Love and Depression powerfully collide in ‘Out of Sync’
“Sometimes love isn’t enough…and somehow you still have to keep going.”
In a production seamlessly fusing text and movement, Doorway Arts Ensemble premieres Out of Sync by Katie Woods, a new play exploring the fragile intersection between love and mental illness. The play follows a young couple, Nathan and Petra, just beginning their relationship. But when the memories of his ex-girlfriend Amy start to bleed into the present, Nathan struggles to move forward. Amy’s crippling depression – and the devastation it eventually caused in their relationship – begins to splinter the fragile new bonds forming between he and Petra.
Directed by Doorway’s Associate Artistic Director Mary Cat Gill, the production aims to motivate a larger conversation about mental illness, as well as to promote Doorway Art’s mission of supporting work by local playwrights like Woods.
“Last summer I had been tackling some of the questions around society and mental illness,” said Gill. “Why do we embrace it as a media sensation, share in the tragedy of celebrity suicide or violent incident, then sweep it under rug when the mourning period has passed? Why do we keep skirting an issue that affects not just celebrities, but 1 in 5 Americans? It was around this time that I discovered Katie Woods’ play, Out of Sync, and was offered the challenge of a script that tackles the issues of depression and anxiety in a new way. Out of Sync highlights the quiet struggles of one average person and how they create a ripple effect that shapes us all.”
Woods started working on the play after her own experiences with depression, but after sharing her work, she found that “people kept coming up to me and telling me how much the script had resonated with their experiences. Friends I had known for years were suddenly opening up to me about their own struggles with depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders… I’ve gotten pretty passionate about the importance of telling thoughtful and diverse stories about mental illness. I hope that Out of Sync and stories like it can create a safe space for these people to open up about their experiences and begin to create communities where their struggles aren’t as stigmatized.”
Out of Sync will premiere as part of Doorway’s 8th season and the 10th Annual Capital Fringe Festival from July 11 – 25, 2015 at Eastman Studio Theatre at Gallaudet University. All performances will be captioned or interpreted into American Sign Language. Gill will lead a cast which includes notable local actors Alison Talvacchio, (Company Member, ReVision Dance; Gallantry, Gilgamesh, Capital Fringe Festival), Shravan H. Amin (Very Still & Hard to See, Rorschach Theatre; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Castaways Repertory Theatre), and Megan Behm (in the forest she grew fangs, Washington Rouges; Living Out, GALA Hispanic Theatre). Local artists Maggie Michael, Mike Anderson, and Amy and Michael Bergman will also contribute sculptures to the set design, and prominent photographer Cortney Jackson will act as graphic designer.
PERFORMANCES AT:
Eastman Studio Theatre at Gallaudet University
800 Florida Ave NE , in Washington, DC, 20002
Saturday, July 11th, 2015 at 9:45 PM
Sunday, July 12th, 2015 at 4:45PM
Friday, July 17th, 2015 at 10:15 PM
Saturday, July 18th, 2015 at 4:30 PM
Thursday, July 23rd, 2015 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, July 25th, 2015 at 4:30 PM
Purchase your tickets here.
Twitter: @DoorwayArts #OutofSyncDC #OoSDC #capfringe15
