THE ELEPHANT IN EVERY ROOM I ENTER Launches Post-Show Talks at La MaMa Tonight

THE ELEPHANT IN EVERY ROOM I ENTER, the strikingly intimate solo work created by Gardiner Comfort and Kel Haney, in which Mr. Comfort shares the challenges of a working actor living with Tourette Syndrome, have announced a series of post-performance discussions with medical experts and Adults Living with Tourette's to follow select performances of the show.

Performances begin tonight, Thursday, October 15th at La MaMa - First Floor Theatre (74a East 4th Street - between Bowery and 2nd Avenue) and continue through Saturday, October 31.

In THE ELEPHANT IN EVERY ROOM I ENTER, using an erratic and energetic performance style (a nod to Tourette's itself), and evocative details of his week attending the "Tourette Syndrome Association National Conference" in Washington, D.C., Gardiner Comfort shares his life as an actor with this neurological disorder and discovers, for the first time in his life, how he can be himself.

The schedule of post-performance discussions is:

Thursday, October 22 (immediately following the 7:30 pm performance)

DR. BARBARA BUDMAN, M.D., DR. BARBARA COFFEY, M.D., AND DR. JOHN T. WALKUP LEAD AN INSIGHTFUL AND INFORMATIVE DISCUSSION ABOUT TOURETTE SYNDROME FROM A MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE.

Three of the top medical doctors who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of Tourette syndrome will join Gardiner Comfort and Kel Haney for an informative and eye-opening discussion.

Dr. Budman is an internationally recognized specialist in Tourette syndrome and its associated disorders, a professor of Psychiatry at the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, director of the newly designated National Tourette Center of Excellence at the North Shore-LIJ Health System and director of the Movement Disorders Program in Psychiatry at the North Shore-LIJ Health System. Her clinical activities include evaluation and treatment of children, adults, and families affected by Tourette syndrome and its associated disorders. She teaches and supervises staff, lectures internationally and nationwide on Tourette syndrome and its associated disorders to health care professionals, educators, families, and members of the community, and conducts Phases II-IV clinical trials for both children and adults with Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. She has been a leader in the investigation of explosive outbursts in Tourette syndrome and a longstanding site investigator for several National Institute of Health-funded genetic studies of Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. www.feinsteininstitute.org/our-researchers/cathy-l-budman-md

Dr. Coffey is an internationally known specialist in Tics and Tourette's Disorder and related problems. She is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Chief of the Tics and Tourette's Clinical and Research Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She also serves as a Research Psychiatrist at the Nathan S. Kline Institute of Psychiatric Research in Orangeburg, New York. Prior to her move to the School of Medicine, Dr. Coffey was Associate Professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine, and Director of the Tics and Tourette's Clinical and Research Program at the NYU Child Study Center. Dr. Coffey's research has focused on the clinical course, comorbidity, phenomenology, and treatment of Tourette's Disorder and related problems. A unique focus of Dr. Coffey's work has been comorbid anxiety and mood disorders in TD. She initially reported that separation anxiety disorder, independent of OCD, predicted greater tic severity, and that major mood disorders were a more robust predictor of functional impairment than tic severity in youth with TD. More recently, Dr. Coffey and her colleagues are investigating the neurobiology of TD with both genomics and neuroimaging techniques. www.mountsinai.org/profiles/barbara-coffey

Dr. Walkup is Professor of Psychiatry, DeWitt Wallace Senior Scholar, the Vice Chair of Psychiatry, and Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Walkup has three main academic areas of interest. His work with Tourette syndrome, uniquely spans psychiatry, child psychiatry and neurology; his expertise in interventions research focuses on the development and evaluation of psychopharmacological and psychosocial treatments for the major psychiatric disorders of childhood including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, Tourette syndrome and suicidal behavior; and lastly, he has been involved in developing and evaluating interventions to reduce the large mental health disparities facing Native American youth, specifically drug use and suicide prevention. Dr. Walkup has specific expertise in Tourette Syndrome and anxiety disorders including OCD. He also has expertise in the conditions, which commonly co-occur including mood disorders and psychotic disorders. His consultations often focus on children and adolescents with refractory psychiatric disorders and include a review of the diagnostic assessments, the pharmacological treatment approach and whether there are environmental/behavioral factors that may function to sustain or enhance clinical impairment. weillcornell.org/jtwalkup

Wednesday, October 28 (immediately following the 7:30 pm performance)

AN IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION ON THE SOCIAL STIGMA OF TOURETTE SYNDROME WITH ELANA OPPENHEIM, JONATHAN FRIED, CHELSEA WHITE AND GARDINER COMFORT

Gardiner Comfort will be joined by three Adults Living with Tourette's who will share their thoughts on how they cope with the social aspects of having the rare neurological disease.

