Fast Forward

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.
------------
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 | 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

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.
------------
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.
 

In Episode 2 of Fast Forward, members of MTF’s Artistic Circle (Brandon Powers, Sidney Erik Wright, and Brisa Areli Muñoz) break down what Fast Forward is and why it matters now. This conversation explores cross-sector collaboration, the future of the arts, and how artists can drive impact beyond traditional entertainment and new work development.
Together, they examine how creative leaders can influence other sectors in society and the impact on the broader creative economy. What would change if artists were treated as essential contributors across industries? What does sustainable artistic impact actually look like?
If you’re interested in arts leadership, cultural strategy, innovation in musical storytelling, and building a more equitable arts ecosystem, this episode lays the foundation.
------------
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 & Sidney Erik Wright 
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.

Before we fully Fast Forward, we want to take the time to ground ourselves in where we are and why this work matters now. In this debut episode, MTF's Extended Leadership Circle introduces the org and sets the stage for what Fast Forward is here to do: imagine bold futures for storytelling, center artists as essential contributors to society, and explore how creative practice moves across sectors and communities. You’ll hear the origin story behind MTF, the values shaping this next era, and the questions that will guide the conversations to come. Whether you’re an artist, collaborator, or curious listener, this episode invites you into the vision and the journey ahead.
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 | Abigail Grubb & Andrea Negrete 
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.