GRIEF DIALOGUES: THE EXPERIENCE Will Present Invitation-Only Immersive Performances & Film Shoot

Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright Elizabeth Coplan's collaborative production and film shoot with Virtual Stage Lab of Grief Dialogues: The Experience will be shared with invited audiences in New York for three performances on Tuesday, October 29th and Wednesday, October 30th at A.R.T New York, 520 8th Avenue (btw 36th & 37th Street).

The live experience and film, directed by Emmy award winner Dani Davis, is an assembly of short plays by diverse playwrights in an evocative immersive setting, offering a distinctive lens on grief as a natural experience born out of love. From heart-wrenching moments to humor and even a twist on a ghost story, the plays are crafted to provoke thought, emotion, and reflection.

This original immersive experience gives audiences agency as they move through the worlds of the plays with the characters - choosing their own path, engaging with the space and the stories of the experience, to touch in on their own relationship with grief.

The playwrights include Nambi E. Kelley, executive story editor and writer of Lady of the Lake starring Natalie Portman on Apple TV, Paul Atreides, Barbara Blumenthal, Elizabeth Coplan, Donna Hoke, Amy Judith Reuben, Leilani Squire, Tim Woods, Louisa Vilardi, and poet Jenny Coates.

The cast features Tyler Bey, Jamey Cheek, Indiana Robinson Dawes, Jeffrey Doornbos, Jeffrey Grover, Georgia Monroe, Erika Vetter, Amber Walker, and Frank Williams. Andrew Coopman is the Associate Director.

Virtual Stage Lab, created by Paul Gordon, David Goldsmith, and Sean Patrick, offers producers and theater makers a new way of developing their work. In addition to the lab production being experienced LIVE by audiences, Grief Dialogues: the Experience will be filmed and edited, and made available on the Virtual Stage Lab platform. This production is being produced under the jurisdiction of SAG. 

The Grief Dialogues

Elizabeth Coplan, founder and chief playwright started the Grief Dialogues in 2016 as a theatrical expression opening new conversations between grievers, those with terminal and chronic illness, and the health care providers who serve them. 

In 2019 Coplan joined forces with Virginia Mason Palliative Care Program to create an evening of short plays followed by a moderated discussion. As COVID-19 developed, they noticed a massive increase in demand and transitioned performances to online platforms to provide content in a safe and accessible way.

Since its inception, Grief Dialogues has blossomed into a massive community and conversation about all thing's death, dying, and grief related. Today they offer resources, relatable stories from a talented group of authors, and events, news, networking and online and in person communities. www.griefdialogueseducation.com - www.instagram.com/grief.dialogues

Elizabeth Coplan (Playwright/lead producer) turned her personal loss into the groundbreaking play cycle, Grief Dialogues. Her play 'Til Death was produced by Abingdon Theatre and played off-Broadway in 2023 at Theatre Row. Elizabeth wrote the award-winning play Hospice: A Love Story. Her play Honoring Choices had successful BIPOC and multicultural productions and became a festival favorite short film. The Choice is co-written with her husband, Scott. www.elizabethcoplan.com

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