Elana Oppenheim was diagnosed with TS at the age of 6, which included complex and motor tics. She obtained her B.A. from SUNY Buffalo in 2009 and her Masters of Social Work in 2012. Elana has traveled extensively; in Europe and South America. She is now pursuing a Master's in Higher Education Administration at CUNY Baruch with the goal of working with students with disabilities.

Jonathan Fried was diagnosed at 11 with TS that included impulsive behavior, motor and vocal tics. The vocal tics subsided in his 20s. He's worked in computers, taught high school, and is now an accountant.

Chelsea White is a TV producer, writer, host and comedian. She was diagnosed with Tourette at age 4 and has been a Board Member of the Tourette Association's NYC Chapter since 2007.

The talk-backs are free with the purchase of a ticket to THE ELEPHANT IN EVERY ROOM I ENTER. For those who have already seen the show but would like to attend one of these events, please call La MaMa at (646) 430-5374 to make a reservation. Seating is limited and subject to availability.

The performance schedule for THE ELEPHANT IN EVERY ROOM I ENTER is: Thurs, Fri. & Sat. @ 7:30pm. There will be additional performances on Sunday, 10/18 @ 2:30pm,Monday, 10/19 @ 7:30 and Wednesday, 10/28 @ 7:30pm. Tickets are $18 ($13 students/seniors) and are available online at www.lamama.org or by calling 646-430-5374. La MaMa makes ten tickets available to every performance for only $10 each. These tickets are available online, by phone or at the box office (in advance only).

BIOGRAPHIES:

Gardiner Comfort is an actor and writer who was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome when he was 7. He grew up in a loft in Tribeca amidst the theatre and art scenes of the 80s and 90s. THE ELEPHANT IN EVERY ROOM I ENTER was developed with Kel Haney in Mabou Mines' Resident Artist Project. Acting and writing credits: Original solo show You're Not Tough, (HERE Arts Center, Dixon Place - directed by Kel Haney), Julius Caesar (ART, multiple world tours), Cardenio (ART, u/s), The Zero Hour (13P), REENTRY (American Records), A Parsifal (PS122), Red Beads (Mabou Mines), Henry IV Part 1 (BAM, Hebbel Theatre - Berlin), Funeral Games (The Public - workshop), Be The Death Of Me (The Civilians - workshop). MFA from ART. www.gardinercomfort.com

Kel Haney Also with Gardiner Comfort: You're Not Tough (HERE, Dixon Place). Recent directing credits include: Vickie Ramirez's Glenburn 12WP (Summer Shorts/59E59), Jonathan Caren's The Recommendation (The Flea), Kate Cortesi's Great Kills; James Christy's At Liberty Hall (Premiere Stages), Melisa Annis' United Front (Primary Stages/Fordham), and David Auburn's Fifth Planet (Lincoln Center Education). She has directed and developed new work at Ars Nova, Atlantic Theater Company, Directors Company, Cherry Lane, Keen Company, LAByrinth Theater Company, The Lark, Ma-Yi, Naked Angels, New Dramatists, New Georges, NY Fringe Festival, Partial Comfort Productions, Rattlestick, Rising Phoenix Rep, Studio 42, Vampire Cowboys, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, Westport Country Playhouse, Williamstown & the 52nd Street Project. Also: Mabou Mines Residency, Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellow, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Old Vic/New Voices Exchange Program and a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre. I Am Them, a series of short films directed by Ms. Haney, will be released later this year. www.kelhaney.com @kelhaney

An integral part of New York City's cultural landscape, La MaMa has a worldwide reputation for producing daring work in theatre, dance, performance art, and music that defies form and transcends boundaries of language, race, and culture. Founded in 1961 by theatre pioneer and legend Ellen Stewart, La MaMa is a global organization with creative partners and dedicated audiences around the world. La MaMa presents an average of 60-70 productions annually, most of which are world premieres. To date, over 3,500 productions have been presented at La MaMa with artists from more than 70 nations.

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