Dark Comedy COPING Coming to FringeNYC

The up-and-coming artists behind last year's hit Chemistry return to the New York International Fringe Festival this summer with Coping, a pitch black comedy about love, family and the absurdity of death.

Coping follows the aftermath of 25-year-old Connor's suicide, as his friends and loved ones try to piece together the smoking remains of his life. His girlfriend, Sarah, struggles with the guilt of inadvertently handing Connor the means to kill himself. His sister, Jessica, attempts to control every detail of the funeral and punish anyone who questions her, while her girlfriend plays peacemaker. His roommate, Lucas, wanders through life in a stoned haze to avoid the horror of what has happened. As each of them tries desperately to make things right, place blame, and confront their own battles with mental illness, they must find a way to come together and accept the unacceptable, or destroy the memory of the one person they all loved.

The show's creators return to FringeNYC after their striking success at last year's festival, where their show, Chemistry, extended, sold out, returned for the FringeNYC Encore Series, and won the FringeNYC Excellence in Playwriting Award. Critics raved that the show was "Dark, honest, and unsparing in its depiction of mental illness" (nytheater now), "Hilarious, and heartbreaking" (Theatre is Easy), and "Pitch black and poignant! Sharply written banter and well-delivered one-liners allow us to access the darkness of the tragedy unfolding before us" (The Villager/Chelsea Now). Now they return with a darker, funnier and more powerful play about the vicious truths that make us human.

Featuring: Dinah Berkeley (Janie), Lauren Hennessy (Taylor), Lauren LaRocca* (Sarah), Lipica Shah* (Jessica), and Scott Thomas* (Lucas).

Creative Team: Audra Arnaudon (Producer), Anna Strasser (Director), Jacob Marx Rice (Author), Tana Sirois (Associate Producer), Randall Benichak (Composer), and Heather Olmstead* (Stage Manager).

*Appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.