Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amy Marcs. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Amy, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I believe we grow when we are uncomfortable, when we give ourselves permission to venture out of our comfort zone and take a risk not necessarily knowing how things will turn out. I spent covid in NYC, not having left my small Chelsea apartment for over three months. I had always wanted to live in LA but continued to find reasons to hold myself back and just stay where I was. During covid I began daydreaming about what my life would be like in Los Angeles. I was lucky that I was still able to work during the pandemic, I taught at an acting conservatory in NYC and almost immediately classes went online. It was the perfect time to start saving money and plan. So, I put the word out that I would be looking for a place to live in LA with a reasonable rent and once the world started to open up I would make the big leap. I left the only security I had, my teaching job of 13 years. Many people thought I was crazy saying I should not leave my job till I had another lined up. I knew in my heart that this was something I needed to do and trusted that all would fall into place, excited for this new adventure and the opportunities that lay ahead. After happily living in LA for seven months I received a phone call from a colleague in NYC, asking how I would like to go to Taipei, Taiwan and teach Meisner for four months. The same acting technique I had been teaching in NYC for 13 years. Of course, I said yes, not knowing where this would all lead. Again, I packed my bags ready for another adventure and this one was truly life changing. Living in a new country, where I did not speak the language but feeling more connected than I could ever have imagined. I fell in love with Taiwan, the people, the country, and the culture. While I was teaching at Meisner Studio Taipei, I met a vibrant community of artists and my soon to be producing partner Daphne Du Lei. We then went into rehearsals for my American play Nice T!ts , which we translated into Mandarin and is now called Perfect Mimi. Perfect Mimi is having an incredibly successful run in Taiwan. This October it was produced by Lotung Poh- Ai Hospital for Breast Cancer Awareness month. If I didn’t have the courage to leave the stability of my job in NYC, then this opportunity in Taipei would have never presented itself. So now I split my time between Los Angeles and Taiwan, and I could not be happier.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am an actress, writer, producer, podcast host and acting professor. I am also a 14-year breast cancer survivor. While I was healing from my Double Mastectomy, I took time off from my career but found I needed a creative outlet to express all that I was going through. So, I started to write putting all my thoughts and feelings down on paper. And from those writings my one woman show “Nice T!ts “came to be. Nice T!ts was originally directed by Peter Michael Marino. It is the story of losing my breasts to cancer and searching for the perfect pair of new boobs. It is a story of hope, love, and the resiliency of the human spirit. I have performed Nice T!ts in NYC, NJ, Boston and Florida. We then turned it into a celebrity reading featuring the woman of Broadways Hadestown. That evening was directed by Coco Cohn. From there it became a 5 person play, translated into Mandarin, and now called Perfect Mimi. This August after a successful run at The Taipei Fringe Festival my co- producer Daphne Du Lei was approached by Lotung Poh- Ai Hospital, they wanted to sponsor and co-produce Perfect Mimi for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Every performance was followed by a talk back. Nice T!ts, Perfect Mimi, has been helping to facilitate very important conversations that we are not always comfortable having. I felt it was extremely important to continue these conversations, and to reach an even wider audience so I created a new podcast called “Sex After” (produced by Chris DeRosa). We launched our first episode on October 19th. On my podcast you will hear raw and honest conversations about the most challenging aspects of sex, intimacy, and relationships after seismic change. I founded Iron Skirt Productions with Sasha Hawkes. Our most recent endeavor is our series, Iron Skirt Stories Salon, which features a rotating cast of eight women performing original tales of heartbreak, resilience, and humor. Our last two productions were sold out and we are now gearing up for our December Show at RD Studio in Los Angeles, California.

