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Join us as we talk to the team behind "One Woman Hamlet":



Kate Marie Smith; Performer/Hamlet/ Writer/Creator/Producer/Composer/ Puppeteer. 


Like so many others, Kate has had an intense journey with her own mental health and has lost many friends to suicide and depression. All of this inspired her to create One Woman Hamlet, a show that inspires conversation and education surrounding mental health. Her hope is that people can better understand their own mental health and find the same peace and freedom she has found.


Kate is an award-winning performer and producer in Chicago. You may have seen her most recently in Chicago Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew, or in the acclaimed indie film Jack and Anna. For five years, Kate also acted as the community outreach coordinator and ensemble member for the theater company One Year Chekhov. Outside of her life as a creative though, Kate is also a trauma-sensitive trained yoga teacher. She has been privileged enough to use this training to teach trauma-sensitive prenatal yoga in Cook County Jail through Yoga For Recovery, and to educate teachers in their 200 hour level certification on the importance of trauma sensitivity in the world of yoga. For the past four years Kate has worked on developing One Woman Hamlet in conjunction with her own journey around depression and anxiety. It was created alongside Hope For The Day and with the support and advice of professional mental health counselors. Kate has over 200 hours of extended and certified mental health education, and she is currently working on a community to support creativity in those dealing with mental health struggles. Stay current with Kate on her website www.onewomanhamlet.com.


Kseni Avonavi; Director For The Screen. 


Kseni Avonavi is an award-winning film director, screenwriter and producer, based in Chicago. Originally from Russia, she has dreamed of being a filmmaker since her childhood and began to write short stories in her teen years. Kseni attended The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography a.k.a. VGIK and while a student worked on Russian TV shows for several years. After graduating from Moscow Film School, she continued to work on TV shows and made three independent projects as a film producer and director. Later Kseni applied to several Master of Fine Arts programs in the US and Canada. She chose Columbia College in Chicago where she received a Full Tuition Award and in 2016 Kseni began Columbia’s MFA program. There she worked as a teaching assistant and had her internship on the set of Widows directed by Academy Award-winning Steve McQueen. Kseni’s latest television experience was working as an assistant in the location department on Chicago Med TV Series. She’s currently developing a feature screenplay with her co-writer, Savannah Oakes.


Kseni’s films have been screened at a multitude of film festivals around the globe where she has won quite a few awards. Inspired by her own experience, Kseni is interested in stories that show human strength and willpower. Kseni is a recipient of the The Albert P. Weisman Award, Carole Fielding Student Grant and The Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation Grant. She is also a recipient of The Lya Dym Rosenblum Professional Development Award. Her thesis film Jack and Anna screened at 40+ festivals. It won the Best Global Short: Beyond the Rainbow Award at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival. It was an official selection of the Academy Award®-qualifying 28th St. Louis Film Festival, the Academy Award®-qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Festival and the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival. Kseni was also nominated for the Young Director Award 2020 at the Cannes Lions.


Website:https://www.kavonavi.com/


Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ksenia.ivanova.1313/


Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/k_avonavi/?hl=en


Instagram J&A: https://www.instagram.com/officialjackandanna/?hl=en


Facebook J&A: https://www.facebook.com/jackandannafilm


Ayesha Abouelazm; Director For The Screen


Ayesha Abouelazm is a 2017 Columbia College Graduate in Cinema Directing. Currently, she teaches film production and directing courses at Loyola University Chicago. She has written and directed many short films. This includes Love Is A Gray Area (2016), Utterance (2016), The Girl in the Blue Bra (2017) Not On My Shoulders (2017) and Otherwise a Woman (2019). Ayesha gravitates towards stories that are controversial, that focus on underdogs and stories that unveil issues in which most people are afraid to talk about. The Girl in the Blue Bra is one of her more personal works and has been shown in over 25 film festivals so far, where it won “Joint Best North American Short” at the Asia South East Film Festival and best long-short film and the Kinodrome Film Festival. She is currently working on a feature length version of her award-winning short.


https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayesha-abouelazm-27103711b


https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9067308/


https://www.thegirlinthebluebramovie.com


Brian Naughton; Director of Photography/ Editor/VFX/Sound Designer


Brian Naughton is a Chicago based filmmaker who collaborates with other independent artists to tell unique and compelling stories. He has worked in commercials, sports media, documentary, and narrative film.


Brian believes that the collaborative aspect of filmmaking is what makes the artform so powerful. It allows an idea to grow and become so much greater than the sum of its parts and everyone involved has ownership of it.


Brian is an award winning director whose last short film, What Goes Up, had a successful festival run as an official selection in 16 festivals garnering 16 nominations and winning 9 awards.Brian holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing from DePaul University. His thesis film, Making Beethoven Proud, is preparing for it’s festival run in 2021.


Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianNaughton5


Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bnaught5/


LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-naughton-84810225/


IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6306177/?ref_=ttfc_fc_dr1


Website: https://briannaughton89.wixsite.com/briannaughton


National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1–800–273–TALK (1-800-273-8255)

This is a crisis hotline that can help with many issues, not just suicide. For example, anyone who feels sad, hopeless, or suicidal; family and friends who are concerned about a loved one; or anyone interested in mental health treatment referrals can call the Lifeline. Callers are connected with a professional nearby who will talk with them about what they are feeling or concerns for other family and friends. Call the toll-free Lifeline, 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. They have Spanish speakers available, as well as an option to text.


Here is the information on where to donate: 

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/donate/