Thank God for Zooming and Googling and all the other video platforms out there. They have at least kept us in touch with one another during the pandemic and allowed some theatres to keep virtual performances going. Perhaps this will raise the curtain on how important theatre— as performers, directors, writers, and audience members—has always been to our mental health.

I’m not talking about drama therapy—more about that in another blog. We’ve had over 100 scripts submitted this last month to Blue Moon Plays for consideration, and I’m fascinated to see how many of them focus on the state of our mental health and not only during this time of COVID.

Theatre and Your Mental Health

I’ve heard friends talk about COVID BRAIN (which seems to be a real thing) and the “sequestration woomblies.” I’m guessing that the seclusion of COVID combined with isolation from venues like theatres and concert halls which feed our social and spiritual needs is producing its share of anxiety and depression. And, yes, that is a confession.

Only now do I realize that there was some comfort to be gained from that accidental affront to a stranger’s toes during a cross of the aisle to one’s seat. Or the touch of elbows on the shared armrest. Or driving my grandson home while singing (or trying to) the melodies from Lucia de Lammermoor. 

No doubt there will be a syndrome named for this assault on our communal psyches. But theatre, as always, is the vanguard. As they were when they first introduced the use of indoor gas lights.

It seems they are taking the lead now, at least in the new scripts coming across our virtual transom.

But theatre has always been an antidote for dealing with psychological and spiritual angst. During the depression, comedy dominated the stage. And no wonder:

According to Aristotle, emotional discharge while watching a tragedy (catharsis) helps to restore harmony and balance in our emotional state. Sharing sadness has long been a tradition since the beginning of the human race. And who doesn’t remember the solace of sharing stories, memories, and a sense of loss with friends at a memorial service for someone we have lost and loved.

So, it seems only natural that the stage should be the place which most effectively examines and helps to heal our current psychological distress—to cope with the anxieties and dread engendered by the age in which we live.

Tackling contemporary angst on the stage

Two of our latest scripts deal with the subjects of modern combat and sexual molestation.

PTSD & Me, a monodrama coming soon to our pages, by poet Erika Land is a one-woman show who is an African-American, lesbian, combat veteran. She has fought her way through life on many fronts and, though suffering from PTSD, has carved out the life of a survivor through her poetry and her one-person show.

Inside and Out is a short play that takes us into the mind of a boy with severe autism. One of the characters is the Mind of the boy. Will his mother learn his language? At a recent reading at Wilkes University, Juliette Dunn, a former student playwright and now colleague who is raising an autistic son, commented:

It rang SO TRUE. These simple tasks she’s asking of him versus these profoundly intelligent thoughts he had versus what his body is reading to those who don’t understand how intelligent he is. And even though she’s asking for tiny little things, it’s clear she loves him deeply and believes he is capable.

Juliette Dunn, playwright and author of Cate, a play about caretaking and dependence

Sniper by Bonnie Culver takes us into the mind of a school shooter. We might not want to go there, but we must if we are to find clues to this social nightmare. Unfortunately, this play finished its off-Broadway run at the time of another school shooting. Scheduled performances were retracted. It’s been a hard sell ever since–as if we’re afraid of giving someone the idea???

Guess what? They already have the ideas. It’s our job to talk about them before they become action.

There’s no question that involvement in theater, as an audience member or participant opens up the doors for conversation over a glass of milk or a cup of coffee. Ask your child where he’s been. “Out.” Ask him where he’s been. “Nowhere.” But, after a performance, ask him, “Why do you think Evan Hansen told that lie in the first place” and you might be off and running on your first real conversation in a long time.

If you can no longer go to the theatre comfortably, bring it into your home. According to the comments on the orders we’ve been receiving lately, a lot of people are doing just that–doing readings within the comfort of their bubble. Or find a script that lends itself to reading on a computer platform.

S.O.S.: Survivors of Sexual Abuse by Culver is set in a therapy session where survivors of sexual abuse confront each other’s strengths and weaknesses.  Each character has his own story and his own secrets which lead to a redemptive past. The play is available in both male and female versions.

We have scripts that deal, directly and indirectly, with mental health issues–not only therapy or derangement, but everyday issues of stress, isolation, and just living through a crisis. Try one. Read it around a table or in your den. Zoom it with your friends, family or theatre group. Or present it to a selected audience with a topic for discussion. See what new topics of conversation emerge.