What happens when musical theater intersects with health, healing, and wellness?
Recorded live at our Fast Forward event this past October (2025), this episode explores how artists are using musical storytelling to engage with some of the most pressing questions around care, mental health, and collective well-being.
Featuring expert voices Lis Chirinos, Sarah Serrano-Esquilin, and Dr. Marc Rothman, plus a live performance by Pedro Fortunato, this episode centers a case study on Mercedes by Modesto Flako Jimenez of Oye Group for collective imagining and dialogue. Make sure you listen to Episode 03 for more context!
Dive into the ways creative practice can open new pathways for empathy, dialogue, and healing. From rethinking how stories about health are told, to exploring how artistic spaces can support personal and community wellness, the discussion invites us to consider what role musical storytelling might play in a healthier, more connected future.
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About MTF
MTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.
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Website: www.mtf.nyc
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CREDITS
Produced by | MTF Musicals
Hosted by | Brisa Areli Muñoz
Featuring | Lis Chirinos, Sarah Serrano-Esquilin, and Dr. Marc Rothman, plus a live performance by Pedro Fortunato
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 Foundat
