Complete Cast Set for COPING MECHANISM at Wild Project

wild project has revealed the cast for Coping Mechanism, written by Cyrus Aaron (Panopticon) and directed by Tramane Harris (Pass Over). Coping Mechanism will begin previews on Wednesday September 27 at wild project (195 E 3rd St, New York, NY 10009), with an opening night set for Friday September 29 for a limited run through Saturday October 21, 2023. Tickets are available now.
 
The cast of Coping Mechanism will include Eric Ruffin (Shedding Load) as “Nathan,” DeShawn White (Gong Lum’s Legacy) as “Lindsie,” Gerrard James (The Duchess of Malfi) as “James,” and Jes Washington (White Woman, Black Boy) as “Debra.”
 
The creative team of Coping Mechanism will feature lighting design by Amina Alexander (Shared Sentences), scenic design by Alex Jourdan (Off Peak), prop design by Samantha Tutasi (Life is a Dream), costume design by Gina Ruiz (Drift), and sound design by Sean Hagerty (Midsummer: A Banquet). Casting is by Helene Galek, CSA.
 
"I believe this production is the vulnerable art we need, but don't quite know how to ask for,” shared playwright Cyrus Aaron. “I don't want people to come in expecting a play about grief to be sad. Sure, sadness is a part of the grieving process, but I think Coping Mechanism is genuinely about human relationships and how much our livelihood depends on them. We're all fragile, and trying to clean up the mess in our lives the best we can."
 
Guns. Guns. Anti. Pro. Life. Death. Chaos. Control.
 
As the conversation about gun violence rises and falls between news cycles, the victims of the victims are left to hold it all together. This is a story about grief, and the internal struggle that gets overshadowed by the larger public debate. How does one hold on and move on at the same time? One year after her son’s murder, Debra Clayborne is invited to finish something her son Nathan started. For Debra and those closest to her, the invitation stirs up a world of hurt, and with just a week to decide what’s best, she is at the mercy of time, and the only way out is through.
 
Coping Mechanism was originally conceived as a ten minute play for The Flea Theater’s “Flea Fridays” in 2017.
 
The performance schedule for Coping Mechanism is as follows: Tuesdays – Sundays at 7:00PM.
 
Tickets for Coping Mechanism are $25 for performances September 27-29 and $35 for all remaining performances. Tickets are available now here.
 
wild project will also present a return engagement of F*CK7THGRADE, featuring music, lyrics, and concept by Jill Sobule (“Nostalgia Kills”) and a book by Liza Birkenmeier (Grief Hotel) in November. More details will be announced soon.
 

ABOUT WILD PROJECT
 

wild project, a nonprofit producer and venue, is an innovator among producing companies, supporting the diverse independent theater, film, music, visual arts, and spoken-word artists of New York City. Since 2007, wild project has presented and produced theater that enriches, educates, and unifies its East Village community in an environmentally responsible green space. Located on E. 3rd St. in Manhattan, wild project curates resident companies in its 89- seat theater and devotes specific initiatives toward LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC projects and the work of local East Village artists, to ensure nonprofit theater sustains its roots in the community. wild project places the utmost importance on engendering a climate that supports the artists and cultivates artists who commit to artistic excellence, enrich the community and promote social equity.

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