SYNOPSIS
This expert panel of teachers and performers will explore various meditation techniques and provide information on the many benefits of adopting a regular practice. We will detail the specific ways in which meditation techniques can be used to address many of the issues that performers face including nerves, physical and mental stamina, depression, performance anxiety, mental clarity, physical health, left brain/right brain dynamics and clearing space for creativity among others. Please join us for this insightful and fun-filled discussion.
PANELISTS BIOS
Emily Fletcher, vedic meditation teacher, former actor/dancer
Emily is the founder of Ziva Meditation and the creator of zivaMIND, the world’s first online meditation training. Ziva’s mission is to make meditation attractive and accessible to modern people who are ready to up-level their performance and their lives. Emily has been featured in The New York Times, Elle, Women's Health and named top 100 women in wellness to watch and is regarded as one of the leading experts in meditation. Companies like Google, Barclays Bank, sweetgreen, & Viacom have invited her to help up-level company performance through meditation. She began her nine years of training in Rishikesh, India and was inspired to teach after experiencing the profound physical and mental benefits meditation provided her during her 10-year career on Broadway, which included roles in Chicago, The Producers & A Chorus Line. Emily has been invited to speak at Harvard Business School, Bulletproof Biohacking Conference, A Fest, The Omega Center and the Global Alliance for Transformational Entertainment with Eckhart Tolle. She has taught over 1,500 people to become self-sufficient meditators.
Barrett Foa, meditator, actor
Barret is best known to TV audiences as series regular tech geek Eric Beale on “NCIS: Los Angeles.” TV: “Entourage", “NCIS”, “The Closer”, “Numb3rs”, "Six Degrees”. Last summer, Barrett starred in the smash hit off-Broadway one-man comedy, Buyer & Cellar. Prior to moving to LA, Foa starred on Broadway in the Tony-winning musicals Avenue Q, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Mamma Mia!, and played Jesus in the 30th anniversary off-Broadway production of Godspell. Other NY theatre: Playwrights Horizons, The Public, New York Theatre Workshop, Roundabout, and his solo show at The Duplex and Ars Nova. Regional: Connecticut Rep, Paper Mill, Bay Street, Hartford Stage / The Shakespeare Theatre Co., D.C., TheatreWorks in CA, The Muny, North Shore MT, Pittsburgh CLO, MT Wichita, Weston Playhouse, and Maine State MT. Foa starred and co-wrote/produced For The Record: John Hughes at Rockwell in LA. Born and raised in New York City, Foa graduated from The Dalton School in Manhattan, attended Interlochen Arts Camp for four summers, studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, and received his BFA in musical theatre from The University of Michigan. Foa was the on-air backstage host and social media correspondent for the 2013 and 2014 Tony Awards on CBS.
Bradley Raider, vedic meditation teacher, actor, director, producer
Brad's work as a teacher, filmmaker, and theatre artist is rooted in a deep fascination with consciousness expansion and its practical integration with daily life and creativity. Having traveled with and trained as protégé to pre-eminent master of Vedic knowledge, Maharishi Vyasananda (aka Thom Knoles), Brad has practiced and studied the subtle art and science of meditation for the last ten years. He's founder and executive director of MDT8, a global community whose mission is to offer meditation to individuals and companies -- many of whom work in the film industry. Raider graduated from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where he trained as an actor at the Circle in the Square Theatre School, the Experimental Theatre Wing, and with Anne Bogart’s SITI Company. A veteran of over 50 stage productions including a one-man-show about the life and films of Frank Capra, he now serves as co-artistic director of RED DOG SQUADRON, a Los Angeles based theatre company he founded with fellow ETW alum James Roday in 2002. His film and television credits include starring roles on several short-lived series, network pilots, independent features, and the title role in the cable movie, Spring Break Lawyer. His feature film directorial debut, Kensho at the Bedfellow, an existential drama about a guy in NYC searching for fulfillment in all the wrong places, is currently on the festival circuit and features meditators in the cast, crew, and investment team.
Ryan Weiss, kundalini meditation teacher, former actor
Ryan speaks at worldwide events about Spiritual Practice, Relationships and Creativity in a modern world and the blend between Meditation and Technology. His passion inspires thousands of people who wake up to his daily morning emails - Waking Up With Ryan. Ryan speaks weekly at the brand new Wanderlust Hollywood and has a bustling Life Coaching practice.
Moderator - Woody Schultz
Woody is an actor, producer, writer and President/Partner of Winning Swimmer Productions. He has been an actor for over 20 years and has worked extensively in the field of performance capture in films such as The Polar Express, Monster House, Beowulf, Avatar and The Adventures Of Tintin: Secret Of The Unicorn for such acclaimed directors as Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and James Cameron.
He is a member of the International Motion Capture Society and founded and currently serves as the National Chair of the SAG Performance Capture Committee. He has shared his knowledge of performance capture with audiences across the United States and Europe, creating and participating in panels for AFI, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Variety, BAFTA, The FMX Conference on Animation, Games and Transmedia, the SAG Conservatory, The Young Actors' Theatre Camp, and The Actors' Network. He proudly serves his fellow members of SAG-AFTRA as both a national and local board member and through his extensive work on numerous national and local committees. Additionally, Woody has been a producer of the SAG Awards since 2012 and with his company, Winning Swimmer Productions, has produced several short films and documentaries including the multiple award winning comedy DIRTY MARY, coming of age comedy SHABBATT DINNER and the meditation documentary INSIDE OUT which opened the 2008 Elevate Film Festival. During his nearly 25 years of entertainment production he has worked in film, network and cable television, commercials, music videos, and web series, as well as numerous live music and theatrical events for a variety of companies including Comedy Central, CBS, HBO, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros., Fox, Turner and Universal.
LIVESTREAM & ARCHIVE
To watch the panel you DO NOT have to log into our website. Just go to http://sagaftra.foundation/livestream/.
Email questions to livestream@sagfoundation.org or tweet to #SAF. Please DO NOT RSVP if you will be watching the live stream of this event.
Only RSVP if you want to attend this event in person. Video will be archived after the event at http://sagaftra.foundation/video-gallery/.
If you would like to attend this event in person you must RSVP as seats are limited.
