"You can't be triggered if you're not cocked." That's the kind of line Nichole Stull drops mid-conversation - half punchline, half life philosophy. In this episode, Steph sits down with improv artist and filmmaker Nichole Stull, who's spent decades shaping the visual world of indie film and TV (including the demon-driven color palette of "259") while also teaching storytelling and applied improv alongside her husband Jared for the last 25 years.

The conversation moves fast and goes deep. Nichole breaks down the "Story Spine," the improv-born storytelling framework Pixar built its scripts on, and why an alien can absolutely show up in a Western - as long as you've earned it. She talks about running her kids' school book fair for 13 years and how she went from devouring every Sweet Valley High book in existence to being a member of an early-2000s online Twilight book club. Get this: with Stephenie Meyer posting in it!

From there, Steph and Nichole don't shy away from harder territory: library censorship, what kids actually have access to online, and a remarkably candid conversation about pornography, intimacy, and the industry behind it. Nichole shares how she talks to her five kids, ages 7 to 22, about sex, alcohol, and modesty without ever making any of it feel forbidden.

The back half turns personal. Nichole tells the story of a devastating junior high year, a friend's sudden death, and the summer she decided who she wanted to be walking into high school. It's a story about identity and reinvention that still shapes how she raises her own kids today. It's a masterclass in reframing trauma, taking responsibility for your own triggers, and understanding that every one of us, just by moving through life, is going to make ripples.

The episode closes with one final question: when you strip away every label and title, who are you at your core? Nichole's answer, rooted in her LDS faith and years of internal work, redefines the difference between pride and humility. It might even change how you think about your own worth.

About Nichole Stull:

Nichole believes that every human on the planet would benefit from improv, because life is improvised and improv teaches us all how to react with love, laughter, forward motion, and purpose. Nichole has been teaching and using improv for performance, leadership, team development, and group connection for 25 years. As a speaker, trainer, and facilitator, Nichole loves helping business owners, community leaders, youth, and families find common ground, fun, and deliberate action to strengthen bonds and purpose. Nichole is also an actor, writer, director, and filmmaker who specializes in storytelling as a way to connect humans. She is fortunate to partner in business and life with her husband, Jared, and their five kids who are almost always amazing. In the last few years Nichole has taken big action to be pro-active in cancer prevention and feels passionately about patients getting all the info they need clearly, concisely, and completely to make choices confidently.

Key Takeaways:

- The "Story Spine" framework (used by Pixar) can turn any idea into a compelling story: establish the normal, introduce a change, and show how each response builds until a new normal is reached. - A story can absolutely break its own rules, you just have to earn it. Set the stage before you introduce the unexpected. - What a story "means" is shaped as much by the audience's life experience as by the storyteller's intent. - Trigger warnings have a place, but no one else is responsible for your internal reaction; that's inner work only you can do. - You can't move through the world without creating ripples. Being afraid of your own impact isn't humility, it's fear. - Pride and humility aren't opposites. The real opposite of pride is self-hate, while humility is holding your own value and everyone else's at the same time. - Every one of us carries trauma, even the moments that feel "normal" in hindsight. What matters is how we choose to tell the story afterward.

Chapters:

00:00 - Behind the Scenes: Costume, Color & the Craft of Indie Filmmaking 07:21 - The Story Spine: Storytelling Tools from Improv to Pixar 19:02 - The Book Fair, Reluctant Readers & "Beware the Anti-Reader" 23:34 - Harry Potter, Twilight & a Surprise Book Club with Stephenie Meyer 32:24 - Library Censorship and Kids' Access to Information 35:56 - A Frank Conversation on Pornography and Intimacy 42:02 - Raising Teens: Honest Talks About Sex, Alcohol & Choices 45:40 - Trigger Warnings and Owning Your Own Reactions 51:58 - The Swimming Pool Analogy: Permission to Make Ripples 58:52 - Everyone Has Trauma. It's How We Tell the Story 1:01:12 - Nichole's Turning Point: Loneliness, Loss & Choosing Who to Become 1:10:04 - What We Choose to Put Out Into the World 1:12:21 - Final Question

Art Burns spent years in New York's high-pressure advertising world before addiction and burnout brought him to his knees, and to mindfulness. Today he's a certified mindfulness meditation teacher and founder of Alicia's Angels, a nonprofit bringing guided meditation, self-compassion coaching, and community support directly into chemotherapy infusion centers.

In this conversation, Art shares the story of Alicia, the client whose journey inspired the organization's name, and unpacks how mindfulness helps cancer patients and their families soften anger into acceptance, release the "cancer as identity" trap, and find beauty even in life's hardest moments. Steph and Art talk honestly about supporting loved ones through illness, the neuroscience behind rewiring the brain through practice, and why real presence matters more than having the "right" words.

Whether you're navigating a diagnosis, supporting someone who is, or just want practical tools for showing up more fully in your own life, this episode offers both heart and hard science.

