#HealMeToo: Insights, Art & Activism to Change Our Culture

Before A LOVE THING (shared in Episodes 1&2 of Season 2), host Hope Singsen read a few Community Agreements, as we do at every #HealMeToo Festival show that includes audience conversations. Hope referred to these agreements briefly during the panel discussion in last week’s episode, and thought now would be a great time to share them in full.

Our language is largely based on the Community Agreements used at the Alliance of Resident Theaters/New York. You can read the text of the agreements used at #HealMeToo Festival events here or at healmetoopodcast.com.

About #HealMeToo Podcast Season 2: Relationships
Throughout Season 2, we'll explore ways survivors and our allies can experience healthier relationships -- whether that’s at work, in our communities, within our own bodies and ourselves, or in our intimate sexual lives.

Subscribe to the #HealMeToo Podcast & binge Season 1 today, then look for the second installment of A LOVE THING next week. Till then, you'll find us on all social media @healmetoofest and at healmetoopodcast.com.

A LOVE THING Audio Direction: Delaney Hafener
Podcast host & editor: Hope Singsen
Opening & closing music: "Love Is Rising" written by Vanessa Marie Milanesi & Helga Kaefer, performed by Vanessa Marie (@vanessamariemusic)

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Part 2 of a live recording of the first #HealMeToo Festival Popup event of 2020 -- A LOVE THING, featuring teen and young adult musicians, performers and advocates talking about ways to have more healthy relationships and handle harmful ones. 

A LOVE THING was co sponsored by The NYC Mayor’s Office to ENDGBV, The Angel Band Project, and The Tank theater. Artists and advocates heard in this episode include:

• A panel discussion led by host Hope Singsen with Daniella Love Misyuk & Maisie Breit from the NYC Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (ENDGBV), and Cassity Yeye of the Early Relationship Abuse Prevention Program (RAPP) from STEPS to End Family Violence, about their work helping youth and adults learn ways to create healthier relationships and prevent harmful ones. Followed by Audience Q&A.
• Writer, activist, motivational speaker and Early RAPP community educator, Jovan Martinez, performed her original spoken word piece.
• A choral improvisation with the audience, led by Music Therapist Katie Down and her friends Bonita Oliver, Jessica Lurie and Vanessa Marie. 

See pics, read participant bios and find links to resources at bit.ly/hm2love.

Throughout Season 2, we'll explore ways survivors and our allies can experience healthier relationships -- whether that’s at work, in our communities, within our own bodies and ourselves, or in our intimate sexual lives.

Subscribe to the #HealMeToo Podcast & binge Season 1 today, then look for the second installment of A LOVE THING next week. Till then, you'll find us on all social media @healmetoofest and at healmetoopodcast.com.

A LOVE THING Audio Direction: Delaney Hafener
Podcast host & editor: Hope Singsen
Opening & closing music: "Love Is Rising" written by Vanessa Marie Milanesi & Helga Kaefer, performed by Vanessa Marie (@vanessamariemusic)

Support the show

Part 1 of a live recording of the first #HealMeToo Festival Popup event of 2020 -- A LOVE THING, featuring teen and young adult musicians, performers and advocates talking about ways to have more healthy relationships and handle harmful ones. 

A LOVE THING was co sponsored by The NYC Mayor’s Office to ENDGBV, The Angel Band Project, and The Tank theater. Artists heard in this episode include:

• Singer/songwriter Vanessa Marie sharing work created with The Angel Band Project, accompanied by Katie Down and Jessica Lurie, and talking about her experience with Music Therapy, with Angel Band Board Member Natasha Repass 
• Five talented teens from the Smash Arts Productions troupe of NYC’s JKO High School under the direction of their teacher Elisa DeGragorio, performing their moving original works as well as a monologues from SKIN by Hope Singsen and Now That We're Men by Katie Cappiello (creator of NETFLIX's upcoming series, Grand Army) (additional direction by Charlotte Arnoux)
•  An amazing choral improvisation created by Angel Band Project Music Therapist Katie Down and her friends Bonita Oliver and Jessica Lurie. 

See pics, read participant bios & get resources at bit.ly/hm2love.

Throughout Season 2, we'll explore ways survivors and our allies can experience healthier relationships -- whether that’s at work, in our communities, within our own bodies and ourselves, or in our intimate sexual lives.

Subscribe to the #HealMeToo Podcast & binge Season 1 today, then look for the second installment of A LOVE THING next week. Till then, you'll find us on all social media @healmetoofest and at healmetoopodcast.com.

