Just three months later, Vacate sold out a 150-person theater in DC. The cast of 25 included a former USAID foreign service officer, a man whose father had been deported, and a woman from Pakistan who was once denied an education and is now pursuing her second master's at Georgetown. The response from audiences was overwhelmingly positive. After the performance, Hannah received message after message from audience members who were deeply moved by the story and by seeing actors with lived experience of immigration bring those experiences to life on stage. Those who missed the show reached out asking when they could see it performed again. The success of Vacate revealed something larger. People are hungry not only for these stories, but also for the art they inspire. At a time of increasing polarization, stories offer a way to connect with experiences that might otherwise feel distant or unfamiliar. As Define American writes in its 2026 report Change the Narrative, Change the World, “A character can change a mind. A story can move someone who possibly hasn't been moved by a statistic, a policy argument, or a news segment.” 

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That experience sparked an idea: The DC area is home to an extraordinary range of people carrying cross-cultural stories worth telling: immigrants, diplomats, military, refugees, third-culture kids, humanitarian aid workers, and others shaped by lives lived beyond a single country or culture. They carry powerful and singular insights about identity, belonging, and human connection. Most have never had the opportunity, support, or creative tools to turn those experiences into art. At most, they might join an open mic night, or join the Moth or Story District, or a writing class at the Writer’s Center (and to be clear - they definitely should! We have too!) But Hannah decided to create the support structure she wished she’d had when she was setting out to write a play.