Suicide Awareness Play RIGHT BEFORE I GO. Reunites 'Gilmore' Cast Members For Six City Tour
The play brings to life the last words written in letters by individuals lost to suicide-including celebrities, veterans, children and those identifying as LGBTQ+.
By: A.A. Cristi Jul. 15, 2022
Seedling Events announced an east coast tour of Stan Zimmerman's suicide awareness play, "Right Before I Go.", highlighting the raw struggles of people in all walks of life that have died by suicide.
The play brings to life the last words written in letters by individuals lost to suicide-including celebrities, veterans, children and those identifying as LGBTQ+, people who have experienced a range of mental health calamities-as well as those who have survived attempts. This production of "Right Before I Go." will feature cast members from the popular TV show "Gilmore Girls", with its first performance at 3p.m. in Ogunquit, Maine on October 2, 2022. Tickets, cast bios and additional information about this production can be found at www.seedlingevents.com.
The tour will run for one week throughout New England and down the eastern seaboard, from Maine to Washington D.C. and will be under the direction of Gilmore alum Devon M. Schwartz, aka Devon Michaels, who brings nearly three decades of theater experience from across the country to this project. To date, cast members include playwright & narrator, Stan Zimmerman (whose writing credits include "Golden Girls", "Gilmore Girls" & "Roseanne"), Devon Michaels, Shelly Cole, Nick Holmes and Emily Kuroda. Liza Weil ("How to Get Away with Murder") will join the production for the first performance, in Ogunquit, Maine. Additional cast and special guests may be announced in the coming months.
Original music, by Michael Teoli, will be written and performed for this production. And, in an effort to involve the community, each event will hold a spot for a local member of the community to read one of the notes alongside the main cast. Proceeds from the tour will be given to a non-profit that supports suicide awareness & prevention within each community.
"After the suicide death of my good friend, Kevin Gill, I was at a loss about how to process this. Seeing so much shame around the topic, I decided to create a play in the vein of "The Vagina Monologues", easily produced with actors on stools, reading the script from music stands." Stan Zimmerman, "Right Before I Go." creator, said. My hope is that this will create an opening for a much needed discussion about a very complicated issue."
Confirmed performances, for this production, of "Right Before I Go." include:
October 2nd @ 3p.m.
Ogunquit, Maine (The Leavitt Theater)
October 3rd @ 7p.m.
Manchester, New Hampshire (The Rex Theater @ The Palace)
October 5th & 6th @ 7p.m.
Woodstock, New York (Woodstock Playhouse)
October 7th @ 7p.m.
Wilmington, Delaware (Theatre N at Nemours)
October 8th @ 8p.m.
Washington D.C, (The Lang Theatre @ Atlas Performing Arts Center)
October 9th @ 8p.m.
Baltimore, MD (Chesapeake Shakespeare Company)
"Bringing this piece to communities along the east coast expands discussion on a societal challenge that automatically benefits from more conversation. I'm incredibly proud to be working with a cast like this to help increase awareness," Devon M. Schwartz, "Right Before I Go." director, said. "The play itself is nowhere near as daunting as it sounds: Stan characteristically includes gentle humor to help plumb the depths. And our goal is not to embody those who've suffered but to honor their uniquely raw poetry, to build empathy and make better advocates of us all."
Since its acclaimed first performance at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2015, the play has traveled across the country, raising awareness and offering hope for suicide prevention. The run time is 60 minutes, followed by a 30 minute talkback with a local mental health expert between the actors & audience. A short reception, with the cast, will follow for VIP ticket holders at each location. This tour runs on the heels of Suicide Awareness Month, which takes place every September, but this extension allows for the conversation to be continued-because truly, this is a topic that needs attention year-around. The play has been published and licensed by TRWplays.
"This poignant, deeply moving, and surprisingly light play invokes a raw and authentic approach to storytelling in an effort to help broaden public perspective of suicide, eliminate the stigma associated with depression, and strengthen the relationship between survivors and those struggling every day." - broadwayworld.com
For more information or to purchase tickets to a performance, visit www.seedlingevents.com. For sponsorship information, or to bring this production to a local theater, contact hello@seedlingevents.com.
Seedling Events is an extension of Seedling Communications, a full-service communications agency based in Austin, Texas since 2010, that works across the country for brands of all shapes and sizes. Seedling Communications has supported international festivals & virtual events spanning the globe, adapting with little notice and pivoting to fit the current climate & its clients' circumstances. Seedling Communications launched Seedling Events in 2022 to grow its impact with purposeful productions. Seedling Events intends to celebrate, cultivate and captivate communities with creativity. For more information, visit www.seedlingevents.com.
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