Actors Equity is opening its doors. I think this is one of the most exciting things that's happening in my almost two decades as a Union member. It shifts the way people can become members. . . It is now OUR choice to become a member and that's incredible. Jessica Wu is an award-winning NYC-based playwright, director, songwriter, educator, and actor. Performance credits include the Broadway revivals of A Chorus Line and Miss Saigon, and she is the writer of numerous theatrical works including several full-length musicals - YOU, ME, I, WE (O’Neill Conference Semi-Finalist, Live & In Color Finalist, Winner of NAAP’s Discover New Musicals), and Poupelle of Chimney Town (debuting in Tokyo, Fall 2021; NYC, Summer 2022). In addition to her writing, Jessica is an Adjunct Theatre Professor at American University in Washington DC, and a Lyricist-Mentor with the Harvard-Radcliffe G&S Players. After spending several years running a Times-Sq non-profit theatre as Associate Artistic Director, Jessica is now is the owner/operator of her own consulting and development company Inspirate Creative. 

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Jessica Wu: Open Access Paths to Success

Everything is connected. Everything, all these things, becomes a part of YOU. But then this journey does not stop. Some people stop from manifesting what they want because they understand the importance of training and then they let the training stop them...I'm not going to wait until I get the certification [to become] a certified coach. I know training is part of the journey...but that's not a pre-requisite for me to do something. I spent my mid-teens to mid-twenties dwelling in the "Woe is me" kind of emotional pain.And I was living in those nightmares in my mind over and over again, making myself a victim of my memories.Until one day it dawned on me: My past is just a story I tell myself.

Yiqing Zhao: Would-be-doctor-turned Actor/Writer/Creative Life Coach

It makes me feel happy. I feel happy when I sing. People who hear me sing tell me THEY feel happy; that I make their hearts happy. It's the most joyful thing that I can do, I feel, for me and for others. ~Jenny Lynn Stewart City Artist Corps Grants support NYC-based working artists who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Funding is offered to help sustain their practice and engage the public across New York City's five boroughs.  Singer Jenny Lynn Stewart was awarded a $5,000 grant for devising an upbeat musical program The New York Spirit a musical program of uplifting and inspiring songs targeted for the 55+ senior audience. The program includes such popular songs as "I'll Take Manhattan," "on the Sunny Side of the Street" and many other show stoppers including an audience sing-a-long of "New York, New York." Success stories will be shared with the audience intended to lift their spirits and inspire them for their lives going forward. 

Jenny Lynn Stewart: A New York Spirit

Holly Savas is a mom, artist and VP of Brand, Art & Community at Creative Action Network. She's a passionate supporter of artists and of universal arts education in schools and makes it her mission to raise awareness and give back to her community whenever possible. Her job at CAN is the perfect combo of all of those things rolled into one.

Holly Savas: Mom, Artist, & VP Creative Action Network: An Artists' Conduit for Change

Take one part blues, one part folk, one part country. Add a dash of Southern gospel, rock and jazz. Season with world-weary experience. You’ll have a taste of Mike Turner’s eclectic original music. Raised outside Detroit in a family steeped in the traditional mountain music of West Virginia, Mike grew up listening to the diverse sounds of gospel quartets, classic country and Motown. A 30-year career in law enforcement gave him a perspective few encounter – a world populated with smugglers, gun runners and folks on the wrong side of the tracks, and the law.

Mike Turner: Giving Voice to Truth

Take one part blues, one part folk, one part country. Add a dash of Southern gospel, rock and jazz. Season with world-weary experience. You'll have a taste of Mike Turner's eclectic original music. Raised outside Detroit in a family steeped in the traditional mountain music of West Virginia, Mike grew up listening to the diverse sounds of gospel quartets, classic country and Motown. A 30-year career in law enforcement gave him a perspective few encounter - a world populated with smugglers, gun runners and folks on the wrong side of the tracks, and the law.

Award-winning and best selling author Jeannie Moon is a native Long Islander and imagines that conjures an image of big hair and a nasally accent, but that’s not the Long Island that she knows. Raised in a north shore town that once would have been called bucolic and now people call trendy, she married her high school sweetheart and her children were born in the same hospital as she was. She has deep roots here, and it gives her a history.A strong sense of home which reflects in her fabulous stories.

