Life is wild.

In 2008, I moved to New York City with a lifelong dream of becoming an actress. It was a dream I thought I'd lost after being hit by a car. Instead, life took me in another direction: journalism school, a career I loved, and eventually a move to Chicago, where I found my way back to performing.

Now, 18 years later, I'm returning to New York to perform my first solo show, Condemned to a Life, Off-Broadway at Theatre Row on October 21.

I made this video because I've been thinking about the strange and wonderful ways life unfolds. I'm feeling incredibly grateful to have made it this far.

We're just days away from the performance, and there's still fundraising to do. Your contributions help us pay the talented artists and crew who have worked so hard to bring this production to life.

If you've already donated, thank you. Your support means so much to me. And if you've been thinking about contributing, there's still time!

Here's to unexpected journeys, second chances, and dreams that refuse to disappear.

This is what my car looked like during the Chicago run of Condemned to a Life.

Before every technical rehearsal and every performance, our team packed the set pieces, puppets, and props into my car, drove to the theater, unloaded everything, and set up the stage. At the end of the night, we took it all apart, loaded the car again, and brought everything home.

Now we're doing it on a much larger scale.

I rented a larger car and three of us are driving from Chicago to New York with the set pieces and props for our October 21 performance at Theatre Row.

Although I'm the only human actor onstage, this show would not exist without the work of director Vishaal Desai, puppeteer Noah Ginex, and prop master Kyle Anne Grendys.

I'm raising funds through Fractured Atlas to help cover travel and production expenses and compensate these artists for their hard work.

I've invested a great deal of my own time and money in this production, and I've been fortunate to have the support of people who believe in what we're creating.

If you'd like to help us bring the show to New York, you can contribute through Fractured Atlas:

Every contribution helps. And if donating isn't possible, sharing the campaign is another meaningful way to support the work.

In preparation for bringing the show to New York City, I have been busy doing marketing and PR for the show inaddition to rehearsing, negotiating contracts with the cast and crew, and ensuring I am all set for the performance at Theater Row. And every now and then I take a breath. A journalist from mindsite attended the final performance in Chicago and interviewed me for an article. I shared my reflections with him. You can read about it here: https://mindsitenews.org/2026/09/28/journalist-and-playwright-tackles-her-brothers-life-sentence-with-a-one-woman-play/