I [want] people to think a little bit more about where we might be headed from the standpoint of communications and how it’s manipulated and massaged by people with all sorts of different interests [and money].
“The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed. ” ~William Gibson
On one hand, Janet Stilson is a journalist. On the other, she writes scripts, novels and short stories that largely fall in the grounded sci-fi and fantasy genres and illuminate the human condition in provocative ways.
Janet’s novel, “The Juice,” is a dystopian, cyberpunk tale that was inspired by her work as an editor and reporter, interviewing execs at big media companies about where the heck we’re all going. It was published by Dragon Moon Press on Feb. 9, 2021. If you love the cyberpunk science fiction of William Gibson; the dystopian world of The Handmaid’s Tale ; or sci-fi detective novels, add THE JUICE to your reading list!
THE JUICE, is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. “Stilson debuts with an energetic vision of a dystopian near-future America … This cyberpunk adventure delivers plenty of future tech and social commentary to please genre fans.” — Publishers Weekly
Based on her film script “Jaguar Trail,” Janet was selected to be part of the Writers Lab for Women, which is funded by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman. Stowe Story Labs also selected “Jaguar” to be part of its intensive mentorship program in 2018.
As a journalist, Janet got her “chops” at the storied showbiz bible “Variety.” She has traveled the world chronicling the business of media and entertainment. It afforded her many busman’s holidays in places like Shanghai and Paris, for which she is forever grateful.
Janet has also worked as a consultant and researcher, specializing in the business of media. Separately and in conjunction with others, she has provided services to such clients as Liberty Media, Microsoft Corp., Oxygen, Discovery Communications and MTV Networks.
She has been an artist in residence at Dorland, a retreat in Southern California; the Julia and David White Artists’ Colony in Costa Rica; Odysseys, also in Costa Rica, and La Muse in southern France.
Janet lives in New York City’s Riverdale area. It’s a world away from her childhood home in a gorgeous upstate New York town called Franklin. Cars pass through Franklin in almost the blink of an eye, and she hopes it stays that way.
Her short story “Imaginary Children” was published by Asimov’s magazine in July 2020.
We can heal. I think it’s really important to be in control of what we’re taking in so that we don’t feel that we have to worry…that we can feel like we can live in our power, we can do things, as artists, that will hopefully push the needle and change the culture and make people think more deeply about what THEY can do if they’re not artists.
Playwright, Dramaturg, and TeacherEmma Goldman-Sherman(she/they) is an autistic, gender-dysphoric, queer, Jewish, feminist playwright living in New York City. Emma Goldman-Sherman is a playwright who likes to challenge audiences in terms of what we think a play can be.
Award-winning playwright Emma Goldman-Sherman creates timeless yet relevant, feminist work that engages on multiple levels to heal what our culture denies. Emma believes in the power of theatre to offer healing and agency to audiences, and their plays tend to be about daunting subjects like war, trauma (including rape, abuse and domestic violence), identity and the conflict in the Middle East. These subjects have touched Emma’s life in various ways, so their work is quite personal even if it isn’t always autobiographical.
Emma’s first memory of live theatre was Peter Pan at Philadelphia’s Playhouse in the Park in the round. At age five, this was life-changing – to be able to help save Tinker Bell with collective applause. She is compelled by the power of theatre to confer healing and agency on audiences.
Emma builds from her own experience as a trauma survivor with chronic illness, a parent and citizen of the world. She has documented human rights abuses and writes as if female experience matters. Rarely naturalistic her work is inspired by visual artists and philosophers. She uses myth (making new/deconstructing known), metaphor, and language/ composition. She expects a strong collaborative approach. Though she’s broken the 4th wall, these days she’s extending the 4th wall to include the audience in new ways.
