"Every Brilliant Thing" by Duncan Macmillan

"When Mom’s in the hospital and Dad says she’s ‘done something stupid’, there’s not much a seven year old can do.

1. Ice cream

2. Water fights

3. Staying up past your bedtime and being allowed to watch TV.

These are the first three items on a list of every brilliant thing in the world worth living for. Duncan MacMillan’s play Every Brilliant Thing pulls back the curtain on what it’s like to be a child of a suicidal mother and the lengths we go for those we love. Based on true and untrue stories, Every Brilliant Thing is a life-affirming story of how to achieve hope through focusing on the smallest miracles of life.

When writing the piece, Macmillan felt like there had been a lack of material that tackled depression and suicide in a mature and responsible way, and in turn, Every Brilliant Thing was born. In a social moment where we all have been made to feel more isolated than ever, I'm hoping that sharing this piece, which relies so heavily on community, in this particular moment, will offer us a shared sense of hope and solidarity as we begin to return to normal.

Directed by Ciera Eis and featuring Geoffrey Ulysses Geissinger, this performance of Every Brilliant Thing will be outdoors in the Redwood Grove and socially-distanced in the round, with all audience members and myself being required to wear a mask. 

There will be two performances, both beginning at 5 PM on Saturday, May 1st and Sunday, May 2nd. Please come prepared to participate and engage with the performance as audience interaction is integral to the play's experience. You will be asked to read numbers from a list aloud, and a few members will be asked to play other characters, mostly selected from the first row. One or two of the audience characters will be asked to interact within 6 feet of the narrator. If you don't feel comfortable with that, please advocate for yourself by either sitting in the second row before the show begins or declining to participate. As we begin to return to the theatre and live events, your comfort and safety is a priority for me, and I want to make sure everyone's experience is one where no one feels as though they have to make concessions with their comfort level.

The runtime of the show is about an hour, and there will be a brief talk-back after the show for those who are interested.

 Reservations must be made by April 29th.

 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/every-brilliant-thing-tickets-151121774295

If you have any other questions, feel free to text me at 858-465-0558 or email me at gdg2@stmarys-ca.edu.