When I was 3 years old, I was taken to UC San Diego to see a children’s opera. This “children’s opera” contained an atonal score and had a set inspired by Salvador Dalí, with set pieces melting into the floor of the raked stage. I came home completely enamored, and my mom claimed that she knew immediately that she had lost me to the arts.

Since then, through my performing, I have continued to love getting lost in music and stories. I have also developed an interest in experimenting to see how to get different kinds of reactions from myself and others through physical, emotional, and intellectual means. This led me to directing where I could explore building the fullest and richest experience feasible. I passionately believe that this involves educating one’s self in as well-rounded a manner as possible and exposing one’s self to other people’s experiences, viewpoints, and forms of expression.

The Salon, which I created and curated in New York City and am reopening Los Angeles in 2022, is a means to this end. It is a place to bring the brightest minds and creatives together to share their disciplines, ideas, experiences, and points of view. The Salon has led to inter-disciplinary collaborations, friendships, and community.