Artists In Residence Launches During Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

Artists in Residence, a new platform supporting artists' creativity and well-being during the pandemic, launches during Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.

Canadian Actor/Director Olivia Daniels, and Actor/Producer Jeremy Ferdman, announce Artists in Residence (AIR), a new platform which supports artists' mental health and well-being, by providing opportunities for collaboration, discussion, and creativity. AIR identifies and develops theatrical experiences ideal for the virtual platform, presenting them throughout the week.

AIR's mandate is to develop a network for creative people to connect with new collaborators; foster and develop new work; engage as a community around social, political, and cultural events impacting the performing arts, and spread awareness of mental-health resources specific to artists via The AFC (formerly the Actors Fund of Canada)

Since its inception last month, AIR has hosted panel discussions around topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement, and artistic self-identity. Previous guests include Terrance Johnson (Dreamgirls, Bhangin' It); Lory Mpiana (Spell Bent); Janelle Hutchison (The Handmaid's Tale, Saw VI); Jess Nurse (Grace and Frankie); Della Saba (Zootopia); Doug Harvey (LA Philharmonic); Stafford Arima (Carey, Altar Boyz) and Ziye Hu. Future plans involve a monthly open forum inviting artists to share ideas and meet potential collaborators; virtual workshops of new plays; master classes and special performances; and slowly venturing, when permissible, into live theatre production.

Upcoming events include conversations with Shelley Butler, the Associate Director of the hit Broadway musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and Broadway performers Sara Sheperd and TyNia Brandon on September 15th; and Canadian actor Art Hindle (Porky's; E.NG. Robbery) on September 18th; a community forum exploring non-binary, trans, and gender-inclusive casting with non-binary actor Chas Conacher, culminating in a play featuring non-binary and trans actors, and a festival of short plays written during isolation entitled The Quarantine Plays, with work by by Julie Foster; Amanda Freedman; Julia Moldanado; Ellie Moon; Allison Shea Reed, and Corey Stanton.

Co-Founder and Artistic Director Olivia Daniels earned a BFA in drama from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she trained at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School and The New Studio on Broadway. She has performed leading roles in Merrily We Roll Along and the NYC premiere of Blue Stockings, and assistant directed the off-Broadway show Fruiting Bodies with the Ma-Yi theatre company. She has worked alongside acclaimed artists Philip Akin; Chilina Kennedy; Louise Pitre; Eden Espinosa; Gary Griffin; Kent Gash and Michael McElroy

Co-Founder and Artistic Producer Jeremy Ferdman, is an award-winning Actor and Producer from Toronto. He trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City. Most recently, he starred in Robbery opposite Art Hindle, which earned him a 2019 ACTRA Award Nomination for Outstanding Performance. Other film and TV credits include RACE with Stephan James and Jason Sudeikis, CW's Burden of Truth, Man Seeking Woman, The Beaverton, Warehouse 13 and NBC's Angela's Eyes. Jeremy is currently executive-producing the feature film Last Call, a biopic on the final days of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, starring John Malkovich, Rhys Ifans & Tony Hale.

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