I'm gonna pray for you so hard
New York City, New York | Theatre
Drama, Family
Darkly funny and painfully human, I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard follows a young actress and her celebrated playwright father as love, ambition and approval collide, revealing the devastating cost of trying to earn love from the person whose approval matters most.
I'm gonna pray for you so hard
New York City, New York | Theatre
Drama, Family
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
12 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$2,671
Goal: $5,100 for production
Darkly funny and painfully human, I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard follows a young actress and her celebrated playwright father as love, ambition and approval collide, revealing the devastating cost of trying to earn love from the person whose approval matters most.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Synopsis
At the center of the play is Ella, a fiercely ambitious young actress desperate to earn the approval of her father, David, a celebrated playwright whose love and criticism have become nearly impossible for her to separate.
Following Ella’s Off-Broadway debut, father and daughter spend the evening drinking, talking about theatre and deciding whether or not to read her reviews. What begins as an intimate conversation between two artists gradually exposes something much more complicated – a relationship built on love, ambition, cruelty, admiration and an almost unbearable hunger for validation.
Darkly funny and emotionally raw, Feiffer’s two-character play asks what happens when the person whose approval we want most is also the person capable of hurting us most deeply.
Photo of Priya Karki playing Ella being directed by Chrissy Sheehan.
Why this story?
I was drawn to this play because underneath all the humor, ambition, anger and complicated family dynamics is something incredibly human, the desire to be loved and to know that we are enough.
So many of us grow up looking for approval from the people we love most.
Without even realizing it, we can begin measuring our worth by how successful we are, how proud we make someone, or whether we feel chosen and seen. Those patterns don’t always disappear when we grow up. We carry them into our work, our relationships and the way we see ourselves.
That is what moved me about this play.
Photo of Priya Karki and Chris Wells at rehearsals.
Through Ella and her father, David, we see a relationship filled with love, admiration, humor, hurt and contradiction.
It’s messy and uncomfortable at times, because real relationships are messy. There are no perfect heroes or villains and I think that’s what makes their story feel so familiar.
My hope is that people come to the theatre, recognize something of themselves or someone they love and leave wanting to talk about it.
At the heart of this production is a possibility I deeply believe in...
...a world where people know they are enough before they achieve anything, and where we stop performing for love and start living from it.
Photo of Priya Karki in the Brick Theatre.
Our Promise
We’re not trying to tell audiences what to think.
We simply want to create an honest, intimate experience that opens a conversation about love, family, ambition and our need to be seen.
And maybe, somewhere in that conversation, we can be a little kinder to ourselves and to each other.
Our Invitation to You
So today, I’m inviting you to be part of it.
You can contribute to our campaign.
You can sponsor the production.
You can share it with someone who might connect with this story.
And, most importantly, you can come experience it with us.
Photo of Ella at the table enamored by her father David.
Your Contribution
By supporting our campaign, you’ll receive special perks and, most importantly, help bring this production to life while supporting independent theatre.
The largest portion of the funding will cover venue hire.
Contributions will then help us pay every actor and crew member the same agreed rate under the Equity agreement.
Your support will also fund professional publicity and intimacy direction, digital out-of-home advertising, and locally printed posters and flyers.
Finally, it will help cover essential production costs, including props, wardrobe and rehearsal studios.
Visit 8thdaywhisper.com to be part of it.
Photo of Priya Karki and Victor Verhaeghe having fun at rehearsals.
Copyright © 2026 8th Day Whisper Inc. All rights reserved. Rehearsal photography: Adrienne Siow
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Give the Play a Home for 1 week
Costs $2,550
Every story needs a place to be shared. This helps us open the doors, bring people together in one room, and experience this story together!
Give the Play a Home for the 2nd week
Costs $2,550
Every story needs a place to be shared. This helps us open the doors, bring people together in one room, and experience this story together!
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Priya Karki as Ella - Actor and Producer
Priya spent years building a career in finance before making a deliberate leap into the performing arts, bringing the same discipline and ambition with her. Born in New Delhi and raised across multiple countries, she brings an international perspective to her work on stage and on screen. She made her acting debut in Boston before relocating to New York, where she's since worked across theater, film and commercial projects as an actor, director, choreographer and producer, having done nearly every job a production needs along the way.
