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Artist Roundup: 1st Edition

Writer: Hunter Mikles
Hunter Mikles
Aug 14, 2020
4 min read

The resilience of those in the performance community is astounding. In a time where our industry is down for the foreseeable future, I'm constantly seeing performers expanding into new projects, podcasts, businesses, passions, and side hustles that are now becoming full-time hustles. For me, at least, I sometimes lose track of all the things I'm wanting to support in the onslaught of daily information that we get from the world every day. I wanted to gather some of those in one place so that you, perhaps a fellow performer, might be able to support others in our community. Think: artists helping artists. In no particular order, here are five pretty cool things I think you should check out being done by some pretty cool people.

COLLECTIVE: THE STRALLEN COLLECTIVE - Summer Strallen


As an unemployed performer myself, I can tell you that trying to navigate the world of online classes is stressful. Who do I take from? What's a good class for my money (that I don't have)? Where am I even going to dance without kicking over a lamp? Not only does The Strallen Collective offer online classes with an impressive roster of artists, it also has the Strallen Sanctuary, focusing on self discovery and practicing physical & mental awareness towards a more balanced and healthy life. We can all agree that is so important these days. Here's an excerpt from the TSC website:


The Strallen Collective was born during the 2020 Pandemicwhen Summer Strallen, our founder,

was quarantined in an apartment in Manhattan, having had a job she was meant to

start, off Broadway, cancelled. Summer was aware that all of her colleagues and friends were

in the same predicament and was concerned to see that a lot of these highly skilled and experienced

people were asking for donations to give classes online. Summer knows first hand how hard it is

for creatives and wellness experts to value themselves, the work they do and the wisdom they have to offer

and felt she had to do something to help guide this new ‘online class’ industry that was inevitably

going to grow, to be fair and just to the ‘workers’ involved in it. 



You can find out more about The Strallen Collective and booking on their Instagram and website, and more about its founder Summer Strallen on her instagram, here.


PODCAST: THE SWIFT CHAT - Alex Swift

This is one of my favorite new Podcasts! I'll be honest, I had never reeeeeeally gotten into the podcast thing. However, Alex keeps it real and his episodes are easy to listen to, the perfect length, and hits the nail on the head of what we're all feeling (especially this episode on being an adult!). He covers pop culture, to politics, to relationships, all told through the perspective of a biracial millennial who's just trying to figure it all out. You can check him out and find out more about The Swift Chat on his Instagram.


NEWSLETTER: ECO-LETTER - Kelsey Walsh

This newsletter was created by my friend Kelsey Walsh, who I was lucky enough to be partnered with on the Dirty Dancing national tour a few years ago. She is currently based in Austin, TX, but her newsletter reaches far beyond with an emphasis on a more planet friendly lifestyle. The *FREE* weekly Eco-Letter will help you reduce your waste, shop consciously, and most importantly eliminate toxic products that are harmful for you and the planet.

You can find out more about her and how to simplify your eco-journey here, as well as the Eco-Letter Instagram.

Find more on Kelsey on her Instagram, @kelsey_walsh.

BEADING BIZ: COBEAD_19 - Brooke Averi


Brooke is a dear friend mine and one of my very first roommates in New York City, and in a non-Covid world, a Radio City Rockette and musical theatre performer. She started beading as a way to raise money for Black Lives Matter and give people the opportunity to show their support on their wrist. She chose Broadway For Racial Justice as the organization she would donate to, as a way to also support the theater community. After posting what she made on Instagram, she had 34 orders in the first day and had made and shipped 50 mask chains in the first week and a half. As an unemployed artist, she transitioned to for-profit to cover cost of materials and shipping, however, all BLM order proceeds are still donated. All orders are custom, and include mask chains, necklaces, bracelets, and anklets.

You can find more about Brooke on her Instagram, and more about CoBead_19 on its Instagram here.


BRANDING: HUSTLE BY TRSK - Katy Kauffman


With a mission to reinvent the art of the hustle, Hustle by TRSK provides services and programs to up your game in the ever-evolving digital age. Offering one-on-one consulting, Katy Kauffman can help strategize how to build your brand as an artist and entrepreneur, set up a business plan, set goals, upgrade your social & website, and LOTS more. Katy just relaunched this Friday, August 14th with an all new educational hub called HUSTLEU that includes courses available for purchase. If you'd like to know more about hustle by TRSK, you can find more information on the brand new website here. It is highly informative, so I recommend checking it out for yourself. Hustle by TRSK has an Instagram that you can also follow, and if you'd like to know more about its founder, Katy Kauffman, you can find her Instagram here.



And of course, if you are reading this, you probably understand that the arts are such a vital part of our world and need all the support they can get right now. Consider that any donations to organizations like The Actor's Fund go such a long way towards helping artists weather this pandemic.


Much love, and happy supporting!


HM



 
 
 

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