THE PERFORMERS
Here are the ten comedians, musicians, poets, and storytellers performing in All The Feels on October 3rd..
ANNE BARLIEB
Anne medically retired from the Army after 14 years of service as an Aviation and Psychological Operations Officer. In retirement, she mentors service members and their families using experience-based story-sharing to help them navigate the medical board process and challenges, including trauma, transitions, and minor turbulence. Since surviving a suicide attempt, she learned to surrender to, accept, and cooperate with her medical conditions affecting her nervous system and hormones, and likes sharing what she's learned and learning from like-minded people in the community.
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TOPHER BELLAVIA
Topher is an actor who could not remember two lines of dialogue in a row, thus thrusting him into the world of improv for the last 25 years. He has taught thousands of students, coached hundreds of teams and facilitated dozens of corporate workshops. Improv saved his life during the darkest times of his battle with Bipolar and it helps keeps him from remission every day. Since his diagnosis, he openly shares his process, experience, and knowledge to make others with mental health challenges feel less alone.
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CAROLIVIA HERRON
Carolivia is an African American Jewish author and educator currently a professor at Howard University. Her work focuses on the epic literary genre and DC and and she is best known for her children’s book, Nappy Hair. Her current novel in press, Asenath and Our Song of Songs, is a creative transformation of her experience of multiple personality disorder while holding a professorial appointment at Harvard University. Carolivia is the host of the radio show, Epic City, on WOWD-LP Takoma Park and is excited to share her creative works celebrating her successful healing from mental illness.
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MIKALA JAMISON
Mikala is a writer and storyteller who has written for publications like The Atlantic, New York magazine, and Washington City Paper and performed in shows around D.C. including Story District, Health's Angels, Smut Slam, and Perfect Liar's Club. She's currently writing an essay collection about body image. She says, "The 20-year-old version of me would have found All The Feels helpful. The more I hear other people discuss their anxiety, the less it scares me, and I want to contribute to that conversation."
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ANDY MALECKI
Andy is an IT security analyst and recently minted stand up comic. As a 14 year Army veteran, Andy made a career of turning mental illness into usable skills. When he's not on stage, you can find him trying to convince people that the robot uprising isn't really a thing, and computers are here to help us. He's found that talking openly to other people about his challenges has helped immensely, but that didn't come until he saw other veterans talk about theirs openly and honestly. He hopes to do the same for others.
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DAMON MODARRES
Damon is a singer / songwriter who struggles with major depressive disorder. He found his passion for music two years ago and discovered that, not only did he want to make a career out of it, but also that he could use it as a coping tool to deal with the demons of his past and to provide an outlet for listeners. Damon has a more-than-poor relationship with his family and often with himself. With the support of his friends, he is excited to share his experiences with mental health and to connect with others who may be going through similar experiences.
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MADDOX PENNINGTON
Maddox is a nonbinary writer, comedian, and author of A Girl Walks Into a Book: What the Brontës Taught Me About Life, Love, and Women’s Work. When they're not teaching college writing, they perform comedy all over the DMV including the DC Drafthouse, DC Arts Center, Busboys and Poets, and many of DC’s finest dive bars.
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DOMINIC RIVERA
Dominic is a New Jersey born and D.C. based comedian. He's opened for Patton Oswalt, Andy Kindler and performed at The Kennedy Center, DC Improv and the Underground Comedy Festival. A father, husband, anxiety sufferer and comic, he shares life stories about family, mental health and the impacts it has on the world around him. He is excited to participate in All The Feels to show others it’s okay to share your truth.
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SAM ROBOTHAM
Sam is a DC-based playwright, screenwriter, improviser, and comedian hailing from Norfolk, Virginia so a mix of positive southern ideals and northern sensibilities. He has written a handful of screenplays and stage plays, been featured in the Barn Arts Collective’s BarnFest, and as a semi-finalist in Scrapp Mettle Arts Emerging Playwright’s Program. Living with mental illness, he has learned that one of the most helpful ways to cope is to share our stories, and, in fact, only learned about some treatments because others were willing to share. He feels obligated to do the same in the hopes it may help someone.
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C. THOMAS
C. is a writer and performance artist based in DC who weaves his emotions into accessible works of art, at performances including, Studio 2001 Art Gallery, Angelina College, Howard University, Prince George's Community College, and Journey of Faith United Methodist Church. C. was named a Pioneer of Poetry by the National Underground Spoken Word Poetry Awards in 2015. An unapologetic voice for social change, C. uses art to advocate for organizations such as Child Abuse Prevention Awareness, Black Lives Matter, Same Gender Loving and the LGBT community, of which he is proud to be a part. Being diagnosed with Bipolar Depression and coming from a black family, he found little to no support so hopes to reach those experiencing - or know someone experiencing - challenges so they know there is another side to the rainbow.
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