Every Brilliant Thing
October, 2021
by Duncan Macmillan, with Jonny Donahoe
Directed by J. Chachula, Featuring Thaddaeus Edwards
October 8-24, 2021 • Raleigh
A play that Shines a light on all things worth living for
Click on our Playbill photo below for our program with biographies and show information:
Clickable Playbill PDF
Discussion: Dr. Bates-Duford discussion: Turning a Fall into a Leap
About the show:
Drawing on warmth, hope, and gentle humor, the play addresses the effects of depression and suicide, as experienced by son and playwright Duncan Macmillan, who was inspired to brighten his mother’s days by writing post-it notes with the brilliant things that make life worth living, such as, ice cream or water fights. Never speaking directly about his lists, he knows she reads it because she corrected his spelling. Macmillan revisits the list years later as a young man in love, a man growing up and experiencing life. The audience travels with him, as they interact and sometimes become key players in this retelling. Macmillan’s message in “Every Brilliant Thing” is that no matter how dark life may be, it may not be brilliant but it will get better.
PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS:
WEEKEND 3:
Friday, October 22nd, 7:30 pm Performance. Aftershow Panel DISCUSSION: Join the Director, J. Chachula, actor Thaddaeus Edwards, Kelly Caniglia,and Linda Maynard. Linda is a retired social worker that uses improv, roleplay, and storytelling in her work.
Saturday, October 2rd, 7:30 pm Performance. Aftershow Panel DISCUSSION: Join the Director, J. Chachula, actor Thaddaeus Edwards, Kelly Caniglia,and Linda Maynard. Linda is a retired social worker that uses improv, roleplay, and storytelling in her work.
Sunday, October 24th, 3:30 pm matinee AUDIO DESCRIPTION, FREE CHILDCARE, Seed Art Share will provide an on-site Drama program for kids ages 4+ who are too young to attend the performance. Activities include theatre games, snacks, a craft, stories, and other show-themed activities. Upon leaving, Families will receive info regarding the show topics their child explored during the program so they may continue to SHARE their ART experience on the way home! The Share the Show fee is included in the cost of one adult admission ticket. Registration for Share the Share does not guarantee admission to the show and must be completed AFTER confirming individual theatre ticket reservations at www.thejusticetheaterproject.org. Registration for Share the Show will close 24-hours prior to each event and you will receive a confirmation with check-in/out details. Save your spot at www.seedartshare.org/share-the-show.
This show's most prevalent themes are depression and suicide prevention, told through the loving and compassionate lens of a son, throughout his life.
If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts or know someone who is, please visit:
www.sprc.org/states/north-carolina or call the National Suicide Lifeline:
800-273-8255
A Light-hearted Look At a Lead Heavy Subject by Martha Keravuori and Chuck Galle
Justice Theater Project is back in business! After over a year and a half of COVID shutdown, JTP presents “Every Brilliant Thing,” by Duncan MacMillan and Jonny Donahoe, performed by Thaddeus Edwards, and Directed by J. Chachula.
When one loses a loved one to suicide, one may ask “Why did she/he do it?” and “What could I have done to prevent it from happening?” There probably is no answer. The questions may never go away. Depression is no laughing matter, but this is a very funny play.
It is an unusual play also, in that it is written to invite the entire audience to be participants. As the audience assembles, each one is given several scraps of paper that have a number and a word or two or more written on them. They will become part of the performance, occasionally. Several audience members will be asked to stand in as characters the solo performer needs to assist in telling his story, which extends from 1985, when he is seven years old, until well into his adulthood.
This is an exploration of depression, both his mother’s and as it turns out, of his own, as he begins and creates over this period a list defined by the title. Here is a lesson that we can all use during this very difficult period in our country and beyond. The lesson is to concentrate on every brilliant aspect of life that makes it worth living.
On our list of brilliant things is Thaddeus Edwards’s seventy-five-minute performance, which is so completely natural one might think he wrote it himself. His style is so personally inclusive that as his eyes meet every one of us, he nonetheless speaks to us all. He deftly transitions from childhood to adulthood.
For people reluctant to go to live theater this is a good one to start back with. Masks and proof of vaccination with a photo ID are required, and socially distanced seating is set up.
The show will be performed on October 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 at Justice Theater Project’s home at Umstead Park United Church of Christ, 8208 Brownleigh Dr, Raleigh, 27617. Reservations obtained at (919) 264-7089 www.thejusticetheateproject.org
ARCHIVED show information:
Friday, October 8. 7:30 pm OPENING NIGHT SHOW
Saturday, October 9th. 6:15 pm to 7 pm discussion Positive Psychology and the Science of Living with John “Sean” Doyle, a poet and lawyer who taught positive psychology at North Carolina State University for close to a decade. Through essays and stories on the poetry and science of living, his book Mud and Dreams is an argument for the goodness of people, the beauty all around us, and our reasons for hope. It calls us to embrace all the noise and confusion of our lives and to find the meaning, gratefulness, and cause for celebration. Ultimately, Mud and Dreams is about falling more deeply in love with life. A husband and father of three, Sean lives and writes in Raleigh, North Carolina. For more about Sean, please visit: www.johnseandoyle.com
Sunday, October 10th, 3:30 pm Matinee
Saturday, Oct. 16th: Dr. Bates-Duford. Turning a Fall into a Leap:
Here is a video link to this discussion:
Dr. Bates-Duford is the CEO and founder of Family Matters Counseling Group in Raleigh, NC & Orlando, FL. She has engaged in extensive work and research on familial relationships, family trauma, and dysfunctions. She is known for her work with traumatic experiences and symptom re-emergence. With nearly 20 years in the field of behavioral sciences, she has been instrumental in her work with stabilizing families, helping individuals and families navigate the challenges of mental illness, as well as victims of abuse/ trauma, reprocess the memory of the trauma in a manner that no longer paralyzes nor interferes with daily functioning. She is an accomplished author of children’s books covering topics such as, conduct disorder, ADHD, parenting a child with special needs, and trauma.
Dr. Bates-Duford has a Ph.D. in Forensic Psychology, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Certified Relationship Expert (APA #15221), and a Certified Master Forensic Social Worker. She has conducted research, therapy, and training on sexual trauma.
Dr. Bates-Duford has appeared on 20/20 "The John Benet Ramsey Story" and Investigation Discovery "Evil Lives Here."
You can learn more about her in the following articles and podcasts.
https://medium.com/.../young-social-impact-heroes-why-and...
https://www.yourtango.com/.../signs-trauma-bonding-and...
https://foreverymom.com/.../domestic-abuse-hiding.../
