Talking It Out Virtual Arts Festival Returns This Month With Four One-Act Plays

On March 19th at 7pm EST, the Talking It Out Virtual Arts Festival will present its next series of one-act plays by emerging playwrights around the world, featuring actors and directors from around the world, in support of raising mental health awareness.

Tickets are free, but donations are strongly encouraged. For their March 19th performance, half of all donations goes to the International Medical Corps (www.internationalmedicalcorps.org) which is focused on providing mental health & psychosocial support to citizens, families & refugees directly impacted by the ongoing tragedy in Ukraine, while the other half goes to the participating actors, directors & playwrights. More information on reserving tickets can be found via Eventbrite or by visiting www.talkingitoutfest.com and following @talkingitoutfest on Facebook and Instagram.

This month's line-up of plays includes:

The Midnight Catch Up

Written by Angelo Lorenzo & directed by Summer Dawn

Starring Joanne Villavieja & Dylan Schroth

Remembering Morgan

Written by Annie Brown & directed by Rebecca Wilson

Starring Carly Mazer, Madeline Machado, Jada Saxton, Hyten Davidson, Jennifer Iris Rivera, Peter Mah & Andrew Larkin

Golden Thread

Written by Rosy Watkins & directed by Kelleen Moriarty

Starring Zahra Ruffin, Kate Budney, Lexi Warden & Owen O'Leary

Sorting It Out

Written by Matteo Esposito & directed by Lissy Gold

Starring Philip Bartolf, Joshua Bernard-Kriegl, Daniel Lugo & Mark Liebert

Currently in its second season, the Talking It Out Virtual Arts Festival is an ongoing production of Piccione Arts, which has brought online theatrical performances to audiences worldwide since 2020.

Founded by Producing Artistic Director Anthony J. Piccione, the first 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 plays - as well as an expanding line-up of additional arts programming - presented online via Zoom. Upon the first live screening of Talking It Out in November 2020, playwright & critic Jan Ewing praised the festival in a review for Hi! Drama 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." Each of the plays is presented by an ensemble of actors from different corners of the world, highlighting various issues of mental illness - ranging from anxiety, depression, autism, ADHD, PTSD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, and more.

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