ABOUT THE SHOW

"My Whorizontal Life" is a solo show written by Actress (Juilliard) and award-winning writer Isadora O’Boto under the pen name Sephe Haven. 

“My Whorizontal Life: The Play!” is a 90 minute solo show about what it means to be an artist/actor, not just as a profession but as a way of being, and the struggle to remain an artist despite all odds. It is a play about choosing compassion above all else and finding love in the least likely places.

…On an epic journey from nothing to everything back to nothing, Isadora takes an audience through her life's work as an actress who became the #1 escort in the country and all the literal ups and downs that came with it.  

“I spent most of my career as an escort. My acting/artistic life, a dream deferred, a plan kicked sideways. But while I was working underground, I lived each experience with my full heart and attention. Along the way, I kept notes and etched stories, imagining that one day, by writing about what a misunderstood experience it was, I could give voice to so many, men and women that worked or found refuge and joy in this business, and I could take people back with me to that wild, illuminating underground world, like an avid travel writer wishes to take readers back to lands that changed them. My hope is to surprise and delight you and change what  you once thought you knew not only about sex work but about the complex relationships between men and woman and the importance of art in everything we do.”

What’s the Story?

“Fresh out of Juilliard and drowning in debt, a gifted actress, suddenly deemed too unattractive for Hollywood, secretly turns to prostitution as she battles to revive her acting dreams. Can she keep both worlds from colliding?”

Juilliard graduates are given a 6-minute showcase to jumpstart their acting careers. Rejected by every casting director, considered too un-Hollywood looking, and desperate for financial stability, she answers an ad promising $1,000 a week for escorts, only to find sex is involved. She decides to work secretly as a prostitute to gain financial freedom and continue to pursue her acting dream.

Immersed in the clandestine world of escorting, she navigates between her secret life and the harsh realities of the outside world, finding kinship among her fellow escorts, encountering clients whose needs transcend mere physical desire, and enjoying newfound financial stability. In this underground world, her wit and warmth are celebrated and Juilliard background proves invaluable, propelling her to become the number one escort in the nation.

Refusing to resign herself to a lifetime or the label of prostitution, she holds fast to her true passion—acting. Along the way, she loses friends who uncover her secret, takes a leap of faith for love, and faces the grim reality of arrest. Despite the challenges, she documents her dual existence, dreaming that one day her tumultuous adventures will inspire a book, play, or show.

After twenty years of escorting, she amasses enough wealth to retire, eagerly anticipating a return to acting but is blindsided, leaving her exactly where she started after graduating from Juilliard - How will she save herself? How can she go on? Might this be her opportunity to return to acting?”

 What I'm working on:

“My Whorizontal Life: The Play!” is a solo show that took more than ten years to write and finally produce. It premiered in Chicago this past September (2023) at the Greenhouse Theater and was filmed in front of a live audience.

The script is a 44-page, 12,500 word, 90 minute solo show. It’s Mary Tyler Moore forgoing the newsroom to become an escort. It’s Sex in the City, but Sex Under the City. It’s Dangerous Beauty but in modern America.

The play is seeking its next incarnation as a play a film or a limited series. It's ready for another on-stage (I'm preparing it to go to Los Angeles, New York, and Edinburgh) and is seeking producers interested in taking it to streaming like other solo shows have been. (Richard Gadd’s Baby Reindeer, Phoebe Waller Bridge’s Fleabag, etc.)