What It Took to Bring Tiffany Countryman's 'I Wish I Had a Daddy!’ to the Stage
By Te’Jal Cartwright, LORE Storytelling
On September 19, 2026, I went to the Dayton Convention Center to see Tiffany Countryman’s latest rendition of I Wish I Had a Daddy! Tiffany is someone I adore and support creatively, so I gifted my sister friend a ticket and we went together. I was excited to see the show. I didn’t know I would leave thinking about everything it took to make it happen.
I had a feeling it would be a great show when I saw performers like Vanae Pate and Stevin Crane involved. But the opening number pulled me in, and I was blown away until the final curtain. The storyline, the music, the comedic energy, character and crowd interaction! I could tell Tiffany and her team had put so much into it. I wish I had seen the 2018 version, because I would have loved to witness the growth between the two.
I Wish I Had a Daddy! follows Amber as she deals with the actions of her father, a man struggling with his own addictions and demons who couldn’t quite show up for his family the way they needed him to. For three hours, the crowd was drawn into Amber’s story and the complexities of the people around her. It was well written and beautifully told.
Tiffany brought the play to life by pulling together every resource she had. The first was her personal lore. The story grew out of her experience with her own father. In 2018, she wrote the first version from a place of frustration and pain. She believed in her vision despite having no theater experience at the time. Her own story gave her somewhere to begin.
In 2023, Tiffany got a job with The Human Race Theatre Company. Over the next three years, she learned more about the theater world and applied those lessons to her play. She cut the characters from 10 to eight, gave the comedic relief character Justine more lines, and expanded other characters’ perspectives. Those changes gave the play another emotional layer and more opportunities for the crowd to connect.
I love that Tiffany used her time there to learn her craft. She took what she was seeing and learning every day and brought it back to her own art.
Finally, she called on her people. Sponsors, volunteers, friends, and family helped bring I Wish I Had a Daddy!to life. Her mother, Kyhm R. Wood, was an executive producer. Steven Crane produced and orchestrated all songs but one of the songs, excluding the congregational hymns. When I asked Tiffany how she was able to bring together such an all-star cast, she shared that while some money was exchanged, much of the talent and work came from people who believed in her and were committed to one another’s artistic expression.
I thought that was so sweet. Tiffany’s passion drew people together to create art they wanted to see in our city. But I also don’t want the love people have for an artist to become the reason we expect them, or their teams, to make do with less.
During the performance of the first showing, the sound began to glitch, and the cast had to switch to handheld microphones. At intermission, Tiffany came out and told the audience what was going on.
In an exclusive interview, she shared how much pivoting the production required. The team had needed more time to rehearse in the convention center, she told me, but the budget didn’t allow for it.
And still, the show was beautiful. That’s what stayed with me: Tiffany and her team had created an excellent production while working through challenges the audience might never have known about.
The Dayton region’s nonprofit arts and cultural sector generates an estimated $239 million in annual economic activity and supports 4,490 full-time-equivalent jobs, according to the Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 study. Art gives so much to our community.
There are programs that invest in artists here. Montgomery County’s 2026 Artist Opportunity Grants awarded $68,284 to 16 artists for new work and professional development. While I’m glad that support exists, Tiffany’s experience made me think about how much it takes to produce a full play, from paying people to securing space and rehearsal time.
But artists across the country are feeling that pressure. In a 2025 national survey, 57% of artists said they were worried about at least one financial need, such as food, housing, medical care, or utilities. We celebrate the work artists make, but we also have to care about whether they can afford to keep making it.
There are so many ways we can invest in local art. We can donate directly to help pay production teams, cover venue costs, and give performers the time they need in a space. We can buy tickets and show up. We can interact with artists’ posts online, and when a production moves us, we can tell people about it. Businesses and funders can invest, too.
I loved I Wish I Had a Daddy! Tiffany and her team made something special, and I’m grateful I got to be in the room for it. I’m also tired of artists having to be creative because of the lack of capital and funding. Tiffany showed us what she could make with the resources she pulled together. Imagine what she could make with more!
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