Season 9 of Big Conversations, Little Bar with Patrick Evans and Randy Florence debuts with actress Stephanie Czajkowski, whose turn as a Vulcan on Star Trek: Picard sparked a fandom embrace as fierce as her resilience. She opens up about discovering multiple cancers, the grit, humor, and partnership that carried her through surgery, chemo, radiation, and life after. We talk Coachella Valley roots, a lip-sync win that brought her into the community, and why being present beats chasing perfection. Stephanie also previews “Best Intentions,” her darkly funny short about navigating everyone’s “helpful” reactions at work, plus a larger vision for stories about living with illness—not just fighting it. From early theater dreams in the Midwest to building a career on shows like Doom Patrol and MacGruber, she shares how shaving her head, letting go of fear, and doing the job opened surprising doors. A candid, compassionate Season 9 opener about creativity, advocacy, and finding light in tough places. along the way.

Takeaways:

• Season 9 launches with a raw, funny, and fearless conversation.
• Stephanie’s Star Trek: Picard role (a partly Delton Vulcan) became a fan-favorite moment.
• Multiple cancer diagnoses reshaped her outlook without dimming her drive.
• Advocacy tip: track your labs, ask questions, and trust body signals.
• Community matters—Palm Desert roots and a lip-sync win deepened local ties.
• Creative pivot: writing/directing the dark comedy short “Best Intentions.”
• Career insight: drop perfection, do the work, and opportunities follow.
• Living with illness isn’t only tragedy—there’s humor, humanity, and hope.

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