Your hosts Tyee and Shaina sit down on a Friday night for a chat.  We talk about Tyee's journey to become an actor, trauma and how it is dealt with on sets and stages and a healthy debate about the show 13 Reasons Why.  We also talk about racism in the industry and Tyee shares his top 3 favorite movies. 

Tyee  Tilghman is an actor, screenwriter, and director.  He received an MFA  in Acting from the American Conservatory Theatre, and a BFA in Drama  from West Virginia University.  He is also the co-host of this podcast, Lights On! Mental Health.  

Select Film & TV credits: Party  of Five (FreeFormTV), Baskets (FX), How to Get Away with Murder  (ABC), I'm Dying Up Here (Showtime), American Nightmares (directed by  Rusty Cundieff & Darin Scott), Criminal Minds (CBS), and The Young  & The Restless (CBS).

Select Theatre credits:  Salif in Our Very Own Carlin McCullough (dir. by Tyne Rafaeli at Geffen  Playhouse), Reggie in Skeleton Crew ( dir. by Patricia McGregor at  Studio Theater), Caesar in Gem of the Ocean (Marin Theater Company), and  George Murchison in A Raisin in the Sun (dir. by Israel Hicks at Denver  Center for the Performing Arts).

This is part one of many conversations with Nina Domingue because we have SO much to talk about!  Nina is an absolute treasure.  

Nina is a New Orleans native who is currently based in Cleveland.  She is a part of Cleveland Public Theater’s Premier Fellowship Cohort for the 2020-2021 season. Her solo show The Absolutely Amazing and True Adventures of Miss Joan Southgate has been included on The Kilroy’s List 2020. She was a Barbara Smith Playwright in Residence at Twelve Literary Arts and the Nord Family Foundation Playwriting Fellow and Catapult Artist at Cleveland Public Theatre during the 2019-2020 theatrical season. Her solo show Ya Mama! (dir: Nathan Henry) launched its tour at the Hollywood Fringe Festival and a run at Cleveland Public Theatre this past fall. Credits include: Paradise Blue (Justin Emeka, Karamu House), Revolt, She Said. Revolt, Again (Sarah E. Wansley, Dobama), Medea At 6 (Ensemble Theatre), It Hasn’t Always Been This Way by Ntozake Shange (Off Broadway, Diane McIntyre). Critics say that Nina is “...a young Anna Deavere Smith” and watching her is “like a master class in acting."

Look out for more episodes in with Nina the future!

Enjoying the podcast?  Want to hear more about a certain topic?  Email us at [email protected] and tell us!

Ja’ire is a MA in Psychology candidate at Antioch University, Los Angeles, a Life, Executive, and Relationship Coach, a practicing MFT, Trainee, and an international entertainer and songwriter. Ja’ire has an extensive background in sales and marketing, building, and promoting brands, and formulating skillful and targeted approaches to increase consumer and business engagement. Her work experience spans across various industries including entertainment, health and wellness, sustainability, and behavioral sciences giving her a unique ability to empathize, connect, foster strong relationships, and ensure strategic goals are met. Her upbringing was spent facilitating community programs serving underprivileged and disadvantaged communities. She is LGBTQIA+ affirmative and a social justice advocate for BIPOC communities. Her holistic health perspective, empowerment, mindfulness, and individualized solution-oriented approach help her clients to dig deeper to find clarity and courage, and to implement essential tools to attain their goals. It is that same genuine and vibrant energy that allows audiences worldwide to connect to her powerful onstage presence and inimitable soulful sound.

The International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees  (IATSE) is the union that supports behind-the-scenes skilled technicians, artisans, and craftsmen in the entertainment industry. This includes camera, lighting, hair, makeup, wardrobe, props, set construction, sound, editing, and others. This weekend the members of 13 LA chapters will be voting on whether to authorize a strike as they negotiate the Hollywood basic agreement with the AMPTP, the producers association. Some of the key sticking points are living wages, adequate sleep, and meal breaks. The breakdown in negotiations has fueled many workers to speak out against conditions across the film and television industry, where the Covid pandemic has put even more strain on a workforce already at a breaking point. IA_stories, An Instagram account, has become a hub for workers to share countless horror stories of injustice, maltreatment, bullying, and trauma. These employees are crucial to the entertainment industry and the creation of content that streaming services like Amazon, Netflix, Apple, and Hulu produce, and continue to make billions off of.

Kara Haas has worked in some aspect of the entertainment industry for 20+ years and is currently a member of New York’s IATSE Local 52 as an On-Set Dresser.

Tyee Tilghman is a Lights On! Mental Health collaborator, actor, writer, producer, and Shaina‘s partner!

Shaina spoke with both Kara and Tyee this past Sunday, September 26, as she attended a rally in New York City to show unity and solidarity for the LA chapter is voting to authorize a strike.

If you are struggling to cope with stress related to Covid and/or the entertainment industry YOU DO NOT want to miss this episode.  Ashna drops so many gems!  She shares with us her go-to skills for coping and truly is an inspiration for us all!

An award-winning filmmaker and former pageant queen from Virginia, Ashna moved to LA to pursue her dreams to be on the big screen! She began performing on stage when she was four years old. Growing up as a  classically trained dancer, she learned how to express herself through a movement that eventually helped her when it came to acting. Whether it's comedy or drama, she loves to dive deep into all the characters she plays on camera. When she's not acting, she is pouring her heart and soul into writing socially conscious stories.

https://www.youtube.com/asthecollectivela

https://www.asthecollectivela.com/

If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis and/or is considering suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.  You are not alone.

On this episode I spoke with Garry MacLean who is a Canadian based actor, writer and producer.  I met Garry through Instagram when he reached out for support on a documentary film he is currently working on that explores Mental Health and Actors.  

Starting as a background actor in 2011, Garry has worked his way to leading  roles in multiple independent projects as well as principal roles on  major television shows. In 2014 he earned his first major television  credit on season one of Wynonna Earp. His more recent accomplishment is a  principal role on the pilot episode of The Secret History of the Wild  West, airing on APTN.

Right  around the same time as Wynonna Earp, Garry delved into creating his  own content by writing and producing his own short films. His most  recent project was a multi-award winning short horror film titled Yard  Sale. The film earned multiple best suspense/horror wins and a best  actor nomination. Garry has also created his own YouTube talk show  titled Talent Talk. Talent Talk is in its third season and interviews  filmmakers & actors from around the globe.

Additional links for reference:

Talent Talk Website

Talent Talk Instagram - @talenttalkmedia

Twitter - @GarryMacLean71

Personal Instagram - @garry_maclean

Bonus episode.  Take a listen to our test episode with me, Shaina Fawn and my partner, Tyee Tilghman as we figure this podcast shit out.