our team’s hard work from the past several months pay off,” said Kelly. “We are grateful for all of our attendees, sponsors and speakers who made this event a success.”