Most of us have made, or will make, a major career change at some point, but it must have been a shock to those close to her when, in 1997, Vijai Nathan decided to abandon her career in journalism for the dog-eat-dog world of stand-up comedy. Since then, she has appeared on ABC News’ 20/20, PBS, The Oxygen Network, the BBC, and in 2003 was named one of the country’s top ten comics by Backstage Magazine. For the past several years, she also followed another path by developing solo theater pieces.

“John Leguizamo’s Freak was an inspiration,” Nathan told DCist. “I saw all the characters of his life and wanted to tell a story that went a little deeper than what I could do in a stand-up venue.”

Describing the difference between the two genres, Nathan said, “A stand-up has to take a very aggressive stance, but in solo performance the audience is on a journey with the teller.”

This led her to develop her first solo show, Good Girls Don’t, But Indian Girls Do, which premiered in 2001. On Saturday night, she will premiere her latest piece, McGoddess: Big Macs, Karma & the American Dream, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the University of Maryland campus. The performance is in celebration of Asian American Heritage Month and will benefit Counselors Helping (South) Asians/Indians (CHAI).