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Published on:

27th Oct 2025

Stephanie Czajkowski, Actress | From Starships to Survival: Grit, Gratitude, and Starting Over

Season 9 of Big Conversations, Little Bar with Patrick Evans and Randy Florence debuts with actress Stephanie Czajkowski, whose turn as a Vulcan on Star Trek: Picard sparked a fandom embrace as fierce as her resilience. She opens up about discovering multiple cancers, the grit, humor, and partnership that carried her through surgery, chemo, radiation, and life after. We talk Coachella Valley roots, a lip-sync win that brought her into the community, and why being present beats chasing perfection. Stephanie also previews “Best Intentions,” her darkly funny short about navigating everyone’s “helpful” reactions at work, plus a larger vision for stories about living with illness—not just fighting it. From early theater dreams in the Midwest to building a career on shows like Doom Patrol and MacGruber, she shares how shaving her head, letting go of fear, and doing the job opened surprising doors. A candid, compassionate Season 9 opener about creativity, advocacy, and finding light in tough places. along the way.

Takeaways:

  • Season 9 launches with a raw, funny, and fearless conversation.
  • Stephanie’s Star Trek: Picard role (a partly Delton Vulcan) became a fan-favorite moment.
  • Multiple cancer diagnoses reshaped her outlook without dimming her drive.
  • Advocacy tip: track your labs, ask questions, and trust body signals.
  • Community matters—Palm Desert roots and a lip-sync win deepened local ties.
  • Creative pivot: writing/directing the dark comedy short “Best Intentions.”
  • Career insight: drop perfection, do the work, and opportunities follow.
  • Living with illness isn’t only tragedy—there’s humor, humanity, and hope.

#BigConversationsLittleBarPodcast #PatrickEvans #RandyFlorence #SkipsLittleBar #MutualBroadcastingSystem #CoachellaValleyResidents #SkipPaige #McCallumTheatre #StephanieCzajkowski #StarTrekPicard #Season9Debut #PalmDesert #PodcastInterview #CancerSurvivor #BreastCancerAwareness #ActorLife #DoomPatrol #MacGruber #Vulcan #BestIntentions

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About the Podcast

Big Conversations, Little Bar
Hosted by Patrick Evans and Randy Florence, get up close and personal with fascinating people who live in and visit the Coachella Valley and have made an impact on the region's economy, culture and global appeal as a leading tourism destination.
The series is now in its sixth season and has just launched its third year of production as it reaches the 100th episode mark in the first quarter of 2025! Many thanks to our outstanding listeners from throughout the Golden State, North America and around the world. And, a very special note of gratitude to our friends Skip Paige and Kate Spates for hosting us at Little Bar in Palm Desert, CA, and to Chairman Garry Kief, Digital Content Whiz Leanne McNeil and all the fine staff at the McCallum Theatre, without whose sponsorship this program would not be made possible to bring you every single week. Please support these enterprises as doing so helps support our ability to deliver hours of entertainment each month to our loyal followers.

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