Beyond the Screen with OTV

Lesson 10: Set the Table, Keep the Faith w/ McKenzie Chinn

The Faith in Community How can we set the table for a community that invites everyone to share in the vision of a brighter future? In this episode of Beyond the Screen: OTV’s 10-Year Legacy, hosts Elijah McKinnon and Dr. AJ Escoffery sit down with McKenzie Chinn to reflect on faith as a daily practice in community. From ethical, care-centered sets to boundary-setting inside artist support programs, they explore how love, trust, and intention make space for everyone to show up fully. When resources are limited and needs are high, what does it look like to set fewer seats, serve a nourishing meal, and then build another table so more can eat well? Mentioned in this episode: A Real One [https://watch.weareo.tv/videos/a-real-one] by McKenzie Chinn Credits: Beyond the Screen: OTV’s 10-Year Legacy is hosted by Elijah McKinnon and Dr. AJ Escoffery. Executive Produced by OTV. Produced by Tribble at Ask Tribble, Inc. and Respair Media. Associate Producers: Rasheed Peters and Stefanie Wong. Theme music: The Secret Life of Dandelions by Roy Kinsey feat. J.A. Grimms + Edith Yokley Special Guest: McKenzie Chinn is a writer, director, actor, and educator whose work centers Black women’s interior lives, fierce love, and community care. Her practice advances ethical production and healing-forward storytelling as tools for collective transformation. Learn more about OTV at https://www.weareo.tv/ Support the Vision: This audio series is powered by our community and generous supporters: the MacArthur Foundation, Pop Culture Collaborative, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Kashif Incubator, Twenty43 Ventures, Illinois Arts Council Agency, and DCASE. Together, we’re shaping the future of unfiltered storytelling. Keep the vision alive and donate today at https://www.weareo.tv/donate [https://www.weareo.tv/donate]

Lesson 9: Call In, Keep Going w/ Kyra Jones

The Recommitment to Community (Returning to Fellowship) In what ways can we recommit to the spaces and relationships that strengthen our community? In this episode of Beyond the Screen: OTV’s 10-Year Legacy, hosts Elijah McKinnon and Dr. AJ Escoffery sit down with Kyra Jones to talk about recommitting to community through accountability, care, and values-driven storytelling. From calling in Chicago institutions with love and rigor to bringing survivor-centered narratives to network TV, they explore how we return to fellowship when things get messy, and how optimism, humor, and integrity keep the work moving. Mentioned in this episode: Jade [https://watch.weareo.tv/jade] by Kyra Jones Credits: Beyond the Screen: OTV’s 10-Year Legacy is hosted by Elijah McKinnon and Dr. AJ Escoffery. Executive Produced by OTV. Produced by Tribble at Ask Tribble, Inc. and Respair Media. Associate Producers: Rasheed Peters and Stefanie Wong. Theme music: The Secret Life of Dandelions by Roy Kinsey feat. J.A. Grimms + Edith Yokley Special Guest: Kyra Jones is a screenwriter, actor, and educator currently located in LA. She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Theatre and Gender Studies. She is the co-creator and star of the award-winning OTV web series, The Right Swipe. Other writing and acting credits include: Woke (Hulu), Queens (ABC), Empire (Fox), Chicago Justice (NBC), The Chi (Showtime), and Seeds (OTV). Learn more about OTV at https://www.weareo.tv/ Support the Vision: This audio series is powered by our community and generous supporters: the MacArthur Foundation, Pop Culture Collaborative, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Kashif Incubator, Twenty43 Ventures, Illinois Arts Council Agency, and DCASE. Together, we’re shaping the future of unfiltered storytelling. Keep the vision alive and donate today at https://www.weareo.tv/donate [https://www.weareo.tv/donate]

Lesson 8: Give Them the Keys w/ Céline Tshika

The Mobilization of Community (Moving Into the House) How can we mobilize the collective power of community to build something greater than ourselves? In this episode of Beyond the Screen: OTV’s 10-Year Legacy, hosts Elijah McKinnon and Dr. AJ Escoffery sit down with Céline Tshika to explore how humor, honesty, and courage can activate real change. From her start in OTV’s Brave Futures: South Africa to her viral musical comedies, Céline reflects on the joy and vulnerability that come with being seen — and how creative communities can become movements when we hand each other the keys. Mentioned in this episode: Cape Town Royalty Programme [https://watch.weareo.tv/videos/cape-town-royalty-programme] by Céline Tshika Credits: Beyond the Screen: OTV’s 10-Year Legacy is hosted by Elijah McKinnon and Dr. AJ Escoffery. Executive Produced by OTV. Produced by Tribble at Ask Tribble, Inc. and Respair Media. Associate Producers: Rasheed Peters and Stefanie Wong. Theme music: The Secret Life of Dandelions by Roy Kinsey feat. J.A. Grimms + Edith Yokley. Special Guest: Céline Tshika is a DRC-born, South Africa-raised actor, comedian, and filmmaker based in Cape Town. After an Engineering “degree for the parents,” she studied Acting for Film in Los Angeles and created and starred in a web series ‘Jess Goes West’ about being an African in LA. She is known for her satirical sketches, social media content and stand-up comedy. From catchy comedic music, to being staffed in writers rooms and cast in local television, Céline’s creativity [and browser tabs] are limitless. Learn more about OTV at https://www.weareo.tv/ Support the Vision: This audio series is powered by our community and generous supporters: the MacArthur Foundation, Pop Culture Collaborative, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Kashif Incubator, Twenty43 Ventures, Illinois Arts Council Agency, and DCASE. Together, we’re shaping the future of unfiltered storytelling. Keep the vision alive and donate today at https://www.weareo.tv/donate [https://www.weareo.tv/donate]