A LOVE THING Audio Direction: Delaney Hafener
Podcast host & editor: Hope Singsen
Opening music: "If I Can" by Hope Singsen, arranged by Dillon Kondor, performed by Micah Burgess

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Tune in on Valentine’s Day for the first episode of #HealMeToo Podcast’s brand new season of insights, art and activism to change our culture.

You’ll hear the live recording of the first #HealMeToo Festival Popup event of 2020 -- A LOVE THING, featuring teen and young adult musicians, performers and advocates talking about ways to have healthier relationships and handle harmful ones. 

A LOVE THING was co sponsored by The NYC Mayor’s Office to ENDGBV, The Angel Band Project, and The Tank theater. Our program featured the artists heard in this trailer, Vanessa Marie singing her beautiful songs, including Love is Rising, plus spoken word artist Jovan Martinez from the City’s Relationship Abuse Prevention Program and the talented teens in the Smash Arts Productions troupe of NYC’s JKO High School, performing original works as well as a monologue from Now That We're Men by Katie Cappiello (creator of NETFLIX's upcoming Grand Army) -- plus so many other exciting performers and panelists. Check out their photos and bios at bit.ly/hm2love.

Every episode in Season 2 will explore ways survivors and our allies can experience healthier relationships -- whether that’s at work, in our communities, within our own bodies and ourselves, or in our intimate sexual lives.

Subscribe to the #HealMeToo Podcast & binge Season 1 today, then tune in Friday February 14th for the Season 2 Premiere and the first installment of A LOVE THING. Till then, you'll find us on all social media @healmetoofest and healmetoopodcast.com.

A LOVE THING Audio Direction: Delaney Hafener
Podcast host & editor: Hope Singsen
Music: "Love Is Rising" written by Vanessa Marie Milanesi & Helga Kaefer, performed by Vanessa Marie (follow her @vanessamariemusic)

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FREE! A Love Thing: Live Show & #HealMeToo Podcast Taping

Enjoy music, performance and conversation about some ways teens -- and we all -- can create healthier relationships & get out of harmful ones.

One night only. FREE. 85 minutes. Appropriate for ages 16+. Reserve seats now.

Featuring inspiring performances, original songs and a choral improvisation led by Music Therapist Katie Down of The Angel Band Project (angelbandproject.org). At the heart of this unique event in honor of Teen Dating Violence Prevention Month: a panel discussion with staff from the Mayor's Office to ENDGBV's Healthy Relationship Training Academy and the City’s Relationship Abuse Prevention Program.

Co-sponsored by the #HealMeToo Podcast, The Mayor's Office to ENDGBV, The Angel Band Project, and The Tank. This event will be recorded live and released on Valentine’s Day as the Premiere Episode of #HealMeToo Podcast Season 2, which focuses on ways survivors and our allies can enjoy Healthier Relationships – at work, in our communities, with ourselves, and in our intimate lives. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts at bit.ly/hm2pod or via healmetoopodcast.com.

Audience members can stay anonymous on the podcast.
Content may include: relationship and family abuse, teen sexuality, explicit language.

If you or someone you know is experiencing relationship abuse, you can find information and resources at nyc.gov/nychope.

FREE Tickets link:

https://red.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?t=tix&e=342cf6fb8ef788a7af01a09fd0e41ae6

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We often focus--rightly--on the needs of victims and survivors. But "Secondary Survivors" are the supporters and loved ones of any victim of sexual violence, who may themselves become traumatized. In this episode, we focus on the healing needs of everyone around the victim, to recognize and understand how sexual violence impacts #FamiliesToo. 

#HealMeToo Festival hit show Growing Wild, created and performed by Broadway's Shona Tucker, tells the story of a family's inter-generational quest to heal from the trauma of a mysterious sex crime. Hear Shona share in-depth with expert family therapist Fiona True of the Ackerman Institute for the Family, about different ways the members of her family have been impacted by the murder of her older sister, a victim of organized crime, while employed in sex work. Fiona shares insights about the work families can do to heal, foster resilience, and become a resource for each other.

Learn more about Growing Wild, and read Shona and Fiona's bios, on the details page for this episode at healmetoopodcast.com.

The #HealMeToo Podcast is hosted by Hope Singsen--the artist, creativity researcher and survivor-activist who founded the #HealMeToo Festival in NYC this Spring. 

You can watch excerpted work from the Festival on the #HealMeToo Festival performance video page, and sign up on our email list to hear about future pop-up #HealMeToo Festival events.

Subscribe now. Let's talk about how we can #HealMeToo.

