Sheri Sanders to Host Virtual Town Hall ALLY: SETTING THE STAGE FOR CHANGE

Sheri Sanders will be facilitating a virtual ZOOM Town Hall, entitled Ally: Setting the Stage for Change, on Sunday, June 14, from 4-6 pm EST. The event will be a series of workshops to provide guidelines for building a brave space for creativity and self-expression - with ally-moderated break out rooms to allow Black students, teachers, actors, directors, musicians and designers to share their personal stories and experiences.

Mental Health First Aid facilitator Sunny Naughton will be on hand to introduce her Online Mental Health First Aid training to the theatre community and to offer tangible tools developed by the RTA Coalition and The Mental Health initiative to service the community and aid in moving forward in the industry together. Tickets are free to all and can be reserved at https://www.rock-the-audition.com/allyship-town-hall.

Co-hosted by CARE (Creatives for Artistic and Realistic Equity), Rock The Auditions' pilot college coalition with Oklahoma City University's Wanda L. Bass School of Music, this will be the second town hall on inclusion led by Sanders as part of her mission to advance education and advocacy through her Rock The Audition Coalition. The first was on Disability and Accessibility. OCU CARE is a dedicated faculty and student collaboration using the arts as education and advocacy to change college culture for marginalized populations around the world.

Sheri Sanders is a performer, educator, and creator of the pop/rock revolution, Rock the Audition. Founded in 2004 as a masterclass, Sheri has developed the RTA program over the last 16 years and is constantly innovating the training process. Her book Rock the Audition: How to Prepare For and Get Cast in Rock Musicals established her as the first author to shine light on the new relationship between popular music and musical theatre. She has taught at over eighty-six musical theatre programs internationally and innovated an online training program 4 years ago that has coached thousands of performers and educators from around the world. Sheri is the most sought-after popular music repertoire coach in the industry and arranges audition cuts exclusively for Musicnotes.com. Sheri just launched the Second Edition of Rock The Audition in November- the first musical theatre acting book to use inclusive language.

Sunny Naughton is a nationally recognized Mental Health First Aid facilitator named the number 1 trainer in Vermont in 2019. With over 20 years of presenting experience across the United States, Sunny has a background in human services, journalism and the entertainment business. Naughton was named a Prevention Champion by Prevention Works VT ! in 2019. A native Vermonter, Sunny has worked with youth and families across the United States and enjoys engaging in experiences that allow everyone in the room to feel comfortable and empowered.