Four months out of the year I teach acting at The Meisner Studio in Taipei Taiwan, and the rest of the time I live in Los Angeles, California, having recently located here from NYC.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I have so many stories to share that illustrate my resilience, from surviving breast cancer to losing my mom to breast cancer when I just turned 17 years old. But the story I will focus on is the three-alarm fire in my apartment building in NYC on Christmas Day 2018. I was home relaxing, watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel when I smelled smoke. I didn’t think twice about it. I figured it was Christmas and people were cooking and someone accidently burnt their dinner, so I just kept watching Maisel trying not to think about it. Suddenly all the smoke alarms in my building went off. I opened my front door, and my neighbor came charging down the stairs screaming “My apartment is on Fire, my apartment is on Fire.” My instincts took over and I knew I had to get out. You never know how you will respond in a situation like this, you might think you do, but I can tell you, you don’t. I picked up my beautiful tabby cat Sweetie, I needed to get us both safely out of the building. The smoke alarms were freaking her out and her claws were gripping onto my breasts. I have implants from my double mastectomy and in that moment, I feared if she clung on any longer, they would rupture. She ran under the bed and refused to come out. My survival instincts took over and I knew I had to leave immediately. All I took were my keys and cell phone, not even a coat, and it was December in NYC. I ran down four flights of stairs, glass shattering everywhere. When I got outside, I turned around and saw that my building, my home of 20 years, was in flames. I knew I had to go back inside and get Sweetie. I begged the firefighters and police to let me in, but they adamantly refused. 7 grueling hours later we were informed that we could go home for a maximum of ten minutes to get our necessary belongings. All I wanted was Sweetie. I entered the smoke-filled pitch-black building and feared that every step I took would be my last, that the floor would collapse under my feet. Once in my apartment I began searching for Sweetie. I called out for her for what seemed like hours. Finally, I found her, under the bed rolled up in a little ball, her beautiful big green eyes staring back at me. I didn’t have a moment to waste, I climbed to the top of my closet and got her carrying case, thank goodness she went inside without much fuss. I grabbed a few of my things, shut the door of my apartment and headed out not knowing when I would be able to come back home. Two days later I received a call from my landlord that I was allowed to come back and get whatever remained of my possessions. My apartment was severely water damaged so most of what I owned was ruined and renovations would take an unknown amount of time. I informed my landlord that once everything was complete, I wanted to come back home. She assured me I could. Friends came to my rescue and offered me a place to stay, found me sublets, and started a go fund me campaign to help me get back on my feet. People were incredibly generous and kind. 5 weeks later as my anxiety started to wane, and I was beginning to adjust to my new nomad lifestyle I received a letter from the landlord. This letter contained my security deposit and informed me that my landlord was completely renovating the building and we could no longer come back home. Our apartments were no longer ours. Being the savvy New Yorker I am, I knew this couldn’t be legal. I am a rent stabilized tenant and lived in my apartment for over 20 years. She sent this letter to all the tenants, the elderly, and those that did not have the means to fight this battle. This was not right. I ended up getting a Lawyer through an organization called Mobilization for Justice and asked if they would not only represent me but the other tenants. I spent nine months in court, going from sublet to sublet. Fighting our landlord and standing firm in what was right. I team -NBC followed our story and after a very long battle we won. Once our apartments were renovated and we were all able to come back home!!!!!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is to spread a message of hope and healing. To help people know they are not alone, that we can make it through even the darkest of times. To inspire people to share their stories, and to start conversations that people are not always comfortable having. I truly believe that the creative arts are a way to get people to open up, to be authentic, share their truth and find their joy.

Contact Info:

• Website: amymarcs.com. nicetitstheshow.com ironskirtproductions.com
• Instagram: @amymarcs @nicetitstaipei @ironskirtproductions @sexafterpodcast
• Facebook: amymarcs Ironskirtproductions
• Linkedin: Amy Marcs
• Other: Podcast Sex After with Amy Marcs- on apple and spotify apple link. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sex-after-with-amy-marcs/id1707777317?i=1000628201714

Image Credits
Photo Credits. Photo with Iron skirt Stories poster – Keith Barber Headshot photo of me ( with pink) @Kenneth Dolin The beautiuful photo of the five actresses ; Poyen Chen and the other photo of all of us sitting in our stools I am waiting to find out who took it and will get back to you on that same as I will get back to you of who took the photo of me with my hands raised in the air