TALKING IT OUT FEST to Host Virtual Poetry Open-Mic Tonight

Tonight at 7pm, the Talking It Out Virtual Arts Festival in Support of Mental Health Awareness will begin hosting monthly poetry open-mics for writers and artists to come and share their work virtually across the world, and to watch and support the works of their fellow artists.

Hosted by Dae the Poet, these monthly spoken word sessions are open to the public and will be held at 7pm EST on the 4th Sunday of each month with RSVPs available for free, with donation link to be added in the coming days. Sign-up today by visiting the free Zoom registration link here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEucemurjwqHd1VfbU9VyIJ0I3D-vjB5JwH

Founded by Anthony J. Piccione, 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 virtual plays - as well as an expanding line-up of additional arts programming - presented online via Zoom. At the time of the inaugural November 2020 performance, Jan Ewing of Hi! Drama praised the festival 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." Since then, the festival has continued to reach thousands of artists & audience members worldwide, and recently received four nominations for the 2023 Young-Howze Theatre Awards including for Festival of the Year. Each of the plays is presented by an ensemble of actors from different corners of the world, highlighting various issues related to mental illness - ranging from anxiety, depression, neurodivergency, PTSD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, and more.