Star is a former member of the Oakland Slam Poetry Team, a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and a member of the Dramatists Guild. Her work blends disciplines of stand up comedy, musical satire, and poetry to draw social and political commentary.
As a poet, she has performed at New York Theater Workshop, LaMama Galleria, The NY Poetry Festival, The Bootleg Theater (LA), The OdysseyTheater(LA), The Berkeley Slam, and more!
Writing/Producing credits: #MeToo, a one woman show (Solofest, Hollywood Fringe, Second City Hollywood, United Solo, Edinburgh FringeFestival) and Villain Era (59E59Theaters, Edinburgh Fringe Festival) Star is a former student of The UprightCitizen’s Brigade in LA where she completed up to Improv 401 and Sketch 101.Star has both trained and performed at The PIT, The Groundlings, and TheVillain Theater, where she was featured in FreshFaces, a showcase of new stand up comedy talent in Miami.
Star's newest production deals with the viciousness of online bullying. While this often feels like a culture issue, it can be an important issue for business leaders.
"Victims, and even bystanders, can develop mental health issues, decreased engagement and reduced job satisfaction, which can lead employees to leave the company. If cyberbullying is not addressed quickly and the situation makes its way to social media and the press, a company's reputation can also be at stake," shares a recent Forbes article.
Taking time to understand the implications of online bullying, can help you become a better leader.
Villain Era is a one-woman multimedia comedy show told through musical satire, standup, a variety of characters, and real threads from Reddit, comments on Instagram, and footage from YouTube. Based on my true story, this show examines the effect social media has on our mental health and the politics of cancel culture.
In 2019, Star was cast in a YouTube reality competition series called “Odd Man Out: Vegans versus Meat Eaters” where contestants find the non-vegan mole for a cash prize. This video went viral to over 17 million views and Star was given the"Villain Edit." As a result she has been harassed and bullied for over 5 years; this continues.
Even though social media has become normalized and a part of daily life, there is actually a high cost to having an online presence that is often overlooked, which is the effect of social media on our mental health and wellbeing. In Villain Era we show the “other side” to social media and becoming “internet famous”. Goal viral is often associated with launching a career. It has positive connotations. However, rarely do we take a look at the dark side to going viral and the cyberbullying and harassment that results. In Villain Era, we take a close look at how one viral moment resulted in the undoing of a person’s identity, mental wellness, and overall life.
As a solo theater artist, I have chosen to present my own life as art.This helps me to not only navigate and process my experiences, but it also points to a larger social or political issue. I see my own story as a small example of the effect of social media on a microcosmic level, which points to a much greater issue in the macrocosm. Staying silent and not responding to any hate for 5 years and leaving social media altogether was not working for me.This silence wasn’t enough- and when silence isn’t enough-it's time for me to speak, share and write. I knew that by translating my story into a theatrical piece, I would be able to take control of my own narrative and maintain agency. As I began to work on the show, with the help of my director, I was able to finally face my fears, pain, and betrayal and begin to move on with my life. When I do perform this show, audience members have shared afterwards that it was deeply moving and powerful. And being able to share something so painful that completely changed my life and have it be a positive thing for someone else is meaningful to me. Yes, it's about me sharing my story, but it's also sharing my story to empower others to share theirs and hopefully lead to healing on a larger scale our relationship to social media and cyber harm reduction.
That we as a culture need to re-examine our relationship to social media. Additionally, that audiences feel seen if they or someone they know has gone through a similar experience of bullying. I also hope that this show highlights how we need better solutions, action steps, options, and tools to navigate the dogpiling of violence and harassment in the comment section.
Villain Era performs next at Camden People’sTheatre in London, March 14, and I hope to add more dates in 2025. I am actively seeking out podcasts and other spaces where I can publicly share my story and advocate for anti-bullying.
