is a performer, writer and visual artist who has been fusing mental health activism into her edgy performance art since 2016. Her dedication to thriving with a serious mental illness informs her art & her advocacy. With her musical about depression GET OUT ALIVE, Nikki has made history as the first black female playwright to be produced by American Music Theatre Project and the first Steppenwolf LookOut Series work to present at NAMT. In Fall of 2024, GET OUT ALIVE was optioned by Octopus Theatricals. The world premiere of her directorial debut film, Happy Songs About Unhappy Things, screened at Cinequest Film and Creativity Festival in Spring of 2024 and is currently making it’s rounds on the festival circuit.  LEARN MORE

"All I care about is music, art, & living in a way that makes me not wanna die."

nikki L

THE MUSICAL
THE SONGS
THE DOCUSERIES
THE VISUALS

Get Out Alive is a musical about depression by artist Nikki Lynette.

Get Out Alive is the most fun you’ll ever have while talking about depression. Using storytelling, song, dance, visual media and a live DJ, Nikki Lynette’s offbeat and honest approach to sharing her mental health journey shows that even when life leads us to a bad place, we can always make it out alive.

Get Out Alive is a musical about depression by artist Nikki Lynette.

Get Out Alive is the most fun you’ll ever have while talking about depression. Using storytelling, song, dance, visual media and a live DJ, Nikki Lynette’s offbeat and honest approach to sharing her mental health journey shows that even when life leads us to a bad place, we can always make it out alive.

HAPPY SONGS ABOUT

UNHAPPY THINGS

A Docuseries About Mental Health

One in four people in the world will be affected by mental health issues in their lives. In Happy Songs About Unhappy Things, indie artist Nikki Lynette is forcing us to confront the stigma in ways we never have before.

HAPPY SONGS ABOUT

UNHAPPY THINGS

A Documentary About Mental Health

One in four people in the world will be affected by mental health issues in their lives. In Happy Songs About Unhappy Things, indie artist Nikki Lynette is forcing us to confront the stigma in ways we never have before.

Biiiiiiiiiiiitch I did a TEDx Talk!

Nikki Lynette is a trained Lived Experience Speaker through the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI,) the largest grassroots mental health organization in the country. As part of NAMI Chicago’s Ending the Silence program, Nikki has spoken to over a thousand teens and families about her journey as a suicide survivor. In 2021 she was honored by NAMI Chicago with the prestigious Ambassador of the Year Award. In 2022, she was voted onto NAMI Chicago’s Board of Directors. NAMI Chicago is the first NAMI branch in the country to become a 24 hour 988 Mental Health Crisis & Suicide Prevention Hotline.

Ain't nothing wrong with me.
I just got a mental illness.

Since I finished my first film, I’ve won 4 awards, hosted a podcast on iHeartRadio, taught myself to edit movies, got my film into over a dozen festivals, performed in Montreal, performed a 19 show run of my play, dropped a TEDxTalk that went viral, licensed songs to tv shows, got standing ovations at the biggest theater festival in the country, got my docuseries funded & more… And I did it all with mental health issues.

People like us ain’t waiting around for anyone to respect us. It’s our time right the fuck now.