Colin Campbell's GRIEF: A ONE MAN SHITSHOW To Premiere at Theater Row This Spring

Following a critically acclaimed, sold-out run at the 2022 Hollywood Fringe Festival, Los Angeles-based writer and performer Colin Campbell is set to premiere Grief: A One Man ShitShow at Theatre Row from March 29 - April 16, 2023. After a drunk driver killed both his teenage children, Campbell channeled his shock, anguish, and rage into this tragic-comic exploration of our culture's inability to talk about grief. Directed by Michael Schlitt, this strictly limited engagement is set to open on Sunday, April 2. Tickets are now on sale at www.griefaonemanshitshow.com

In Grief: A One Man ShitShow, Campbell gets into the weeds of grief - what happens to the marriage after the kids are killed? How do you ever get back to having sex? What do you say to people in grief? Campbell discovers that no one knows how to talk to him. His grief is too scary. He turns to grief groups and grief books but finds no relief from his fury. And then, against his will, Campbell finds his heart stretched and his compassion for others in grief expands. Slowly, he starts to pull apart his own misconceptions about loss and heartbreak, discovering other, deeper layers of loss that he had never even thought about. What begins as the feel-bad show of the year turns surprisingly redemptive. And it's funny, too, believe it or not.

"You need to go see Colin Campbell's Grief: A One Man ShitShow," declares KCRW's Anthony Byrnes. "Colin is using theatre as a guide not for his soul but for ours. It's a difficult journey but it is never selfish and never exploitative. You will leave this show moved by Colin's generosity and love. You'll feel better and your soul a bit bigger for having experienced it."

Performances of Grief: A One Man Shitshow follow the publication of Campbell's first book, Finding The Words: Working Through Profound Loss with Hope and Purpose, which comes out on March 14 for Tarcher Perigee, an imprint of Penguin Random House. New York dates follow an encore engagement, March 17-19, in Los Angeles and are intentionally scheduled to coincide with the birthdays of Campbell's children: Ruby Campbell on March 29 and Hart Campbell on March 30.

"We've lost the insights of the ancient Greeks, and no longer know how to process intense grief, or talk to the grieving," says master storyteller Campbell. "People are often too scared to say anything other than 'there are no words,' but I've come to learn that we grieve so that we are able to live more fully. It's essential. Being able to share my story with New York audiences on dates that include my children's birthdays brings me a kind of solace."

Thirteen performances of Grief: A One Man ShitShow will take place March 29-April 16, 2023, at Theatre Row, located at 410 W 42nd St in Manhattan. Critics are welcome as of March 29 for an opening on Sunday, April 2. The performance schedule is Thursdays-Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM with an additional performance on March 29 at 8 PM. The running time is 75 minutes with no intermission. General admission tickets, which start at $37.50, are available at www.griefaonemanshitshow.com. Standard ticketing fees apply.

Form Theatricals (Anthony Francavilla and Reed Ridgley) serves as General Manager.

Please visit www.griefaonemanshitshow.com for more information.

Colin Campbell

(writer, performer) is a writer and director for theater and film. He was nominated for an academy award for Seraglio, a short film he created with his lovely and talented wife, Gail Lerner. His production of The Ballad of Ricardo Flores Magon at the Ford Theater was broadcast on KCET TV. His Variedades on Olvera Street was also broadcast on KCET TV. His production of his play, Golden Prospects was nominated for five LA Weekly awards and was Critic's Pick in Time Out NY and LA Times. His webseries, Dealbreakers, is on Amazon Prime. Campbell has written and directed for Instant Films, winning Best Writer, Best Director and numerous Best Film Awards. He has taught Theater and/or Filmmaking at Chapman University, Loyola Marymount University, Cal Poly Pomona University, Relativity Education, and to incarcerated youth through The Unusual Suspects. He has worked with numerous theater companies in LA including Cornerstone Theater, Actors Gang, A.S.K. Theater Projects, Taper New Works Festival, Theater Neo and Neurotic Young Urbanites. His book, Finding The Words: Working Through Profound Loss with Hope and Purpose, comes out March 14, 2023 for Tarcher Perigee, an imprint of Penguin Random House. https://colincampbellauthor.com/

Michael Schlitt

(director) is a founding member of the Actors' Gang theater company, two-time winner of the FringeNYC's Outstanding Solo Performance award, and a co-recipient of the LADCC Margaret Harford award for outstanding contribution to Los Angeles Theater. By day, he worked in creative marketing for almost 20 years, producing TV commercials for multiple campaigns-The Social Network, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Amazing Spiderman, and others. His radio reporting can currently be heard on KCRW's Unfictional and Greater LA. His original podcast series Early Bird Special is available on iTunes.

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