First Online With Fran

The choices we have here in America are different from the choices people have in Russia. We can vote. That is the most important right that has not been taken away. In Putin’s Russia, elections have not been free for decades. Opposition candidates are barred from running, and even then the results are manipulated to deliver Putin a staggering victory. So this is what I can tell my American listeners: vote. – Svetlana SatchkovaSvetlana Satchkova is a Russian-born journalist and novelist who immigrated to the United States in 2016. She covers culture and politics, with bylines in the Rumpus, Newsweek, LARB, the Independent, and others. Currently a research fellow at the Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia at NYU, she holds an MFA from Brooklyn College and lives in Brooklyn. Svetlana has published three novels in Russian; The Undead: A Novel of Modern Russia, is her English-language debut.

Learning through The Arts [as] being one of the most transformative vehicles in which we really get to a person's soul and to realize they're not alone in their feelings and that is by exchanging [ideas] and THAT is what theatre does...We have everything to gain by stories being told that we need to hear now and now more than ever. Romy Nordlinger is a NYC based Actor/Playwright and Audiobook Narrator. An award-winning bestselling Audiobook Narrator, Romy has recorded over 350 titles. Her acting roles include Guest and Co-starring roles on Bull, Manifest, FBI, Law & Order (Officer Talbor) and numerous independent films.Her acclaimed solo show PLACES (now Garden Of Alla) based on the life of trailblazing Broadway and Silent Film star Alla Nazimova, recently played at The Kennedy Center as well as 59E59, Edinburgh Fringe, Jerry Orbach Theatre Center, HERE Theater, The Jewish Museum, The Players Club, Dixon Place. 

YVETTE HEYLIGER Playwright/Director/Producing Artist/Author is a lifelong theatre artist, as well as an educator, and the author of What a Piece of Work is Man! Full-Length Plays for Leading Women. Yvette is a long-time activist for women in the American theatre and was recently named a finalist for the Advance Gender Equity in the Arts 2022 AGE Legacy Playwright Grant. 

Joan Kane (writer/actor/producer) is the founding Artistic Director of Ego Actus.I had to tell my story. I needed to be able to say, 'Look, I grew up in a time period in Brooklyn where racism was horrific and it was rampant.' I needed to talk about sexual assault. I needed to talk about survival; how you can have horrible things happen to you. And I think it's relevant today . . . I wanted to give some hope to folks: Look! Yeah, you can do it! You can go, you can push ahead. Tell your stories. Make sure that your truth is out there. For me, its' very important that my truth is out there because, I believe, it's truth that sets us free.

Emma Palzere-Rae is a playwright, actor, director, producer and non-profit administrator. Emma spent 15 years as part of the NYC theater community, where she began producing one-woman plays and founded the Womenkind Festival. Over its ten-year run, Womenkind presented nearly 75 different performers, mainly original works. She is the Associate Director at Artreach, Inc. (Norwich, CT), and has also held the position of Artistic Director for Plays for Living (NYC), a touring company dedicated to social change, where she also wrote and developed plays for the repertoire

Dani Martineck is a New York-based non-binary actor, writer, and award-winning audiobook narrator with a background in experimental psychology.I'm a storyteller. I've found that in communicating truthfully through the stories I tell, other people feel seen and understood, and it just radiates this ripple of openheartedness outward to places I'll never know.they/them - what's this?

Nicky Beer is a bi/queer writer, and the author of Real Phonies and Genuine Fakes (Milkweed, 2022). Her first two books, The Diminishing House (Carnegie Mellon, 2010) and The Octopus Game (Carnegie Mellon, 2015), were both winners of the Colorado Book Award for Poetry. She has received honors from the National Endowment for the Arts, MacDowell, the Poetry Foundation, and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference.

"When we're talking about the power of The Arts -- the healing, the transformative powers -- we're really talking about the fact that we're human. We're humanizing the experience of others. So, we lead with empathy, and we lead in such a way that we put ourselves in someone else's shoes. It's more than meeting people for where they are --it's BEING where they are. It's getting inside of where they are . . . I can see new possibilities. NOW what can I do to change things?"Erika Lucille Ewing is a social impact entrepreneur and a multimedia creative, actor, activist, and fashion designer, "ARTIVIST." As former Chief of Staff of Black Lives Matter Greater NY Erika, she organized the Find Our Girls March to bring attention to the missing Black and Brown youth across the globe. In 2018, Erika combined her creativity, engagement, and activism skills and launched Got To Stop LLC. 

