Fast Forward
Fast Forward is a podcast about the futures artists are already building.
MTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.
Produced by MTF, Fast Forward brings artists, thinkers, and cross-sector collaborators into conversation to explore how creative practice moves beyond traditional development pipelines and into the world at large.
Each episode asks us to fast forward to a future where artists are seen as essential contributors to society, not just culture makers, but collaborators in fields like health, technology, education, and civic life. Through candid dialogue, lived experience, and real-world examples, the podcast examines what becomes possible when storytelling is invited into new spaces.
Fast Forward is for artists, producers, and partners who believe that creative work can shape systems, expand belonging, and build more humane futures. It’s a space for curiosity, experimentation, and bold thinking about how artists live, work, and collaborate.
Because the future of art isn’t coming later. It’s already in motion.
Learn more about MTF at www.mtf.nyc.
Listen on:
Episodes
Friday May 01, 2026
Friday May 01, 2026
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!
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About MTFMTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.
Stay in Orbit:Website: www.mtf.nycInstagram: @mtfmusicalsYouTubeGive Back
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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.
Sunday Apr 26, 2026
Sunday Apr 26, 2026
Brisa Areli and Brandon sit down with EmmaLee Kidwell & Maria Andreoli to talk about how technology intersects dramaturgically with their process and new piece in development Come See Your Future.
Come See Your Future is a hybrid musical theatre and virtual reality piece that unfolds in a sci-fi, dystopian world ravaged by climate change. The project explores capitalism’s impact on the environment and how political division inhibits humanity’s ability to live sustainably and find solutions to the climate crisis.
Every audience member steps inside the world of the show in VR as the experience weaves live performance and interactive virtual reality sequences, propelling the story forward. With VR, the audience embodies each character's perspective, creating a form-bending immersive experience.
Learn more about Maria & EmmaLee and Come See Your Future Below!
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About MTFMTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.
Stay in Orbit:Website: www.mtf.nycInstagram: @mtfmusicalsYouTubeGive Back
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CREDITS
Produced by | MTF Musicals
Hosted by | Brisa Areli Muñoz
Featuring | EmmaLee Kidwell & Maria Isabella Andreoli & Brandon Powers
Come See Your Future
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.
Monday Apr 20, 2026
Monday Apr 20, 2026
This interactive live Fast Forward event invited audiences to explore how musical storytelling extends beyond the stage to influence other sectors. At our Fast Forward: Technology as a Liberatory Tool, we began to investigate how technology can serve artists and creators.
To ground the discussion in lived artistic practice, we’ve engaged two artist case studies. EmmaLee Kidwell and Maria Isabella Andreoli are developing Come See Your Future, a mixed-reality musical that reimagines how audiences experience narrative across physical and digital space. Inyosi Sebenzekhaya is creating Priestess Portals, an evolving work exploring how spiritual technologies and extended reality can merge to generate new forms of ritual, embodiment, and collective transformation. Technologists Aaron Santiago and Dr. Courtney D. Cogburnwill joined the conversation to help audiences better understand how awareness can create agency as we imagine together how technology can be used to fuel the change we want to see in the world.
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About MTFMTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.
Stay in Orbit:Website: www.mtf.nycInstagram: @mtfmusicalsYouTubeGive Back
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CREDITS
Produced by | MTF Musicals
Hosted by | Brisa Areli Muñoz
Featuring | EmmaLee Kidwell & Maria Isabella Andreoli, INYOSI Sebenzekhaya (b. Nia O. Witherspoon) PhD, Aaron Santiago, & Dr. Courtney D. Cogburn
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.
Friday Apr 10, 2026
Friday Apr 10, 2026
To ground us in practical application, MTF dives into the process of developing Germono Toussaint's The Last Gatekeeper as a case study for the use of Technology as a dramaturgical and liberatory tool. "The Last Gatekeeper is an immersive, multi-media, musical theater piece inspired by the writings of West African shaman Malidoma Patrice Somé. The term gatekeeper refers to the indigenous belief that those who express themselves as same-gender-loving maintain the portals between the physical and spiritual world and are connected to both. They are guardians who restore balance and harmony when there is crisis." We get into technologies, both practical & spiritual, and how they can serve the story, the artist, & the development process.
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About MTFMTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.
