A Therapy Session with Myself

Script available for purchase here.

“…a really amazing show with a super important message! It was a good reminder to check in with yourself and to not ignore what your mind is telling you. As someone who deals with mental illnesses, it was really amazing to see my struggles portrayed on stage in such a truthful way!”

-Fit for Broadway

“This is not a comfortable play, but it is an honest one … It is a truly moving play that provides unflinching, unedited, and honest insight into how some with Asperger’s syndrome, as well as social anxiety and depression, might be feeling.”

-OnStage Blog

“…a thought-provoking and entertaining exploration of one artist’s struggle to move through mental disorder to a better self-understanding and state of self-acceptance and worth.”

-Five-Star Arts Journals

“… a well constructed play. Mr. Piccione tells his story, and integrates the flashbacks with considerable skill. [The performances] are solid and effective. The dialogue is beautifully written, and the ancillary personalities well thought out.”

-Hi! Drama

“…a glimpse of what life can be like when we let our phobias get the best of us.”

-Opplaud NY

“Absorbing, Thought-provoking, Brave, Intense, Relevant”

-Various users on Show-Score.com

A Therapy Session with Myself - Anthony J. Piccione’s controversial, semi-autobiographical drama about living with social anxiety, depression, and Asperger’s syndrome - premiered in January 2019 at the New York Theatre Festival’s 2019 NYWinterfest, and then moving Off-Broadway to the Kraine Theater in May 2019 for a year-long run of monthly matinee performances.

Watch video clips of the October 19th, 2019 performance at the Kraine Theater below:

Video 1 - Opening Dialogue

Video 2 - Bully Scene

Video 3 - Church Monologue

Read below for more details.

About the play

A Therapy Session with Myself tells the story of Alex Grayson, a young college student and aspiring writer dealing with severe social anxiety, depression and Asperger’s syndrome. During the summer before his senior year, he receives a mysterious visit from “himself”, a human incarnation of his inner consciousness. As they interact, Alex is forced to reflect on his own flaws and personality quirks, as well as some of the darkest and most painful memories of his adolescence, while also pondering the question of whether or not he can overcome his many inner demons, and ultimately build a brighter future for himself.

Staged reading at DGF

A developmental staged reading at the Dramatists Guild Foundation took place on October 5th, 2017. The reading was directed by Melissa R. Maney, and the cast featured Uly Fraser, Alec Bandzes, Kevin Stafford, Samantha Harris, Mitchell Hoover, Samantha Haviland, Tameisha Peterson, Joseph Jones, Jackson Cline, Bailey Shada and Rachel Schmeling. 

Festival premiere

After a successful GoFundMe fundraiser which raised well over $1000 dollars, the first full production of the play premiered in January 2019 - and ran for three performances on 1/15 at 9pm, 1/16 at 6:15pm, and 1/19 at 3:30pm - at the Hudson Guild Theatre as part of the New York Theatre Festival’s 2019 NYWinterfest.

This production was directed by acclaimed director and World Ocean Arts’s Stand Out Artist of 2017 Holly Payne-Strange, who previously directed Anthony J. Piccione’s innovative children’s play An Energy Tale at the 2017 Midtown International Theatre Festival, and associate directed by Andres Gallardo Bustillo, who at the time was known for his work as an actor in Piccione’s award-winning short drama What I Left Behind at the 2018 NYWinterfest.

The production starred Nick Roy as Alex; Shane Zimmerman as “you”, the human incarnation of Alex’s inner consciousness; and Bryant Jager as “me”, Alex’s younger self who appears in flashbacks. The cast was rounded out by Emma Romeo (Kelly), Louise Heller (Kate), Tony Bozanich (Ray/Professor Collins), Travis Martin (Henry/Ensemble), Nathan Cusson (Tim/Ensemble), Aaron Algren (Philip/Ensemble), Rosie Coursey (Ensemble) and Lizzy Moreno (Ensemble).

Off-Broadway run

In May 2019, the production began running on a monthly afternoon basis at the legendary Kraine Theater on the 3rd Saturday of each month at 2pm, with the majority of the original cast returning for the opening performance, along with Holly Payne-Strange and Andres Gallardo Bustillo returning as director and associate director, respectively. The production ran at the Kraine from May 18, 2019 until it was eventually forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the time of the production’s closing, the production starred Dan Mauro as Alex; Nicholas Capriotti as “you”, the human incarnation of Alex’s inner consciousness; and Nathan Cusson as “me”, Alex’s younger self who appears in flashbacks. The cast was rounded out by Emily Weston (Kelly), Ita Korenzecher (Kate/Ms. Appleton/Beth), Tony Bozanich (Ray/Professor Collins), Quest Washington (Henry/Ensemble), Max Berry (Tim/Ensemble), Mason Mickley (Philip/Ensemble) & Shir Kaufman (Erin/Ensemble).

Press Samples

Read the press release for the Off-Broadway run at the Kraine Theater on BroadwayWorld.com here.

Rate and review our show on Show-Score by clicking here.

Read the press release for our NYWinterfest premiere here.

Read about the creative development of the play at OnStage Blog here.

Listen to Anthony J. Piccione discuss the play on the Made Visible Podcast here.

And read more about the process behind the play on ReviewFix.com here.

Blog Series (“Mini Therapy Sessions with Myself”)

Earlier in the play’s production process, Mini Therapy Sessions with Myself - a short blog series by Anthony J. Piccione, inspired by the same real life events that inspired ATSWM - was published exclusively on The Mighty. Click here to read.

Follow Us on Social Media

Any updates on future productions of the play will be posted on the official ATSWM social media pages listed below, as soon as they are available. 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/atherapysessionwithmyself

Twitter: @ATSWM_ThePlay

Instagram: @atherapysessionwithmyself

For Questions and Inquires, please contact piccionearts@gmail.com.