Jeannie Moon: Isn't It Romantic

Award-winning and best selling author Jeannie Moon is a native Long Islander and imagines that conjures an image of big hair and a nasally accent, but that’s not the Long Island that she knows. Raised in a north shore town that once would have been called bucolic and now people call trendy, she married her high school sweetheart and her children were born in the same hospital as she was. She has deep roots here, and it gives her a history.A strong sense of home which reflects in her fabulous stories. Like most women, she wears a lot of hats. When she was in college, she planned on becoming a famous sportscaster. However, never being objective, she leaned more toward the publicity side of the business, doing work for local papers and local teams. But the plan took a detour and she found herself in the front a classroom, teaching English. Teaching was in her blood, and she was hooked. Jeannie's books have received a number of honors. In addition to multiple starred reviews, Jeannie has been a finalist in the Bookseller's Best and the Holt Medallion contests. In 2018, Jeannie's novel, Then Came You, won the Bookseller's Best Award for best long contemporary romance. Jeannie was the recipient of the 2018 RWA Service Award presented by Romance Writers of America for outstanding service to the romance community.

Gary Morgenstein's A BLACK AND WHITE COOKIE is a new Off-Broadway Comedy/Drama about an African American Newstand owner encouraged to fight his exorbitant rent increase by an eccentric Jewish radical. Directed by Joan Kane, A Black and White Cookie was originally scheduled to premiere at the Pulitzer Prize-winning Theater for the New City on March 26, 2020. There are plans to stage the show at TFTNC when in-person performances are again allowed in New York City. The cast features Morry Schorr (Modern Family/ABC-TV), Roslyn Seale (The Color Purple/National Tour), Julie T. Pham (The OA/Netflix), Chris Collins-Pisano (Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation/Off Broadway) and Mansoor Najee-ullah (Mulebone, G.R. Point, The Mighty Gents/Broadway).  

Joan Kane & Gary Morgenstein: Taking a Bite of a Sweet Divide

Dr. Jennifer Katona, President and Founder 3 Looms Creative Education Consulting is currently the Visual and Performing Arts Sr. Manager for the Norwalk Public Schools is the former Director and Founder of the Graduate Program in Educational Theatre at the City College of New York (CCNY), where she oversaw the certification of pre and in-service Theatre teachers and training of non-certified theatre educators.

Jennifer Katona, Ph.D. Open a New Window Weaving Arts Education in Today’s Classrooms

Gianmarco Soresi is a stand-up comedian and actor who just released his first comedy special "Shelf Life" on Amazon Prime, documenting the experience of writing and performing new material in the middle of a global pandemic.    

Gianmarco Soresi, Stand-Up Comedian: Healing Through Humor

For over thirty-five years, Iman Aoun, a theatre-maker from Palestine has dedicated herself to advancing her mission of “breaking down walls” that exist as both physical and psychological phenomena by “cultivating hope [and creating] beauty and change” through her art.  Refusing to compromise her commitment to stripping both visible and invisible walls, Iman’s work has become a source of healing not only for her Palestinian communities, but also global populations.

Iman Aoun: Breaking Down Walls &Cultivating Hope Through Theatre

With fashion being the 2nd biggest polluter, we need to consume and produce smarter.  Guess what? The solutions exist, now we need to implement! Through this series, I want to show the potential that's all around us, give a stage to the visionaries and give a great cause to stand behind for those who already have amplifiers.  Fun story-telling that inspire the masses to embrace positive change is my vision. ~Bunny Yan

Bunny Yan: Fashion Edutainer

A children's book writer, folk artist, and founder of Maggie Stern Stitches, a sock company featuring Stern's illustrations of notable women—from Maya Angelou to Greta Thunberg to Gloria Steinhem. On the sole of each sock Maggie stitches a quotation from the featured woman:  "I hope that their words inspire the wearer as much as they inspire me."  A portion of the proceeds from sales goes to women's organizations and other foundations whose work aligns with the ambitions of my heroes.

Maggie Stern: Sock Art Celebrates the "Sole" of America

Put on your Super Hero Cape when you listen to Valerie David’s podcast: The Pink Hulk, a One-Woman Warrior’s survival story from cancer. But her show is NOT just about cancer; it is about conquering our fears, our anxieties, our despair during the pandemic and removing our metaphorical masks to voice the racial injustices of Black Lives Matter.

Valerie David: the Pink Hulk

Featuring Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary things in The Arts

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