Actress, Internet pioneer Felicia Day coming to Naperville
TV actress and Internet pioneer Felicia Day took to the emerging technology early on, launched programming and successfully put her stamp on the online world. She comes to Naperville with her book about her path, "You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)."
Fans can meet her at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 23, at Anderson's Bookshop, 123 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville. To reserve a spot in the book-signing line, visit feliciadayandersons.brownpapertickets.com to purchase the required ticket. One copy of "You're Never Weird" is included with your ticket purchase.
Day's funny and inspirational memoir tells about her unusual upbringing, her rise to Internet stardom, and embracing her weirdness to find her place in the world.
When Day was a girl, all she wanted was to connect with other kids. Growing up in the Deep South, where she was "home-schooled for hippie reasons," she looked online to find her tribe. The Internet was in its infancy and she became an early adopter at every stage of its growth - finding joy and unlikely friendships in the emerging digital world.
Her relative isolation meant she could pursue passions like gaming, calculus and 1930s detective novels without shame. She had no idea how "uncool" she really was.
But if it hadn't been for her strange background - the awkwardness continued when she started college at 16, with Mom driving her to campus every day - she might never have had the naive confidence to forge her own path.
Like when she graduated as valedictorian with a math degree and then headed to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting despite having zero contacts. Or when she tired of being typecast as the crazy cat-lady secretary and decided to create her own Web series before people in show business understood that online video could be more than just cats chasing laser pointers.
Day's rags-to-riches rise to Internet fame launched her career as one of the most influential creators in new media. Ever candid, she opens up about the rough patches along the way, recounting battles with writer's block, a full-blown gaming addiction, severe anxiety and depression - and how she reinvented herself when overachieving became overwhelming.
As an actress, Day has appeared in numerous television shows including, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Supernatural" and "Eureka." However, Day is best known for her work in the Web video world.
She co-starred in Joss Whedon's Emmy Award-winning Internet musical "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog." She also created and starred in the hit Web series "The Guild."
Day is the co-founder of the YouTube channel Geek and Sundry, which was acquired by Legendary Entertainment in 2014. Day continues to act as CCO and to develop Web content and television projects as a producer, writer and performer.
Day is also extremely active on social media, has more than 2.4 million Twitter followers, and is the eighth most followed person on Goodreads, where she is also the founder of Vaginal Fantasy, a romance and fantasy book club with more than 13,000 members.
If you go
What: Felicia Day with her memoir, "You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)"
When: 2 p.m. Saturday, April 23
Where: Anderson's Bookshop, 123 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville
Tickets: $20, includes a copy of the book; feliciadayandersons.brownpapertickets.com
Info: (630) 355-2665 or andersonsbookshop.com