Leading with Heart: When Passion Becomes Smart Business

Pictured: Ash (center) at IVP’s gala at the Henry Street Settlement, June 2025. Image by Captured Beauty Photography.

I've always been told I have tons of passion. Makes sense - IVP started as a passion project but then grew into a business. And it's there that I've wondered: am I too much passion and not enough business?

I choose people and projects because my heart is affected by both - and because I trust the artists who bring their hearts into the work alongside me. But my brain reminds me to be cautious. To go with the project that brings in more funds. But IVP's biggest project began with a gut feeling and collaborators who came into it with tons of...you guessed it - heart.

Taking the Leap

Pictured: Kate Szekely (left) and Ash in Nellie & the Women of Blackwell, March 2020. Image by Scott Wynn Photography.

Nellie and the Women of Blackwell came about because I had a feeling that an immersive documentary play was what IVP needed to do next. I had barely any experience in the immersive world. But I knew I wanted people to feel the moment in history, not simply hear about it.

My heart wanted to tell the story, as did my gut. My brain questioned: "can we pull this off?" It was going to cost more than any other IVP show. And it was a big undertaking. 

I remember asking IVP's resident producer: "I have this idea, this thing I really want to try to do - want to join?" She said "hell yeah!" She threw herself into this unknown (even became the incredible lead of the show). As did all the cast and crew. And my gut was right - it was the step IVP needed. And it was a hell of a show! 

A Year of Following the Heart

Fast forward five years to 2025, and I think this year I did not make a project led by gut and heart - but an entire season. Partly because if there was ever a time for artists to lead from that place, it was this year. And also because I've been fortunate to have brought more people into my life who, when I say "hey, want to do a thing?" say "hell yeah!" (Or some version of that!)

Pictured: The cast of In Their Footsteps, Bronx Music Hall, October 2025. Image by Captured Beauty Photography.

When choosing what show to bring to The Bronx Music Hall for our first production in their new theatre, I went with one we'd done before, In Their Footsteps - a show about the military, about patriotism, and about how the very words and branches meant to protect us can also cause harm when used for the wrong reasons. I had a feeling in my gut it would be different. 

I reached out to actors who knew nothing about the show and said, “I want to bring a show back. I am not exactly sure how and why it will be important to revisit but I have a feeling. So - want to do a thing?” They did. We did. And together, they and I made the new version everything I knew in my gut this piece could become. Not because we're living in a different time than when it debuted in 2018, but because all these actors and creatives (including me) created from the heart. From what we felt. And the audience responded as such.

Pictured: Part of the creative team behind the first public reading of the Hallie play, August 2025.

Around the same time, what began as an attempt to write a 20-page script about a subject matter that has meant a lot to be for a while became a 70-pager. "I have a script I love - anyone want to do a reading?" This led to incredible artists developing it through the summer - giving time, care, and belief to something that didn’t yet know what it was becoming. Or even if it would continue. It did. As soon as we started working on the piece I knew - this was IVP’s next production. My heart wanted it to be, but my gut knew it needed to be. So - stayed tuned for a play about Hallie Flanagan, The Federal Theatre Project and its Living Newspapers. 

Honoring What Matters

Lastly, one of the women in In Their Footsteps - Lucki Allen - passed away last year. Myself and others were so distraught there wasn't enough publicity for an incredible woman that we decided to rectify that. We took our radio play and added programming for Lucki: unseen footage, curated discussions, unreleased interview parts. We aired it in her honor for Veterans Day.

Unbeknownst to us, that program was submitted to the Gracie Awards - and we won. We didn't make it for awards. We spent money we barely had for a project with no financial return. We did it because we loved Lucki. And it ended with a huge step for IVP.

Pictured: IVP & WLIW celebrate their Gracie Award, June 2025.

Pictured: The graphic from The Lucki Project. Image by Riley McMillain Art.

The Formula That Isn't a Formula

Heart and trust in one's gut feeling starts with you. You’re lucky when others choose to join from their own hearts and gut instincts too. When that happens, the starting place for the work is already built on trust - and that becomes the foundation of its success. From there, it flies when you’re smart enough to recognize: this deserves money, audience, and care. That’s the business part. It's just as important, but you can learn the business. What I have realized as I end this year is: Only you know what's in your heart. That…that is what makes your art unique, special and powerful. 

All it takes is trusting your heart and gut enough to say out loud: "I have a feeling we should do this." And then finding enough people who trust you to come along for the ride.

So as we end 2025 and lead into 2026 - thank you to the artists and company members of IVP. To the audiences, sponsors, venues and supporters of all kinds. You are the ones that ultimately strengthen every part of IVP. 

Here's to 2026 - a year where the brain, heart and gut do what they do best.