Find the #HealMeToo Podcast on Apple Podcasts at bit.ly/hm2pod. Or visit healmetoopodcast.com to find links to other platforms.

The recording facilities and engineer for this episode were provided through the generous support of Fr. James Hauver, Pastor of St. Columba Church, and Fr. Walter Niebrzydowski of The Fr. Walter Outreach, inc., a nonprofit organization working to repair the effects of sexual violence and gender oppression. You can learn more about their mission to promote the true, the good, and the beautiful through spirituality, media, and technology at fatherwaltersparish.org.

Recorded & Engineered by Corey Kaup
Edited by Hope Singsen
Music performed by Micah Burgess:
If I Can by Hope Singsen & Dillon Kondor
Rockabye by Hope Singsen, Dillon Kondor & Micah Burgess
Gorgeous Fire by Hope Singsen & Dillon Kondor

Support the show

As we get ready for an exciting #HealMeToo Festival Popup Event this weekend -- the World Premiere of Tony-winner Tonya Pinkins' Truth And Reconciliation of Womyn this Saturday at 3 PM in NYC at The Tank theater, we hope enjoy these excerpts from the #HealMeToo Festival presentation last March and April, 2019 at the IRT Theater.

Then join us if you're in town! You can get $20 tickets to the Saturday matinee (or any of their performances) at https://thetanknyc.org/tonyapinkinstr.

In this #HealMeToo Podcast Extra, you'll hear selections from the following plays and songs (in order of appearance):

Traditional Native American chant performed by Tonya Pinkins, Julie Brown, Amanda Rodriguez, Lina Sarrello & Sarah Teed

Till Hell Freezes Over, by Tonya Pinkins directed by Lili Stiefel
With Annie McGreevey & Rachael Holmes

Tilling the Soil, by Michelle Tyrene Johnson, directed by Tonya Pinkins
Featuring Carmen LoBue

Womyn, a song written and performed by Julie Brown

Law 136 by Carmen Rivera, directed by Tonya Pinkins
With Amanda Rodriguez, Lina Sarrello & Mary Archbold

The Grandmothers, by Kristine M Reyes, directed by Kat Yen
Featuring Ako Dachs and Akiko Hiroshima

You can also watch video from Truth And Reconciliation on the Festival Video page. While there, be sure join our email list to hear about future pop-up #HealMeToo Festival events as well.

Closing music credit: Hope Singsen & Dillon Kondor, performed by Micah Burgess.

Subscribe now. Let's talk about how we can #HealMeToo.

Listen and subscribe to the #HealMeToo Podcast on Apple Podcasts at bit.ly/hm2pod. Or visit healmetoopodcast.com to find links to other platforms. 

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6 gorgeously interesectional artists share honestly (and humorously) about the beauty and challenges of working together to create art that heals our lives and culture

These artists (together with about 6 more who couldn't join us!) helped make the #HealMeToo Festival's Self/Worth Variety Show a moving, sumptuous and transformative event: Raquel Almazan, Maybe Burke, Yvette Heyliger, Micaela Mamede & Krishna Christine Washburn.

Reviewing the list of keywords for this episode tells the whole story:
Intersectional, Immigrant, Undocumented, Racial Justice, Race, Disability, Blindness, Gender, Transgender, GNC, Nonbinary, Whiteness, Privilege, Sex Work, Stripper Shoes, Healing, MeToo, Cancel Culture, Feminist, Sexual Violence, Workplace Harassment, Coercion, Assault, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Vulnerability, Rage, Mental Health, Trauma, Victim, Survivor, Honesty, Healing, Creating, Creativity, Dance, Performing Arts, Storytelling, Spoken Word, Culture. 

Interested to learn more about Intersectionality? Read a recent VOX interview of Kimberle Crenshaw, who coined the term in the late ‘80s, building on the work of other leaders for racial justice, including bell hooks.

The #HealMeToo Podcast is hosted by Hope Singsen--the artist, creativity researcher and survivor-activist who founded the #HealMeToo Festival in NYC this Spring. 

You can watch excerpted work from the Festival on the episode details page. That's where you'll also find our guests' full bios and photos, and while there, can link to other #HealMeToo Festival performance videos, and sign up on our email list to hear about future pop-up #HealMeToo Festival events.

Subscribe now. Let's talk about how we can #HealMeToo.

Find the #HealMeToo Podcast on Apple Podcasts at bit.ly/hm2pod. Or visit healmetoopodcast.com to find links to other platforms.