FUKT was recently live-streamed and performed 0/27 – 11/13/22 at The Tank in NYC! More info The Tank in NYC! Their work has been final listed at BAPF, Unicorn (x3), Risk is This at Cutting Ball (x3), Campfire, Bechdel, and Henley Rose. Counting in Sha’ab is available as a podcast on PlayingonAir.org and Abraham’s Daughters is available as a podcast at TheParsnipShip.com. They are working on a collaboration with Experimental Bitch Presents called Tanya’s Lit Clit which was workshopped at The Tank October 2021 and the Park Avenue Armory in 2022.
Grief Dialogues’ vision is to erase the stigma surrounding dying, death, and grief. Using theatre, visual art, film, music, podcasts, poetry, and narrative, Grief Dialogues opens new conversations between grievers, those with terminal or chronic illness, and their health care providers and caregivers. We believe out of art comes understanding, compassion, and empathy for all involved in grief. Grief Dialogues was created by Elizabeth Coplan, Emma is a contributor.
You and your donation help more people look at their grief through a creative lens. We encourage you to designate your donation to the Grief Dialogues program or project that speaks to you directly.
It’s because of you that we create the podcasts, write and produce plays and films, and most importantly, share your stories, poetry, art, and music. Hopefully this work provides you the confirmation you are not alone in your grief and the satisfaction that you are expanding this supportive community.
Brave Spacebegan when I began to write my personal truths openly for an audience. I stepped into a Brave Space I had to create for myself. Now Brave Space exists to support and encourage the female+ voice. By this I mean to include trans females and AFAB (assigned female at birth) trans males, non-binary and non-gender conforming individuals. In 2022, it is still incredibly necessary for women+ to have a space of our own. Brave Space is that and so much more. Brave Space is a purposefully anti-racist space where each individual is honored for their own voice.
Emma is produced on 4 continents, their work has been seen at Golden Thread, WP Theatre, New Georges, UNESCO’s City of Literature Festival in Dunedin (NZ), EST/LA, Dixon Place, The Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival, The New Ohio, Manhattan Theatre Source, All Out Arts at CSV, Circle Rep Lab, Guild Hall, New Circle Theatre Co, The Bernie Wohl Center, The Chain, The Wild Project, Capital Fringe, Alumnae Theatre Toronto, Short + Sweet Gold Coast and Sydney (AU), Seoul, Sasebo, Renegade N.O.W. Festival, The Loft at Marble Collegiate Church, Astoria First Presbyterian’s Brown Tree Theatre, Union Theological Seminary, The Museum of Jewish Heritage, Yiddishe Folksbiene Theatre, Greenbriar Valley Theatre, Canal Cafe Theatre (London), Camilla’s, The Culture Project, and others.
Emma is published by Brooklyn Publishers, Smith Scripts (UK), Next Stage Press, Smith & Kraus and Applause.
They earned an MFA from University of Iowa where they received the Norman Felton Fellowship and won the Richard Maibaum Award for plays addressing social justice for Antigone’s Sister and received a Jane Chambers Award for Perfect Women. Residencies at Millay Colony for the Arts, Ragdale and twice at WordBridge where they returned a third year as a dramaturg. Emma has taught and been a dramaturg at the Great Plains Theatre Conference (2015, 2016). Emma was the Resident Dramaturg at 29th Street Playwrights Collective where they ran the Write Now Workshop from 2015 – 2021.
Emma created and runs the global Zoom offering http://www.BraveSpace.online for all kinds of creatives. Member: Honor Roll!, LPTW, LMDA and the Dramatists Guild.
Pilot Episode: First Online With Fran with Angelina Fiordellisi
On November 19th, 2012 First Online With Fran featured Artistic Director and founder of the Cherry Lane Theatre, Angelina Fiordellisi. Listen to her reflect on the work at the Cherry Lane Theatre, most notably the 2013 Mentor Project, among others, and how they contribute to cultivating an urban artist colony, honor its ground-breaking heritage, create theater that illuminates contemporary issues and transforms the human spirit.
Click here for more info.
First Online with Fran 
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