I’m Mom

When he was 18, Nate's mother, Marcia Adler, died of breast cancer (he swears this show is funny). She was a beloved therapist in Chicago—brilliant, generous, artistic, and an all-around magical woman. There was nothing she couldn't do. Except for one thing: she never told anyone she was dying. She couldn’t face it, and as a result, no one got to grieve with her or say goodbye.

Years later his therapist suggested Gestalt Therapy—specifically Fritz Perls' “empty chair” technique. It is a role-playing technique where he would speak to his mother, and then speak to himself as her. In this way, he could explore all the things they never got to say. He said, “Absolutely not.” But after years of acting training, he realized he’d been learning the same skill in a different language: how to step into another person truthfully.

In this solo show, Nate uses performance as a doorway into grief—embodying his mother, confronting what was never spoken, and trying to understand what kept this extraordinary woman silent about her own mortality. It’s a show about love, loss, and the strange, healing power of pretending as he attempts the greatest role of his life: his mom.