i’m fine though

Book & Lyrics by SMJ / Music & Lyrics by Natalie Myrick

Meet Rae, a content factory. She goes live online again after yet another day of writing, producing, recording, and creating content in the pursuit of fame. Dealing with institutional trauma, body image issues, and rejection after rejection, this cycle continues day after day. Armed with a camera, a timer, an audience, an instrument, and their partner Lily, Rae gives herself one livestream to decide whether to give up on… creating or not. Over two hours, Rae tries to find her niche online: as a Twitch streamer, podcaster, influencer, business guru, pop star, gossip channel, “the real one.” However, as her trauma seeps into her content and her depression takes hold, Rae must lean on Lily to find an answer. i'm fine though is a real-time experience that explores our mental health when we are alone & online and how we interact with an audience, our mind, our body, and our creations.

Read the current draft here.

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

I’m Fine Though was first developed as a part of Fresh Ground Pepper’s BRB 2021 Retreat.

The show was developed through a private, virtual workshop supported by The Sappho Project in January 2022 with Natalie Myrick, Madeleine Norton, Daniel Kunkel, and various actors throughout the US.

I’m Fine Though kicked off the 2023 Table Reading Series with the Latiné Musical Theatre Lab on March 29, 2023, at Amas Musical Theatre in NYC. The reading was produced by Ryan Morales Green. The reading featured Elena Ramos Pascullo and Miranda Holliday.

I’m Fine Though was the Supra Exclusive for Ars Nova’s 2023 ANT Fest. The musical streamed starting on June 12, 2023, through the end of 2023. It was filmed in collaboration with Next Stop Creatives. The digital production features Vanessa Vivas and Natalie Myrick.

The monologue “i’m overwhelmed.” from I’m Fine Though was featured in The PlayGround Experiment’s Faces of America Monologue Festival #5 on November 18, 2023 at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater. The monologue was published in the Faces of America Anthology.

I’m Fine Though was developed and rewritten with student dramaturgs Audrey Rauscher & Sara Blashill for the Musicalturgy: Building Musical Theatre Worlds class at Michigan State University.