This month, our BOOST Co-Chairs curated a panel of experts to share personalized advice with our BOOSTers. The event, known as BOOST Banters, is a virtual mixer where our early-career BOOSTers can get all of their industry questions answered by experienced professionals that are hand picked by our BOOST experts.
When asking our BOOST Co-Chairs, Ayana Bey and Jillian Vitko, why this event was so important to them, they said they “wanted to demystify the word networking and create a space for artists to connect in an informal, fun way. Taking the pressure off and just having a conversation as humans who happen to be in the same field.”
Listen to highlights from the evening!
From coping with burnout to dealing with finding your type, our experts and BOOSTers had many insightful things to say, and we wanted to share them with you!
Read all about our BOOSTers and their experts!
ALIX CURNOW
Alix Curnow (they/them) is an actor, writer and theatre educator. Last year they graduated with honors from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance and are currently studying with Broadway’s “The Barrow Group.” Alix is passionate about finding theoretical and material freedom through art. Currently, Alix is based in New York City where they work as a theatre education apprentice for Broadway’s “Roundabout Theatre Company.”
Fun facts:
1. Riding my bike in the city is my favorite pastime
2. I can juggle but want to learn more tricks so please teach me if you know any!
3. I have lived in five different cities in my 22 years of life!
Instagram: @unicornsprinklepie
STACEY RAYMOND
Stacey Raymond has worked with such theaters as New York Theatre Workshop, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club, Ensemble Studio Theater, Page 73, LAByrinth Theater Company, The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, to name a few. Select Film credits include Alice in Andrew’s Land, August In The City and Romance In The Digital Age. Select TV credits include a recurring role on New Amsterdam (NBC), The Legend Of Vox Machina (Amazon Prime), Mr. Robot (USA), Bull (CBS), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), The Good Cop (Netflix), and Alpha House (Amazon Prime). Stacey has a BFA in Acting from Mason Gross School of the Arts (Rutgers University).
Fun facts:
1. When I was a little kid, one of my favorite games to play with my sister was Barbie Funeral.
2. I once found a very sick cockatiel at the park who I nursed back to health and she became my pet bird for 8 loving years. I named her Ricky and she was the best.
3. I’ve wanted to be an actor since I was 8 years old after playing the leading role of a turtle in a 2nd grade classroom play titled The Turtle Who Wanted to Fly.
Website: www.staceyraymond.com
Instagram: @staceyraymond
MIRANDA STUCK
Miranda Stuck is a professional dancer from Seattle, Washington and currently resides in New York City. Prior to graduating from the Ailey/Fordham Bachelor of Fine Arts program, Miranda trained classically at Pacific Northwest Ballet School. While working as a freelance artist, Miranda is currently an apprentice with Stubborn MVMT and has previously danced with company Alison Cook Beatty Dance, Matthew Westerby Company, and performed in Marc Jacobs Fall 2020 New York Fashion Week closing runway show. Miranda has presented her choreography with the New Work Series at Tada! Theatre and at Alpha Omega Dance Theatre’s Studio to Stage Program.
While dancing within the professional division at The Ailey School, Miranda has danced on scholarship at Perry-Mansfield and Paul Taylor American Modern Dance and trained with Ballet Hispánico and Visceral Dance Chicago. She has worked closely with choreographers including Gabrielle Lamb, William Isaac, Karole Armitage, Earl Mosley, Nicholas Garr, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Olga Kostritzky, Kyle Marshall, and Devalois Fearon.
Fun facts:
1. I can speak conversational Mandarin
2. I’ve been to over 15 countries
3. I love sushi
Instagram: @mirandastuck
PAIGE FRASER-HOFFMAN
Paige Fraser is originally from The Bronx, NYC. She graduated from the Ailey/Fordham BFA program.
Paige has danced professionally with Ailey II, Visceral Dance Chicago, and Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. Her commercial dance credits include works with Beyonce and Chanel Iman. Ms. Fraser has been featured in international campaigns for INTEL, ESPN Latin America, and ELLE Magazine.She is a Princess Grace Award recipient (2016) and Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” (2017).
Paige made her musical theater debut in West Side Story at the Lyric Opera (2019), where she played the role of a Jet. A few months later she booked her dream job, The Lion King National Tour (2019). She is currently the new Dance Captain/Swing for The Lion King on Broadway.
Ms. Fraser is the Chief Artistic Officer of The Paige Fraser Foundation; which aims to create a safe space for artists with or without disabilities. TPFF was founded in 2017 and has offered free arts programs to the community through Dance, Theater, Visual Arts, Music, and Wellness. She is currently getting her MA in Art Management from University of Denver.
Fun facts:
1. Fave color is purple
2. Fave food is Ramen
3. I am of Jamaican descent
Instagram: @lovingthispaige
KATRINA TUTSCHEK
Katrina Tutschek graduated from Ramapo College of New Jersey in 2018 with a degree in Psychology and minor in Theater. Acting and being on stage has been a part of her life since she was young. Although she was the first in her family to go into the performing arts, she has strived to make her mark on the industry. She has been both on stage and on screen. Currently, she is gearing up for the filiming of Paraseekers: Origins. An independent film that is being shot this summer. She continues to push herself everyday to make her dreams a reality.
