Brian Copeland's Hit THE WAITING PERIOD Returns In 2019

The Marsh San Francisco adds five free performances of Brian Copeland's The Waiting Period, due to ongoing support from a GoFundMe campaign and generous corporate contributions from Fremont Bank and OSIsoft in San Leandro. This deeply moving and surprisingly funny work outlines Copeland's own struggles with depression and suicidal thought, and is presented at no cost to remove all barriers for those who may be struggling with depression themselves. Featuring humorous, poignant, and riveting insights, the solo show written by Copeland and directed by David Ford, will take place January 6 & 20, February 3, March 3 & 17, 2019 with performances at 5:30pm, Sundays at The Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia Street. General admission for this performance is free, although reservations are recommended. To reserve tickets or for more information, the public may visit the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call The Marsh Box office at 415-282-3055 (open Monday through Friday, 1pm-4pm).

For patrons interested in opportunities to support The Marsh's ongoing endeavor to make this groundbreaking piece accessible to all, there are a limited number of reserved seats available ($55-$100), additionally one can donate to the GoFundMe site. "This play saves lives," said Copeland, "especially with someone committing the ultimate harm to one's self." For more information about the ongoing fundraising campaign or to help The Marsh meet its $80,000 goal with a tax-deductible donation, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/5kp972-help-us-help-people-with-depression.

This captivating drama provides an unrelenting look at a key turning point in Copeland's life-the mandatory ten-day waiting period before he could lay his hands on the newly purchased gun with which he planned to take his own life. Laced with surprisingly funny moments that serve as a buffer against the grim reality of his intentions, Copeland hopes this very personal, and ultimately redemptive, story will reach people who struggle with depression-often called the last stigmatized disease-as well as their families and loved ones. As critic Sam Hurwitt put it in The Idiolect: "It's a play I'd strongly recommend to anyone who is now or has ever been depressed or who knows someone in that situation. But honestly, it's such a strong piece that I'd recommend it just as heartily to anyone who's ever been human."

The Waiting Period opened in 2012 to overwhelming critical and audience response, and has been lauded by survivors and co-survivors of depression. The show won a Theatre Bay Area (TBA) Award for Outstanding Production of a Solo Play in 2015. Copeland launched this series of free performances to provide an opportunity to reach those who need to see the show, but have been unable to due to the price of admission. A number of people struggling with suicidal thoughts have told Copeland that seeing his piece has literally saved their lives.

Brian Copeland has been in show business since he first stepped on the comedy stage at age 18. Soon, he was headlining clubs and concerts across the country and opening for such artists as Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, Ringo Starr, and Aretha Franklin, in venues from The Universal Amphitheater to Constitution Hall in Washington DC. Copeland then branched off into television, appearing on comedy programs on NBC, A&E and MTV. He spent five years as co-host of San Francisco FOX affiliate KTVU breakfast program Mornings on 2 and two years hosting San Francisco ABC affiliate KGO's Emmy Award winning afternoon talk show 7Live. His first network special, Now Brian Copeland, premiered on NBC after Saturday Night Live for West Coast audiences in January 2015. In 1995, KGO Radio premiered The Brian Copeland Show. With his unique blend of humor and riveting talk, the program was the most listened to program in its time slot, reaching more than 100,000 listeners.

Copeland's other theatrical work includes Not a Genuine Black Man, the longest-running one-man show in San Francisco history, The Scion, a tale of privilege, murder, and sausage, which received its World Premiere at The Marsh in January 2014, and the critically acclaimed Christmas classic, The Jewelry Box. His next play, Grandma & Me: An Ode to Single Parents will debut at The Marsh in the spring of 2019.

David Ford (Director) has been collaborating on new and unusual theater for three decades and has been associated with The Marsh for most of that time. The San Francisco press has variously called him "the solo performer maven," "the monologue maestro," "the dean of solo performance," and "the solo performer's best friend." Collaborators include Geoff Hoyle, Echo Brown, Brian Copeland, Charlie Varon, Marilyn Pittman, Rebecca Fisher, Wayne Harris, and Marga Gomez. As a director, Mr. Ford has directed both solo and ensemble work regionally at The Public Theater, Second Stage, St. Clement's, Dixon's Place, One Dream Theatre, and Theatre for the New City (NY), Highways Performance Space (LA), and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (DC), as well as at theaters around the Bay Area including Magic Theatre and Marin Theatre Company. He is also a published playwright.

The Marsh is known as "a breeding ground for new performance." It was launched in 1989 by Founder and Artistic Director Stephanie Weisman, and now annually hosts more than 600 performances of 175 shows across the company's two venues in San Francisco and Berkeley. A leading outlet for solo performers, The Marsh's specialty has been hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as "solo performances that celebrate the power of storytelling at its simplest and purest." The East Bay Times named The Marsh one of Bay Area's best intimate theaters, calling it "one of the most thriving solo theaters in the nation. The live theatrical energy is simply irresistible."

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