Stay in Orbit:Website: www.mtf.nycInstagram: @mtfmusicalsYouTubeGive Back
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CREDITS
Produced by | MTF Musicals
Hosted by | Brisa Areli Muñoz
Featuring | Brandon Powers & Germono Toussaint
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.
Friday Apr 03, 2026
Friday Apr 03, 2026
Brandon Powers joins us to talk all things MTFxR. We get into technology as a dramaturgical & liberatory tool, definitions, practical examples, fears, & more!
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About MTFMTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.
Stay in Orbit:Website: www.mtf.nycInstagram: @mtfmusicalsYouTubeGive Back
----------
CREDITS
Produced by | MTF Musicals
Hosted by | Brisa Areli Muñoz
Featuring | Brandon Powers
Shout Out | Kelindah Bee& 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.
Friday Mar 27, 2026
Friday Mar 27, 2026
On the other side of our live event/taping, ELC gathers to reflect on launching this new program, what curiosities we still have, and how we can imagine deepening this work. If you have a family member or friend at a senior center who can benefit from this type of work, please let us know at info@mtf.nyc! If you work in insurance and have valuable knowledge to add, we invite you to join the conversation. If you are asking yourself how you can apply this model to your own work, you're in the right place! We are so happy you're here. Thank you for listening.
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About MTFMTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.
Stay in Orbit:Website: www.mtf.nycInstagram: @mtfmusicalsYouTubeGive Back
----------
CREDITS
Produced by | MTF Musicals
Hosted by | Brisa Areli Muñoz
Featuring | Andrea Negrete, Abigial Grubb, & Brisa Areli Muñoz
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.
Sunday Mar 22, 2026
Sunday Mar 22, 2026
In episode 6, we circle back to Flako on the other side of our live event to check in on what that experience was like, what's in store for MERCEDES, and more! This conversation wraps up our time at the intersection of Health & Wellness (for now) and we look forward to diving into Technology as a Liberatory Tool! Stay tuned.
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About MTFMTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.
Stay in Orbit:Website: www.mtf.nycInstagram: @mtfmusicalsYouTubeGive Back
----------
CREDITS
Produced by | MTF Musicals
Hosted by | Brisa Areli Muñoz
Featuring | Modesto 'Flako' Jimenez
Shout Outs | ¡Oye! Group, MERCEDES
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.
Friday Mar 13, 2026
Friday Mar 13, 2026
In this episode of Fast Forward, artists Emmanuelle Zagoria and Ben Bonnema reflect on the conversation from MTF’s first Fast Forward: Health & Wellness gathering. Together, they explore what it might look like to build healthier creative ecosystems, imagining how care, sustainability, and collective responsibility could shape the future of artistic work.
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About MTFMTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.
Stay in Orbit:Website: www.mtf.nycInstagram: @mtfmusicalsYouTubeGive Back
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CREDITS
Produced by | MTF Musicals
Hosted by | Brisa Areli Muñoz
Featuring | Emmanuelle Zagoria and Ben Bonnema
Learn more about PACBI
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.
Friday Mar 06, 2026
Friday Mar 06, 2026
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 MTFMTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.
Stay in Orbit:Website: www.mtf.nycInstagram: @mtfmusicalsYouTubeGive Back
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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
Friday Feb 27, 2026
Friday Feb 27, 2026
In Episode 3 of Fast Forward, Brisa sits down with Modesto 'Flako' Jimenez for an intimate and expansive conversation about identity, memory, and wellness through artistic practice.
Together, they explore who Flako is as an artist, who Mercedes was, and what MERCEDES the project has become. This is a case study in how creative work can function as healing, reclamation, and emotional processing.
As this season examines Health and Wellness, MERCEDES offers a powerful lens into how art holds grief, legacy, transformation, and care. It is also paving the way for what cross-sectoral partnership can look like! Brisa and Flako unpack the relationship between storytelling and selfhood, and how creative practice can become a site of restoration.
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About MTFMTF equips artists to create musical stories as a collective force for justice, healing, and radical imagination.
Stay in Orbit:Website: www.mtf.nycInstagram: @mtfmusicalsYouTubeGive Back
----------
CREDITS
Produced by | MTF Musicals
Hosted by | Brisa Areli Muñoz
Featuring | Modesto 'Flako' Jimenez, MERCEDES, &
¡Oye Group!
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.