Talking It Out Virtual Arts Festival Will Present November 2022 Short Play Festival This Weekend

On November 19th at 7pm EST, the Talking It Out Virtual Arts Festival will present its next series of short plays by emerging playwrights around the world, featuring actors and directors from around the world, in support of raising mental health awareness.

Tickets are free, but donations are strongly encouraged. For this November 19th performance, half of all donations go to RAINN (www.rainn.org) to provide mental health support for victims of sexual assault, while the other half goes to the participating artists.

This month's line-up of plays includes:

DATING ANXIETY

by Lisa Carter

Directed by Ryan Thornhill

Starring Aero England, Kamala Rose & Sophie Hill

FRONTLINE

by Judith Hancock

Directed by Cinda Goeken

Starring Willie Hannah & Elizabeth Jasper-Williams

WATERLILIES

by Christine Lee

Directed by Cayle Komara

Starring Mackenzie Krestul

FAULTY LOCK

by AJ Maryn

Directed by Michael Beverley

Starring Vee Gardineer & Michael Beverley

CYCLE

by Willow Najarro

Directed by Anthony J. Piccione

Starring Catherine Ivy, Erica Marie Lecce, Libby Lou & Tyler Henson

Now in its third season, the Talking It Out Virtual Arts Festival's current leadership slate consists of Producing Artistic Director Anthony J. Piccione, Associate Artistic Director Ryan Thornhill, Program Manager Maria fe Picar & Literary Manager Angelo Lorenzo.

Founded in 2020 by Mr. Piccione during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the original Talking It Out performance was presented live at the Dramatists Guild Foundation's Music Hall on March 10th, 2019. At the time of the initial readings, Michael D'Antoni wrote a rave review of the event for Five-Star Arts Journals, describing it as having "nothing less than pure, unadulterated, genuine, unpretentious focus on the agonies and anguish of mental illness, while also celebrating the triumphs and accomplishments over those living with, or those living with someone who suffers from mental health issues."

Originally intended to be a one-time event of minimalistic staged reading of short plays, the event has since been revived as an ongoing festival of plays - as well as an expanding line-up of additional arts programming - presented online via Zoom. Upon the first live screening of Talking It Out in November 2020, playwright & critic Jan Ewing praised the festival in a review for Hi! Drama for having "drawn from a wide range of ages and genders" and for "detailing the pain and distress encountered not only by those suffering from the various disorders but also those who support them." Each of the plays is presented by an ensemble of actors from different corners of the world, highlighting various issues of mental illness - ranging from anxiety, depression, autism, ADHD, PTSD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, and more.

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