Experiments in Form: Lydia's Funeral Video Redux

Samantha Chanse / Make It Rain: Keep Kaya Press Thriving!

As we return to Lydia’s Funeral Video ten years after its original adaptation from the stage to the page, we are hoping to find transformation and renewal once again—in the shape of a short-from video series. This project is a long-term experiment asking what it means to translate an artistic vision not only between mediums but also across time. Help us bring the book and performance to multimedia life and connect this classic Kaya book to the abortion struggles of today.

  • $1,350

    Raised

  • $15,000

    Goal

  • 12

    Supporters

  • 34

    Days Remaining

Recent Transactions

About Experiments in Form: Lydia's Funeral Video Redux

“You don't know an apocalypse when you see one!” Sam Chanse declared 18 years ago in her first full-length solo performance, Lydia’s Funeral Video, bringing audience members into a dystopian America that has banned all abortions after 28 days. In 2015, when Kaya Press adapted Sam’s play into a book, we could not anticipate the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, and what it would be like to live in a world that has grown even closer to the apocalyptic satire of Lydia’s Funeral Video.

We believe that publishing can only stay alive if we are willing to try something new alongside our authors.

Sam Chanse is one of those artists who is looking into the unknown—and asking us to follow.

Support us in raising $10,000 for Lydia’s Funeral Video by December 31, 2025, which will go directly toward the director and editor of this short-form video series adaptation. 

This fundraiser is part of Kaya Press's 2025 Make It Rain annual drive, and all donations are tax deductible. At Kaya Press, we believe that books and community help us all thrive. Your support as readers, writers, educators, and customers is the reason we have made it to 31 years as an independent publishing house dedicated to championing avant-garde, experimental, and expectation-busting literature from the Asian Pacific American and Asian diasporas.