SAG-AFTRA Conservatory - Surviving the Actor's Journey: Finding Mental Health in an Uncertain Business

Join us April 24 for our Chicago Local virtual Conservatory - Surviving the Actor's Journey: Finding Mental Health in an Uncertain Business, as we gather together to identify the tools you need to ditch the anxiety and reclaim the joy in your acting pursuits. We will be joined by a host of experts, both peer and clinical professionals alike, including:

• Actor and educator Michael Kostroff, who will take us through some entertaining and enlightening concepts from his course/book Audition Psych 101.
• Elizabeth Clare (Chicago Local member and Ally Advocate at NoStigmas, a mental health non-profit) who will provide some resources on how to set boundaries and how to be an ally for your fellow actor's having a rough time.
• Fizzah Zaidi (licensed clinical therapist)
• Dr. Jason Washburn (Director of Clinical Psychology, Northwestern Hospital) who will help us navigate all the tough questions, and point us to where to get additional support when it's needed.

About:
Michael Kostroff
Kostroff is an established stage and television actor best known for his five seasons on HBO’s The Wire and a long list of appearances on shows including Billions, The Blacklist, NCIS and Law & Order: SVU. He toured with The Producers and Les Misérables and has starred at regional theaters all over the US. He’s a teacher, author, audition coach, former Backstage advice columnist, and the creator of Audition Psych 101, which is an online course on the psychological side of the audition process. Books by Kostroff include Letters from Backstage, Audition Psych 101, and the recently-published The Stage Actor’s Handbook: Traditions, Protocols, and Etiquette for the Working and Aspiring Professional (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), which was listed as one of Playbill.com’s 12 must-read books.

Elizabeth Clare
Clare is an actor and musician based in Chicago and Los Angeles. Her background as a jazz musician lends itself to her work as an on-camera talent, scoring her multiple national commercial spots as well as her recent focus on TV/film roles.  She is also a mental health advocate, having created core programming with NoStigmas (a local non-profit) that includes general education as well as trauma-focused training. As a survivor of intimate partner violence, she understands how peer support from a lived experience perspective can support living in recovery. Claire connects this to the entertainment industry with her work as an intimacy coordinator to help tell stories responsibly. Claire loves baking, adores cats, and holds a 1st Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo.

Fizzah Zaidi
Fizzah Zaidi, LCPC, is a Chicago-based psychotherapist who is trained in EMDR and CCSP-ADHD certified. She specializes in working with adults with ADHD to identify and treat their comorbidities and trauma. Psychology is her second career after spending several years in traditional animation, where she worked on independent cartoons, Sesame Street games and commercials for General Mills and Hasbro. Fizzah uses behavioral and existential perspectives to advocate for breaking cultural and societal stigmas around mental health. She focuses on learning unique patterns in human development to collaborate with compassion and honor the authentic selves of her patients, as well as constantly working to improve her competencies in other modalities and theories. For more information, visit her website at www.fzpsychotherapy.com.

Dr. Jason Washburn
Dr. Washburn is Director of Clinical Psychology at Northwestern Hospital, whose overarching interests include science-based practice, practice-based clinical research, and education and training in Health Service Psychology. His clinical interests include psychodiagnostic, personality, and neurodevelopmental (ADHD, Learning Disorders) assessment. His research interests include nonsuicidal self-injury, suicide, and the implementation of psychological practices, including digital mental health.

RSVP: Reservations are required. Please complete the form below to RSVP; you must be logged in to RSVP. 

This event is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA Chicago Local members in good standing (paid thru April 30, 2023). No guests are allowed. Parents/guardians of performers under 18 years old are welcome.

ADA requests may be included on your RSVP form below. Please note that ADA requests must be received 48 business hours before the start of the event.