THE FUNNY THING ABOUT A PANIC ATTACK By Ben Kassoy to Premiere At Hollywood Fringe Festival
Kassoy's solo show explores mental health through physical theater, dance, and poetry.
Author, poet, and dancer Ben Kassoy will bring poems from his spectacularly original book of the same name to life in "The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack," a genre-defying solo show, which audiences celebrated as "impactful," "magical," "hilarious," and "incredible" at its sold-out preview in New York City.
Bursting with humor, heart, and defiant wonder in the face of anxiety, "The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack" uses physical theater, dance, and poetry to reveal the connections between mental health, art...and pancakes.
Making its world premiere at The Hollywood Fringe Festival before taking the stage at Edinburgh Fringe in August, "The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack" opens a timely, courageous conversation about mental health, stigma, masculinity, and family, delving into the writer's journey with anxiety and panic attacks. While the story is personal, it's also widely relatable, inviting audiences to explore how all of us can find strength, healing, and a path forward after trauma.
EVENT DETAILS:
WHERE: The Broadwater Studio (1078 Lillian Way, Los Angeles, CA)
WHEN:
-
Sun, 6/9 @ 11:00 am (preview)
-
Thu, 6/20 @ 5:00 pm
-
Sat, 6/22 @ 11:55 pm
-
Wed, 6/26 @ 5:00 pm
-
Fri, 6/28 @ 11:55 pm
TICKETS: $10
RUN TIME: 60 minutes, ages 12+
[Content Warning // Discussion and depictions of mental health crisis, mentions of suicide and self-harm.]
ABOUT BEN KASSOY
Ben Kassoy (he/him) is an award-winning writer. He is the coauthor of nine books, including the poetry collection "The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack" (Bottlecap Press, 2023). Ben's poetry appears in Ghost City Review, JMWW, Defunct Magazine, Pithead Chapel, Cobra Milk, Bodega, Sky Island Journal, Human Parts, and others. He has also written for the websites of Elle, GQ, Teen Vogue, Glamour, Details, Women's Health, AskMen, Bustle, Elite Daily, Well+Good, Brooklyn Magazine, and others. Read more at www.benkassoy.com.
ABOUT THE TEAM
"The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack" is directed by Joanna Simmons, who also directed Mark Vigeant's Mark Pleases You, which won the Hollywood Producers' Encore Award at the 2023 Hollywood Fringe Festival. The show was choreographed by Emory University Professor of Dance Julio Medina and features music from Matt Lipkins of The Shadowboxers, who have been featured in TIME, Billboard, Playboy, and many others.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
-
Visit the show website, www.panicattackshow.com
-
Learn more about the book at www.benkassoy.com/books
-
Follow Ben on Instagram @bkassoy
|
E=MC² Einstein The Musical Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center (7/03-7/26) |
|
Gershwin and the Golden Age Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) (10/11-10/11) |
|
Matt & Ben Sherry Theatre (7/31-9/05) |
|
Jazz Vocalist Sidney Jacobs Appears at Sierra Madre Playhouse, 8/2 Sierra Madre Playhouse (8/02-8/02) |
|
Peter Hook And The Light Hollywood Palladium (9/19-9/19) |
|
The Spongebob Musical Youth Edition The Phantom Projects Theatre at La Habra Depot (7/10-7/26) |
|
My Lawyer is an Angel – chasing the ambulance chasers off the road! Jerry Mayer’s world premiere serious comedy Santa Monica Playhouse (6/13-8/23) |
|
Young Frankenstein Lewis Family Playhouse (10/16-10/25) |
|
BOOP!® The Musical Ahmanson Theatre (7/06-8/01) |
|
MARY VanARSDEL: SINGS THE BARBARA COOK SONGBOOK Coachella Valley Repertory (7/23-7/23) |