The recording facilities and engineer for this episode were provided through the generous support of Fr. James Hauver, Pastor of St. Columba Church, and Fr. Walter Niebrzydowski of The Fr. Walter Outreach, inc., a nonprofit organization working to repair the effects of sexual violence and gender oppression. You can learn more about their mission to promote the true, the good, and the beautiful through spirituality, media, and technology at fatherwaltersparish.org.

Recorded & Engineered by Corey Kaup
Edited by Hope Singsen
Music performed by Micah Burgess:
If I Can by Hope Singsen & Dillon Kondor
Rockabye by Hope Singsen, Dillon Kondor & Micah Burgess
Gorgeous Fire by Hope Singsen & Dillon Kondor

Support the show

An audio drama extra featuring: 

• "Do You Want Me To Stop?" from Love Letters to Nobody by Maybe Burke, as presented on thefemaleplaywrightproject.com with sound design by Natalie Johnsonius Neubert. 
• An excerpt of Ianne Fields Stewart's live performance of their original work "On the Train to Nowhere in Particpular" and Other Poems, recorded at the Musical Theater Factory.

Content warning: frank descriptions of sexuality and sexual assault.

You can also watch videos of both excerpts on the Episode Details Page. You can also hear #HealMeToo Podcast Episode 9, where Ianne and Maybe discuss transgender, GNC and nonbinary perspectives on #MeToo and ideas for healing.

While there, be sure join our email list to hear about future pop-up #HealMeToo Festival events as well.

Closing music credit: Hope Singsen & Dillon Kondor, performed by Micah Burgess.

Subscribe now. Let's talk about how we can #HealMeToo.

Listen and subscribe to the #HealMeToo Podcast on Apple Podcasts at bit.ly/hm2pod. Or visit healmetoopodcast.com to find links to other platforms. 

Support the show

Two phenomenal artist-activists for social justice and the human rights of trans, nonbinary and gender nonconforming (GNC) folks, Ianne Fields Stewart and Maybe Burke, join us to talk about the pervasive experiences of sexual violence and gender oppression within their communities, and ideas that help support healing.

Ianne Fields Stewart is a Black queer nonbinary transfeminine New York-based storyteller working at the intersection of theatre and activism. Their work and she are dedicated to interrupting the exclusivity of luxury by making things like entertainment, nourishment, and self care accessible to the most marginalized in their community. In a world that is constantly traumatizing Black bodies she believes that Black queer and trans people should have the space and time to center collective emotional, physical, and sensual pleasure. Ianne is also the founder of The Okra Project which hires Black Trans chefs to cook healthy and culturally specific meals for Black Trans People in their homes or community centers if they’re experiencing homelessness. Most recently, Ianne was named by Gay Star News as one of the 21 non-binary artists including Ezra Miller and Indya Moore who are redefining gender.

Maybe Burke s a New York based actor, writer, and human rights advocate interested in telling the stories that haven't been told.  Their work has been seen at Joe's Pub, Lincoln Center, Cherry Lane Theatre, Ars Nova, New Dramatists, HERE Arts Center, The NYC LGBTQ Center, and more. Their solo show, Love Letters to Nobody, received the 2017 Fresh Fruit Spirit Award for Fostering Pride, Survival, History, and Progress and earned them a nomination for the 2018 Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award. 

Maybe and Ianne are co-founders of the Topics Include Podcast, available on Apple and everywhere.

The #HealMeToo Podcast is hosted by Hope Singsen--the artist, creativity researcher and survivor-activist who founded the #HealMeToo Festival in NYC this Spring. 

You can watch Maybe Burke's work from the Festival on the episode details page. While there, you can also link to other #HealMeToo Festival performance videos, and sign up on our email list to hear about future pop-up #HealMeToo Festival events.

Subscribe now. Let's talk about how we can #HealMeToo.

Find the #HealMeToo Podcast on Apple Podcasts at bit.ly/hm2pod. Or visit healmetoopodcast.com to find links to other platforms.

The recording facilities and engineer for this episode were provided through the generous support of Fr. James Hauver, Pastor of St. Columba Church, and Fr. Walter Niebrzydowski of The Fr. Walter Outreach, inc., a nonprofit organization working to repair the effects of sexual violence and gender oppression. You can learn more about their mission to promote the true, the good, and the beautiful through spirituality, media, and technology at fatherwaltersparish.org.

Recorded & Engineered by Corey Kaup
Edited by Hope Singsen
Music performed by Micah Burgess:
If I Can by Hope Singsen & Dillon Kondor
Rockabye by Hope Singsen, Dillon Kondor & Micah Burgess
Gorgeous Fire by Hope Singsen & Dillon Kondor

Support the show