In the last episode of Season 1, Christina D. Eskridge sits down with Brisa Areli Muñoz to talk about how her public health background has elevated her artistry. Pun intended, because Christina is the founder and executive director of Elevate Theatre Company LLC in New York City.

"Christina D. Eskridge, MPH grew up in Oakland, California. She performed all over the state in regional and community theater productions while studying for her Master’s in Public Health. After a few years of working full-time in Public Health, Christina moved to New York City to pursue performing arts full-time. She attended the CAP21 2-Year Professional Musical Theatre Training Program and began performing around the country in plays, musicals, readings for new shows, and in New York venues like Lincoln Center, 54 Below, Rockwood Musical Hall, and Don't Tell Mama NYC. Christina played Lisa in the North American Tour of the smash hit musical, Mamma Mia!, Lily Livingston in On Strivers Row and Joan in Fun Home. In 2018, Christina was seen performing in her own one-woman show, A Night at Sheridan Square in the New Ohio Theatre’s Up Close Festival. Christina is also the founder and executive director of Elevate Theatre Company LLC in New York City. Elevate creates space for audiences and artists to explore health and well-being through the art of storytelling."

------------

About MTF MTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.

Stay in Orbit: Website: www.mtf.nyc Instagram: @mtfmusicals YouTube Give Back

----------

CREDITS

Produced by | MTF Musicals

Hosted by | Brisa Areli Muñoz

Featuring | Christina D. Eskridge Elevate Theatre Company Arts for Everybody

Production

Creative Director | Andrea Negrete

DP | Andrew Young

Editing | Andrew Young

Sound Mixing | Falan Nuhring

MTF Team

Abigail Grubb | Director of Interdependence & Collective Care

Andrea Negrete | Director of Access & Advocacy

AriDy Nox | Director of Decolonization & Sustainability

Brisa Areli Muñoz | Director of Artistic Innovation & Emergent Magic

Brandon Powers | Artistic Innovation Lead

Falan Nuhring | Coordinator of Connectivity & Systems

Sidney Erik Wright | Artistic Programs Lead

MTF Board of Directors

Amy Goldwasser

Ariel Estrada

Catherine Pulley-Dennison

Cheyenne Myrie

Isabel Quinzaños Alonso

M Von Nida

Special Thanks To

The MTF Community & MTF Makers Past and Present

Kelindah Bee | Producer of Fast Forward Live Tapings

Sol & Yue Productions

Shakina Nayfack | Founding Artistic Director

Mei Ann Teo | Former Artistic Director

Walter

MTF’s Institutional Support

The Mellon Foundation

Joseph F. Savage Jr. Charitable Foundation

Howard Gilman Foundation

The Jerome Foundation

Fast Forward is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Cheeyang Ng and Brisa Areli Muñoz sit down to talk taking more risk, the creation journey of Legendary, celebrating the moment, & their relationship with MTF over 12 years.

"Legendary: The Myth of Creation is a solo musical that reimagines the act of myth-making through a queer, diasporic lens. It follows the journey of the Narrator, a queer Asian immigrant living in the U.S., as they navigate the question: Should I have a child? Along the way, they confront what it means to belong: across borders, between binaries, and within family.​

This is not some imagined realm. It is our world, where ancient legends and dominant narratives have long failed to make space for queer bodies. The Narrator asks: Why have our stories excluded us? Why is the world so obsessed with either/or? Through personal memories, Chinese mythology, and a fractured relationship with their father, they begin to deconstruct what legacy, lineage, and love truly mean.

This is not a passive performance. Through circle singing, call and response, and shared storytelling, the audience becomes a vital part of the experience, co-authors of a new myth. By the end of the evening, together, we create a new story: one where queer people don’t just exist in the margins of myth, but are central to its creation.​

Legendary is not just a retelling; it’s a reimagining. A communal ceremony. A collective act of reclamation."

------------

About MTF MTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.

Stay in Orbit: Website: www.mtf.nyc Instagram: @mtfmusicals YouTube Give Back

----------

CREDITS

Produced by | MTF Musicals

Hosted by | Brisa Areli Muñoz

Featuring | Cheeyang Ng, Legendary

Production

Creative Director | Andrea Negrete

DP | Andrew Young

Editing | Andrew Young

Sound Mixing | Falan Nuhring

MTF Team

Abigail Grubb | Director of Interdependence & Collective Care

Andrea Negrete | Director of Access & Advocacy

AriDy Nox | Director of Decolonization & Sustainability

Brisa Areli Muñoz | Director of Artistic Innovation & Emergent Magic

Brandon Powers | Artistic Innovation Lead

Falan Nuhring | Coordinator of Connectivity & Systems

Sidney Erik Wright | Artistic Programs Lead

MTF Board of Directors

Amy Goldwasser

Ariel Estrada

Catherine Pulley-Dennison

Cheyenne Myrie

Isabel Quinzaños Alonso

M Von Nida

Special Thanks To

The MTF Community & MTF Makers Past and Present

Kelindah Bee | Producer of Fast Forward Live Tapings

Sol & Yue Productions

Shakina Nayfack | Founding Artistic Director

Mei Ann Teo | Former Artistic Director

Walter

MTF’s Institutional Support

The Mellon Foundation

Joseph F. Savage Jr. Charitable Foundation

Howard Gilman Foundation

The Jerome Foundation

Fast Forward is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

In this episode, Brisa Areli sits down with writing duo Melliot (Mel Hornyak & Elliot Valentine) of Makers Cohort IV! We get into the joy & importance of Queer/Trans art, speculative fiction as a genre, and how they're writing their communities directly into their art. Listen in and learn more about the various project Melliot has been cookin' up!

------------

About MTF MTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.

Stay in Orbit: Website: www.mtf.nyc Instagram: @mtfmusicals YouTube Give Back

----------

CREDITS

Produced by | MTF Musicals

Hosted by | Brisa Areli Muñoz

Featuring | Melliot

Production

Creative Director | Andrea Negrete

DP | Andrew Young

Editing | Andrew Young

Sound Mixing | Falan Nuhring

MTF Team

Abigail Grubb | Director of Interdependence & Collective Care

Andrea Negrete | Director of Access & Advocacy

AriDy Nox | Director of Decolonization & Sustainability

Brisa Areli Muñoz | Director of Artistic Innovation & Emergent Magic

Brandon Powers | Artistic Innovation Lead

Falan Nuhring | Coordinator of Connectivity & Systems

Sidney Erik Wright | Artistic Programs Lead

MTF Board of Directors

Amy Goldwasser

Ariel Estrada

Catherine Pulley-Dennison

Cheyenne Myrie

Isabel Quinzaños Alonso

M Von Nida

Special Thanks To

The MTF Community & MTF Makers Past and Present

Kelindah Bee | Producer of Fast Forward Live Tapings

Sol & Yue Productions

Shakina Nayfack | Founding Artistic Director

Mei Ann Teo | Former Artistic Director

Walter

MTF’s Institutional Support

The Mellon Foundation

Joseph F. Savage Jr. Charitable Foundation

Howard Gilman Foundation

The Jerome Foundation

Fast Forward is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.