Anna Akana is an actress and writer with over 2.8 million followers across her Youtube channel where she discusses mental health. You can see her in Netflix's Jupiter's Legacy, Comedy Central's Corporate, or in the film Go Back To China.

Her sold-out show IT GETS DARKER is playing at Dynasty Typewriter on Tues Oct 10

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You're an actor, a writer, a director, a singer - honestly you're such a powerful multihyphenate, I don't know where to start. How did your journey into entertainment begin, and when did you start to expand into so many different mediums? Did you always envision yourself as the creator you are, today?

I started in stand up comedy when I was 19 years old - I saw Margaret Cho perform a few years after my sister's death & it was the first time I'd laughed in ages. I was inspired & started doing stand up immediately. I did always envision a life in the entertainment business, but growing up it felt like an impossibility. My "realistic" plan was to go into the military and become a veterinarian. These days, I see myself as more of an artist who just plays around in different mediums. I don't like sticking to one thing for too long otherwise it becomes stale. Creativity tends to work best when I allow it to be expressed in whatever form feels natural (be it a video, the stage, on paper, etc.)

It should go without saying that it's brave of you to return to stage after the stalking incident. What finally helped you feel ready to return? How has the tour of IT GETS DARKER been going so far? Do you discuss what happened, in the show?

Years of therapy and a restraining order definitely helped, haha. I also watched Marc Maron's From Bleak To Dark last summer and the way he handled death in his set was really inspiring. I'd written many jokes about my sister in my 20s, but I wasn't a mature or experienced enough performer to pull them off. After I saw his special in the summer, I felt inspired to tackle them again.

The stalking incident is definitely discussed in the show. But I'm still workshopping the hour in Los Angeles to hone everything in. Hopefully I'll be in a place to tour it next year.

How do you decide on what to pull from (from the news cycle or pop culture) to discuss on your YouTube channel? Do you script things for yourself in advance, or do you record stream-of-consciousness thoughts?

I script my Youtube videos while the crew is setting up our first shot. Unfortunately I've just made that my process; can't write a video until I'm absolutely forced to because a crew of 3 is waiting on me. I typically tackle topics that interest me, mostly around psychology, dating, personal dynamics. Everything we record has to be scripted given the nature of my videos, but that happens as late as possible because my brain refuses to generate ideas until it has to.

One of your videos that really stands out to me is "You're not traumatized, you're just hurt". It's you talking to the camera, matter-of-fact, calling out how the current discourse weaponizes mental health and how we fling around diagnoses for real disorders so casually, often as a means of avoiding our own discomfort. Where do you think this tendency comes from, for people to adopt a victim narrative instead of acknowledging they are simply hurting? Are you starting to see more accountability from people who are able to own their hurt, without needing to make a villain out of everyone else? Do you think everyone on social media, collectively, will eventually be able to adopt this kind of nuance?

I think the misuse of clinical terms stems from a desire to make our hurt feel more valid. If we can embellish the nature of our wounds, it gives them more gravitas. And I certainly understand that tendency - there are plenty of miscommunications or simple conflicts that have felt wildly escalated in my mind because of my heightened emotions. It also feeds our victim narrative to label someone a "narcissist" - it gives us permission to deny accountability in our part of a dynamic. Relationships CAN be toxic without one person being labeled abusive - after all, most of the time we're all co-signing and seeking the familiar dynamics of our family - these relationships are comfortable even if they're potentially harmful for us.

With more self-awareness and therapy-speak entering the social lexicon, I think we're seeing an extreme spectrum of it being adopted in the zeitgeist and overapplied/misused - which will hopefully level out as times goes on. I've certainly also adopted the mindset that it doesn't necessarily matter what happens to me - what is paramount is my REACTION to said event. Resilience is an important skill to cultivate. Two people can have the same experience but have vastly different reactions to it - and my goal is to integrate life's inevitable tragedies in a way that will shape me into a better person.

Obviously, I do feel the need to disclaimer this given the internet's tendency to seek a morally outraged angle: trauma is trauma. Little t, big t. And any reaction you have to your life's experiences are valid. I simply encourage people to overcome their experiences and find purpose in it. If Viktor Frankl (a holocaust survivor) can do this, I believe anyone can.

Your short film projects have such a wide range - from scary and thrilling to emotional, to deeply funny and absurd. You've done stop-motion animation and plenty of live action. From the outside, it seems like you intend on creating every genre and every style of filmmaking. What is something you haven't yet had a chance to do, that you'd like to explore next?

I'd love to showrun. I had the experience with Youth & Consequences and Miss 2059 in terms of executive-producing a series, and I really took to being in a position of leadership and creative vision. Not to mention it's just such an all-immersive, exciting experience to create a tangible narrative thing with a crew and cast of people. I've been in development on various TV shows for ages, and I'd love to get something greenlit.

After the tour, what are you working on?

As a writer I have projects with several networks, so I'm hoping one of those will move forward!

Are there any upcoming shows, events or performances that you're really looking forward to?

I'll be performing at the Dynasty Typewriter monthly to hone in the hour as well as showcase some wonderfully funny friends! November 17th is our next date, and you can catch us on their calendar each month from then on.