Fun facts:
1. I graduated magna cum laude
2. I no longer have my appendix
3. I’m a night owl
Instagram: @katrinatutschek
BRANDON FORD GREEN
STAGE: SCAR TISSUE at The Players Theatre in NYC, APOLLO at Portland Center Stage in Portland Oregon, SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS and THE PENSION GRILLPARZER at The Company Rep in Los Angeles, THE DANTE CLUB at The California Repertory Company in Long Beach.
FILM/TV: LAW AND ORDER, EVIL, HIGH FIDELITY, THIS IS US, AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., CSI: CYBER, EPISODES, GREY’S ANATOMY, JUSTIFIED, CRIMINAL MINDS, MONK, 24 and GILMORE GIRLS among others. He notably played comedy legend Richard Pryor on the Showtime series I’M DYING UP HERE. Most recently he was seen in the films THE HOLIDAY FIX-UP and THE WALLS ARE WATCHING on Lifetime. Brandon is also the writer/director of the independent feature film GOOD GRIEF which not only received official selection at many film festivals across the country but also won the Audience Choice Award at the Laughlin International Film Festival but also won him Best Director at the Harlem International Film Festival. You can currently find it streaming on Amazon, Tubi and Roku.
Brandon has trained at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Central California, Second City in Hollywood and The Barrow Group in New York City.
Fun facts:
1. I’ve collected comic books off and on since I was 12.
2. I was the lead singer of a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band in high school
3. I can name every film that has won the Oscar for Best Picture between 1967 – present
Instagram: @thatbfgguy
DOMINIC BRADLEY
Dominic is a Brooklyn-based Black disabled artist currently focusing on financial self-sufficiency, illustration and screenwriting while in BOOST.
3 Fun Facts: I’m a horror fan. I’m learning to cut my own hair. I have a cute cat named Ace.
Fun facts:
1. I’m a horror fan
2. I’m learning to cut my own hair
3. I have a cute cat named Ace
Instagram: @domdoesdreams
L TUTHALL
Laura “L” Tuthall (they/she) an Autistic & Mad genderqueer disabled artist primarily working with lyric, music, improvisational dance, installation, and collaborative performance. L is also a Hypermobile access specialist, researcher, organizer, and educator who has been running hypermobility-specific community programming out of NYC for over 6 years. They are the co-developer of the Hyp+ accessible somatic therapy, Hypermobile Accessible Proprioceptive Therapy (HAPT), and the co-founder of Hyp-ACCESS, a care justice organization for people on the common and neglected spectrum of Hypermobile disability. They teach HAPT and other Hyp+ accessible programming as an ISMETA triple-registered professional movement educator, movement therapist, and dance educator (RSME/T, RSDE). They believe that proprioceptive therapy like HAPT is a human right and a central component of Hyp+ access. L has a BFA from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and has taught at CalArts, Berklee College of Music, and Gibney Dance. They have presented their work at Ehlers-Danlos Society, New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), and American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT) conferences, and their writings have been published by STAT news (Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique), the Ehlers-Danlos Society, and the Boston Conservatory’s literary journal, The Garden. They are enrolled in CUNY’s Disability Studies Masters program, where they research Hypermobile disability and the violent history of medical genetics.
Fun facts:
1. I started writing songs when I was 5
2. I love Star Wars, especially the animated shows
3. My wheelchair’s name is Joyce
Instagram: @ltuthall
CAROLINE STRANGE
Caroline Strange (she/they) is an Alaskan born actress based in NYC. New York Credits include Belfast Girls and London Assurance (Irish Rep); Regional credits include The Guthrie, Playmaker’s Repertory, People’s Light, RedHouse Arts, and more. Commercials include CVS Pharmacy, Value City Furniture, Anthropologie, Dscout, and more. Caroline loves plants, her baby corn snake (Little Biddy), her partners, and her family. A cool thing about her is that she can skateboard!
Instagram: @carolineorstrange
RACHEL JOSEFINA
Rachel Josefina (she/her) is a Mindset Coach and a Performer based in NYC. Most recently she has been seen in In The Heights at McCoy Rigby Entertainment as the Dance Captain, Ensemble and Carla understudy. Other regional credits include: Guy and Dolls (Ass. Choreographer/Ensemble), My Fair Lady (Dance Captain/Ensemble), Crazy For You (Ensemble) and more. She has sailed the high seas with Royal Caribbean Productions(Dancer/Rehearsal Swing) and Holland America Line and RWS Entertainment Group (Singer/Dancer). It has become Rachel’s mission to live a life and create a career with more mindfulness and abundance and through her Mindset Coaching she is guiding other performers to do the same. She is also the host of the Mindset in the Making Podcast where she talks about Perfectionism and Spirituality in the Theatre and Dance Industry.
Fun facts:
1. Purple is my favorite color
2. I have the biggest sweet tooth
3. I once kissed a fish
Instagram: @rachel.josefina
Podcast: Mindset in the Making