INTERVIEW: Broadstream platform celebrates diversity
Image courtesy of Broadstream / Provided by Matt Ross PR with permission.
The new online platform called Broadstream recently premiered an initial slate of programming with 75 original content pieces. They are free for the user to enjoy and celebrate diverse voices, in particular those who identify as BIPOC and LGBTQIA+, according to a press release. Some of the new programs include Living for the Next Generation with Sis from Oklahoma!, Game Night with Eden Espinosa and Kamilah Marshall, and The Inbetween with Broadway performer Erika Henningsen. Other shows include Soul(Signs): An ASL Playlist and music from Britton Smith & The Sting, among many others.
“We had always wanted to find a way to support artists that felt really natural and supportive,” said Broadstream Chief Executive Officer and Chief Creative Officer Cori Silberman-Sais, who works alongside Broadstream founder Jana Shea. “We have some of the best artists in the world, best performers and brilliant minds.”
Broadstream endeavors to help artists, especially those from the theater world, find an audience during those times when they are not committed to a big show in Midtown Manhattan or out on tour across the country. Silberman-Sais said the ideas behind Broadstream have been formulating for quite some time.
“Broadstream … is a streaming platform for arts content and arts-related content really focused on four key things, and that’s accessibility, inclusivity, diversity and equity,” Silberman-Sais said. “And from the beginning, we’ve always said that arts are a right and not a privilege, and so few organizations, arts companies, streamers, anything look at it as a responsibility of people to make things that people can watch and not have a barrier to entry — where you live, how old you are, how much money you make, what color you are, who you love.”
Silberman-Sais mentioned how arts are sometimes pulled from school programs and curricula, and some children don’t have easy access to music classes, dance classes, visual arts classes or even writing opportunities. Broadstream tries to address this by building a space that allows a variety of voices to create content and find an audience, and the user never has to pay money.
“We wanted to really try and build a home that can speak to audiences that are not being served by a lot of the traditional streamers, speak to audiences that have something to say, speak to audiences about how art meets the moment,” the CEO said. “What is going on today, and how do we represent it, and how do we speak about it — and do it in a way where I’m not asking a 16-year-old to find another $20 to pay for it. And that’s kind of how this all came about. How do we serve young people? How do we serve artists? How do we serve people who want curated, awesomely cool content that they’re not finding anywhere else? And then let’s make it, and then let’s build it even larger and invite more people in. That’s kind of how it came about. It’s been a great joy to build this, it truly has.”
Silberman-Sais has many favorites that are part of the platform’s initial offerings. One of them is Soul(Signs): An ASL Playlist, which is a series of music videos conceived by Brandon Kazen-Maddox and the Up Until Now Collective. The project will eventually become 10 songs, all by Black women, that are reimagined as American Sign Language music videos. Audiences can enjoy three of them right now: “Don’t Let Me be Misunderstood,” “What’s Love Got To Do With It” and “Midnight Train To Georgia.”
“And the team up at Up Until Now Collective, who did this partnership with us, really built something that is emotionally evocative, really exciting, really fun, beautiful, and just looks at music and art and the relationship between the hearing and those who are not hearing or hard of hearing in a really stunning way, and that to me has been one of those kind of things that gives you chills every time you watch it,” Silberman-Sais said. “That’s been a really exciting one.”
There’s also a lot excitement for Sis’ Living for the Next Generation, billed as a conversation show in which Sis, a performer from the recent revival of Oklahoma!, talks about everything from identity to resilience to beauty.
“She’s incredible,” Silberman-Sais said. “She’s this incredible activist and artist, Black trans woman who is doing a couple things with us, but one of the things currently on the platform is a series of interviews that she has with other trans artists about their experiences. How do you live in the world today? It’s called Living for the Next Generation, and it’s a really stunning portrait of people that I think is really exciting.”
Game Night has the feel of a Broadway after-party, and The Inbetween finds Henningsen interviewing women in the industry, including recent Tony winner Adrienne Warren. “[Henningsen] really wanted to dive in and talk to women and people surrounding the arts about what their experience has been,” Silberman-Sais said. “They’re really candid, really honest, really incredibly focused conversations with a wide variety of people, and they’re really stunning and kind of shocking when you watch them initially because they really don’t hold back in any way, shape or form.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
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