Moise Morancy is an American actor, writer, director, producer, poet and activist from Brooklyn, New York. Moise always had a passion for telling stories. His career as a writer began as a young boy, capturing personal aspects of life’s challenges through written expressions such as poetry, songwriting and eventually screenwriting. His literary works are transparent and serve as a safe haven for his life experiences. He has always had the mindset of turning one’s pain into power. 

The immigrant stories that are here. . . when they see in us the possibility that it's real. That's why I focus on a specific community because we know the challenges . . . so young artists they see in us, [and] know that [change] is possible and we are here to support them.Margarita Espada has traveled the world in her careers as an artist, educator and cultural organizer, training in physical approach to theater practice. Margarita is the founder and director of Teatro Experimenantal Yerbabuja, an art organization with the mission to use the arts as a tool for social change. She is part of the faculty at the Department of Women & Gender Study at Stony Brook University where she teaches theater and activism.

Writing plays became my way of communicating with all life- from the ordinary people to the sublime consciousness… all of which seemed to operate on the same plane for me. It was clear that we are all human life forms that can conform, reform or deform to the energetic stimulus around us- but when we PERForm- we are able perfect the form, taking it to a higher creative state. I was always surrounded by art. My sister, my cousin, my uncles… Music, painting, drawing was like bread and water. Passion, yes. Madness, yes. But I wanted to know more… What was  beyond the curtain? Why is art so important to the human experience? 

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).  

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).  

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.

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.

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 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.    

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

  So what’s a young Muslim woman born in Saudi Arabia, raised as a US citizen in Mississippi, only to defy all the odds by moving to NYC to become a one-woman sensation in her highly- acclaimed show Dirty Paki Lingerie? Listen in to her airing an authentic assessment of how women, women of color, Muslim women break all the boundaries of what it means to be an American today.

  So what’s a young Muslim woman born in Saudi Arabia, raised as a US citizen in Mississippi, only to defy all the odds by moving to NYC to become a one-woman sensation in her highly- acclaimed show Dirty Paki Lingerie? Listen in to her airing an authentic assessment of how women, women of color, Muslim women break all the boundaries of what it means to be an American today.

Feeling trapped during the COVID-19 self-quarantine? Here's a pair of Italian Sisters, Delphine and Carmela, cooking up concoctions that will soothe your soul. Listen to their hilarious spin of how The Arts (and food) can cure what ails ya!The Calamari Sisters bill themselves as the only all-singing, all-dancing, all-cooking cooking show around. Delphine & Carmela Calamari are two plus size Italian sisters from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn that began touring the country in 2009 with their stage shows. Their irreverent comedy and outrageous kitchen antics have had people in stitches from California to Florida to Chicago to New York for the past decade. They are currently in lockdown together and are looking forward to being with a live audience again.

Feeling trapped during the COVID-19 self-quarantine? Here's a pair of Italian Sisters, Delphine and Carmela, cooking up concoctions that will soothe your soul. Listen to their hilarious spin of how The Arts (and food) can cure what ails ya!The Calamari Sisters bill themselves as the only all-singing, all-dancing, all-cooking cooking show around. Delphine & Carmela Calamari are two plus size Italian sisters from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn that began touring the country in 2009 with their stage shows. Their irreverent comedy and outrageous kitchen antics have had people in stitches from California to Florida to Chicago to New York for the past decade. They are currently in lockdown together and are looking forward to being with a live audience again.

 THE TRAUMA BRAIN PROJECT is a unique theatrical narrative about the personal journey of one of its survivors, playwright Dayle Ann Hunt. Actress Marsha Mason talks about her role in the play and how The Arts can spark a conversation about early sexual trauma.Following the NYC performance, a panel of neurologists, psychologists, and body-oriented psychotherapists discuss the relationship between early sexual trauma, PTSD and its hidden effects.

The podcast offers opportunities for you to join her in discussions on how ordinary people are doing extraordinary things in The Arts to make our world a richer, deeper, better place to live. In these divisive times, tune in and listen to how The Arts transforms people's lives and remind us how vitally important a role The Arts play in tapping into our humanity.