Howdy from your local friendly cat lady creative! I had no idea what I wanted to be when I was little, other than a singer, and anything else that grabbed my attention. Turns out, a LOT of things grabbed my attention. 

Notables: Touring with the Amazing Acro Cats off and on for 7 years, and working as an on-set cat trainer on several commercials, a Puppy Bowl halftime feature, as well as making an appearance with the troupe on “A Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” I was also a majorly featured character in Episode 2 of the Netflix series, Cat People – still streaming! I currently foster one of the retired members of the troupe, Pudge, who herself is a woman who inspires ME with her sweet purrsonality and endearing, enduring spirit. 

From there, I went on to work with hollywood’s own Dog Mom herself, Sarah Clifford, on the feature film “Think Like A Dog” (with Megan Fox and Jeff Duhamel) – look for me in the credits and special features!

In and around these time periods, I helped to foster and adopt out countless kittens through Rock Cats Rescue, worked at Austin Pets Alive for a while as an adoption counselor and gave a seminar at the 2021 Acatemy conference for cat rescuers – “How To Train Your Cat to Sit [And Stay] in Their Forever Home.” 

Musically, I currently front a band, Dichro – my passion project and pride-n-joy as a lyricist and singer. I am also a solo artist, with a large ukulele rep of covers and originals, and a classically trained pianist with a self-produced EP out on Spotify under the moniker “Charmaine Evonne.” Throughout the early 2010’s, I booked and promoted several shows around the Pittsburgh area, and worked in conjunction with many female artists on the long-running variety show series “The Girlie Show.” 

I am also striving constantly to be a well-rounded circus artist. in 2010, I co-founded the fire troupe Sirkus Dayz, with my partner Penni, and we have ‘since then expanded our repertoire from only fire shows to aerials, stilt walking, sideshow stunts, and creating custom LED costumes that turn heads everywhere we go. I also make fire props! And other fun costume items, etc – all available on my Etsy site, Durable Dreams.

Other hats I wear on occasion: Graphic Designer, Photographer, Multimedia Artist, Seamstress, Videographer. 

Oh yeah, and I almost appeared on Season 17 of America’s Got Talent. It was a super great experience and I had an absolute blast working with their film crew. Hopefully I’ll return!

However, everything has a price and everyone has hurdles to overcome. As a youth, I was diagnosed with ADHD, Borderline Personality Disorder, Chronic Fatigue, Chronic Depression, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I am a rape survivor, pro-choice advocate with a tale to tell, and a survivor of a sibling suicide and a broken home. Through my teens and early twenties I struggled through 9 years of severe anorexia and bulimia, and later on through my thirties battled alcoholism. 

I currently also self-identify as being on the Undiagnosed Adult Female Autism Spectrum. This last one was very heavy for me to come to terms with but explains a great deal about my day-to-day struggles (including but not limited to why I had to leave my cubicle and position as an in-house Graphic Designer of 4 years for Bayer Corp). I would like to be a part of the de-stigmatization of this condition and others, and let everyone everywhere know that living your life to the fullest is a CHOICE. Choose life, y’all. For yourself, and for all that you deserve to enjoy on this planet during your time here. 

*Photo Credit Lydia Barry aka Lovely Lydia Artistry