Lesson 7: Infrastructure Is Intimacy w/ Dante Ureta

The Resourcing of Community (The House is Built) What resources does your community need to thrive and support its members? In this episode of Beyond the Screen: OTV’s 10-Year Legacy, hosts Elijah McKinnon and Dr. AJ Escoffery sit down with Dante Ureta to unpack what it really takes to resource a creative community. From funding models to mutual care, they explore how intersectional storytellers can sustain their work (and one another) for the long haul. Mentioned in this episode: De Hombres Hemos De Morir [https://watch.weareo.tv/videos/dehombreshemosdemorir] by Dante Ureta Credits: Beyond the Screen: OTV’s 10-Year Legacy is hosted by Elijah McKinnon and Dr. AJ Escoffery. Executive Produced by OTV. Produced by Tribble at Ask Tribble, Inc. and Respair Media. Associate Producers: Rasheed Peters and Stefanie Wong. Theme music: The Secret Life of Dandelions by Roy Kinsey feat. J.A. Grimms + Edith Yokley Special Guest: Dante Ureta is a Mexican filmmaker and storyteler whose work blends documentary, fiction, and narrative practices to explore trans identities and social justice. His short films and documentaries center queer and dissident experiences, while his background in psychology informs his colaborative and intimate approach to storyteling. Learn more about OTV at https://www.weareo.tv/ Support the Vision: This audio series is powered by our community and generous supporters: the MacArthur Foundation, Pop Culture Collaborative, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Kashif Incubator, Twenty43 Ventures, Illinois Arts Council Agency, and DCASE. Together, we’re shaping the future of unfiltered storytelling. Keep the vision alive and donate today at https://www.weareo.tv/donate

Lesson 6: Make the Work, Don’t Wait for Permission w/ Ricardo Gamboa

The Defining of Community (Cultivating the Architecture) How do we design a community that reflects the values and voices of all its members? In this episode of Beyond the Screen: OTV’s 10-Year Legacy, hosts Elijah McKinnon and Dr. AJ Escoffery are joined by Ricardo Gamboa (writer, director, and creator of BRUJOS) to talk about the courage it takes to create work that tells the truth. Together, they unpack the politics of permission, community accountability, and what it means to build radical art movements from the ground up. Mentioned in this episode: Brujos [https://watch.weareo.tv/brujos] by Ricardo Gamboa Credits: Beyond the Screen: OTV’s 10-Year Legacy is hosted by Elijah McKinnon and Dr. AJ Escoffery. Executive Produced by OTV. Produced by Tribble at Ask Tribble, Inc. and Respair Media. Associate Producers: Rasheed Peters and Stefanie Wong. Theme music: The Secret Life of Dandelions by Roy Kinsey feat. J.A. Grimms + Edith Yokley Special Guest: Ricardo Gamboa (they/them), PhD, is an award-winning artist, activist, and scholar based in their native Chicago. For over 20 years, Gamboa has created art, media, and theater that is radically produced, presented, and politicized, and aims to provide radical pedagogical interventions at the grassroots level. Gamboa's focuses their current work on endeavors with Concrete Content, an autonomous theater company they founded that mobilizes theater as a means of placemaking and popular education and entertainment. In 2019, Gamboa began working as a screenwriter in Hollywood and since then has written for Amazon Prime, FX, HBOMax, and Showtime. Ricardo has won several awards including a Joyce Award and an International Connections Award from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Gamboa has a doctorate degree from New York University’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis and M.A. in Arts Politics from the Tisch School of the Arts. They have worked with hundreds of young people using art as means for political education and self-determination. Learn more about OTV at https://www.weareo.tv/ Support the Vision: This audio series is powered by our community and generous supporters: the MacArthur Foundation, Pop Culture Collaborative, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Kashif Incubator, Twenty43 Ventures, Illinois Arts Council Agency, and DCASE. Together, we’re shaping the future of unfiltered storytelling. Keep the vision alive and donate today at https://www.weareo.tv/donate [https://www.weareo.tv/donate]