Learn more about Alicia's Angels: https://aliciasangels.com/

ABOUT ART BURNS:

As a certified mindfulness meditation teacher, Art draws upon his traditional Catholic upbringing, combined with his extensive studies in the Eastern philosophies of Taoism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, to spiritually connect with people from every background. Through the language of their religious and cultural experience, Art helps people understand the universal laws of spirituality to help bring them to a place of physical and emotional wellbeing. Art resides in Colorado with three cats.

🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS

- Alicia's Angels brings free mindfulness meditation, self-compassion coaching, and community into chemotherapy centers and virtual sessions for patients, families, and caregivers. - A cancer diagnosis doesn't just affect the patient, it ripples through family members, friends, and coworkers in ways that are easy to miss. - The most helpful thing you can offer someone facing illness isn't advice or errands, it's honest, judgment-free presence and active listening. - Mindfulness isn't about controlling your thoughts; it's about noticing when your attention wanders and gently returning, it's a "muscle" you build with practice. - Neuroplasticity research shows consistent meditation practice measurably changes brain activity, even outside of meditation itself. - Self-compassion follows a simple three-step practice: acknowledge the struggle, remember you're not alone in it, then offer yourself comfort. - A diagnosis (or any role we play) doesn't have to become our whole identity, it is one thread in a larger tapestry.

⏱️ CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Cold Open: Meet Art Burns & Alicia's Angels 00:29 - The Story Behind Alicia's Angels 05:53 - Inside the Program: Meditation, Coaching & Community 08:52- How a Cancer Diagnosis Ripples Through the Family 16:48 - What to Say (and Not Say) to Someone with Cancer 20:23 - From Advertising Burnout to a Mindfulness Practice 31:07 - When Illness Becomes Your Identity 37:05 - The Power of Presence Without Judgment 44:52 - Alicia's Words: From Anger to Compassion 48:02 - The Self-Compassion Practice 53:29 - The Neuroscience of a Rewired Brain 57:03 - Small Daily Practices That Change Everything 1:03:01 - Judgment, Traffic Jams & Seeing the Beauty in What Is 1:08:28 - Closing Question: Who Are You at Your Core?

This episode kicks off with a cold open - Steph and Chance Fuerstinger re-discovering their unlikely shared connection to Grand Junction, Colorado, before the mics officially turn on.

Actor, writer, filmmaker, and acting teacher Chance Fuerstinger joins Steph Lokelani for a conversation that moves from the craft of storytelling to the harder work of understanding yourself. Chance breaks down the Meisner technique, why "the dialog is bullshit" (the truth underneath it is what matters), and the running joke of being crowned Boise's sixth-funniest person. From there the conversation turns to real life: walking away from a soul-crushing job in medical billing, rewriting a fantasy novel first drafted at 16, and directing documentaries about stories that deserve to be told without an agenda attached.

The episode closes on the question this podcast always asks: who are you when the titles fall away? Chance talks candidly about the ongoing work of self-discovery, including a recent diagnosis that helped some long-standing pieces click into place, and learning to set boundaries with the people closest to him.

About Chance Fuerstinger:

Chance Fuerstinger is an international award winning actor, writer, and filmmaker. He lives in Kuna, Idaho with his husband and their three demon cats. He is an instructor at Boise Acting Studio. He spends his free time acting and directing for local community theatres in the Boise area and is currently serving on the board of directors at Boise Little Theater. Passionate about his craft, Chance lives by the mantra, "If you know everything there is to know about acting, you should stop acting." Outside of acting, Chance is hard at work on a fantasy novel.

💡 Key Takeaways

- Acting method matters less than presence - Chance's Meisner-based approach centers on truly listening to your scene partner and building real imaginary circumstances, not performing emotion. - "The dialog is bullshit" - the words characters say matter less than the truth underneath them; playing the subtext is the actual job. - Walking away from a stable but miserable career opened space for teaching, writing, and acting full time. - Writing a novel is a different muscle than writing for stage or screen - you're the one painting the whole picture, inner monologue and all. - Feedback is only useful if you actually want it - Chance talks through learning to ask for, and sit with, honest critique. - Self-discovery isn't a finish line, it's an ongoing practice, done creatively and in public, and it includes learning to set boundaries with the people closest to you.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Cold Open: The Grand Junction Connection 03:56 – Welcome & Meeting Chance Fuerstinger 19:39 – Boise's Funniest Person & Returning to Comedy 31:59 – Chance's Acting Method (Meisner Technique) 39:27 – Theater Etiquette & Staying Present On Stage 47:10 – Teaching Acting for Stage vs. Film 53:22 – Documentary Filmmaking & Stories Worth Telling 57:58 – Rewriting a Novel Started at 16 1:04:45 – Leaving a Soul-Sucking Job for Creative Freedom 1:12:46 – Feedback, Killing Your Darlings & the Writing Process 1:19:57 – Dream Roles 1:26:37 – Who Are You At Your Core?