Abby McEnany is a writer, comedian, actor and Chicago improv mainstay. She is the co-creator, writer, executive producer and star of the Showtime television series Work in Progress, a semi-autobiographical comedy-drama about a self-identified “fat, queer dyke” entering into a transformative relationship during a time of crisis. Much of the story of Work in Progress, which ran for two seasons 2019-2021, is about Abby, the character, finding opportunities to live, when she has just about given up hope.  

Each year the cathedral chooses a theme for inspiration and reflection, and in 2022 our theme is connection. Join Dean Malcolm Clemens Young for a conversation with McEnany about what it’s like to be one of the few people like her in film and television, and how her work deepens our connections to each other. 

WATCH Work in Progress 

About the Moderator 

The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm Clemens Young is the dean of Grace Cathedral. He is the author of The Spiritual Journal of Henry David Thoreau and The Invisible Hand in Wilderness: Economics, Ecology and God, and is a regular contributor on religion to the Huffington Post and San Francisco Examiner.   

About  The  Forum  

The Forum is a series of stimulating conversations about faith and ethics in relation to the important issues of our day. We invite inspiring and illustrious people to sit down for a real conversation with the Forum’s host and with you. Our guests range from artists, inventors and philosophers to pop culturists and elected officials, but the point of The Forum is singular: civil, sophisticated discourse that engages minds and hearts to think in new ways about the world.  More about Grace Forum Online 

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