She was last seen onstage at The Players Theatre in the New York premiere of “A Girl in a Long Coat”, and on screen in the 2025 short film “Perfectly Seasoned”.
Through 8th Day Whisper, she's investing directly in independent theatre in Manhattan. Her first production is Halley Feiffer's I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard, in which she'll also perform the role of Ella.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Synopsis
At the center of the play is Ella, a fiercely ambitious young actress desperate to earn the approval of her father, David, a celebrated playwright whose love and criticism have become nearly impossible for her to separate.
Following Ella’s Off-Broadway debut, father and daughter spend the evening drinking, talking about theatre and deciding whether or not to read her reviews. What begins as an intimate conversation between two artists gradually exposes something much more complicated – a relationship built on love, ambition, cruelty, admiration and an almost unbearable hunger for validation.
Darkly funny and emotionally raw, Feiffer’s two-character play asks what happens when the person whose approval we want most is also the person capable of hurting us most deeply.
Photo of Priya Karki playing Ella being directed by Chrissy Sheehan.
Why this story?
I was drawn to this play because underneath all the humor, ambition, anger and complicated family dynamics is something incredibly human, the desire to be loved and to know that we are enough.
So many of us grow up looking for approval from the people we love most.
Without even realizing it, we can begin measuring our worth by how successful we are, how proud we make someone, or whether we feel chosen and seen. Those patterns don’t always disappear when we grow up. We carry them into our work, our relationships and the way we see ourselves.
That is what moved me about this play.
Photo of Priya Karki and Chris Wells at rehearsals.
Through Ella and her father, David, we see a relationship filled with love, admiration, humor, hurt and contradiction.
It’s messy and uncomfortable at times, because real relationships are messy. There are no perfect heroes or villains and I think that’s what makes their story feel so familiar.
My hope is that people come to the theatre, recognize something of themselves or someone they love and leave wanting to talk about it.
At the heart of this production is a possibility I deeply believe in...
...a world where people know they are enough before they achieve anything, and where we stop performing for love and start living from it.
Photo of Priya Karki in the Brick Theatre.
Our Promise
We’re not trying to tell audiences what to think.
We simply want to create an honest, intimate experience that opens a conversation about love, family, ambition and our need to be seen.
And maybe, somewhere in that conversation, we can be a little kinder to ourselves and to each other.
Our Invitation to You
So today, I’m inviting you to be part of it.
You can contribute to our campaign.
You can sponsor the production.
You can share it with someone who might connect with this story.
And, most importantly, you can come experience it with us.
Photo of Ella at the table enamored by her father David.
Your Contribution
By supporting our campaign, you’ll receive special perks and, most importantly, help bring this production to life while supporting independent theatre.
The largest portion of the funding will cover venue hire.
Contributions will then help us pay every actor and crew member the same agreed rate under the Equity agreement.
Your support will also fund professional publicity and intimacy direction, digital out-of-home advertising, and locally printed posters and flyers.
Finally, it will help cover essential production costs, including props, wardrobe and rehearsal studios.
Visit 8thdaywhisper.com to be part of it.
Photo of Priya Karki and Victor Verhaeghe having fun at rehearsals.
Copyright © 2026 8th Day Whisper Inc. All rights reserved. Rehearsal photography: Adrienne Siow
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Give the Play a Home for 1 week
Costs $2,550
Every story needs a place to be shared. This helps us open the doors, bring people together in one room, and experience this story together!
Give the Play a Home for the 2nd week
Costs $2,550
Every story needs a place to be shared. This helps us open the doors, bring people together in one room, and experience this story together!
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Priya Karki as Ella - Actor and Producer
Priya spent years building a career in finance before making a deliberate leap into the performing arts, bringing the same discipline and ambition with her. Born in New Delhi and raised across multiple countries, she brings an international perspective to her work on stage and on screen. She made her acting debut in Boston before relocating to New York, where she's since worked across theater, film and commercial projects as an actor, director, choreographer and producer, having done nearly every job a production needs along the way.
She was last seen onstage at The Players Theatre in the New York premiere of “A Girl in a Long Coat”, and on screen in the 2025 short film “Perfectly Seasoned”.
Through 8th Day Whisper, she's investing directly in independent theatre in Manhattan. Her first production is Halley Feiffer's I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard, in which she'll also perform the role of Ella.