On November 19th at 7pm EST, the Talking It Out Virtual Arts Festival will present its next series of short 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 our November 19th performance, half of all donations goes to RAINN (www.rainn.org) to provide mental health support for victims of sexual assault, while the other half goes to the participating artists. More information on reserving tickets can be found via Eventbrite at www.eventbrite.com/e/talking-it-out-virtual-arts-festival-2022-2023-season-tickets-394717419427 or by visiting www.linktr.ee/talkingitoutfest and following @talkingitoutfest on Facebook and Instagram.

This month’s line-up of plays includes:

Dating Anxiety - Written by Lisa Carter and directed by Ryan Thornhill

Cycle - Written by Willow Najarro and directed by Anthony J. Piccione

Frontline - Written by Judith Hancock and directed by Cinda Coeken

Waterlilies - Written by Christine Lee and directed by Cayle Komara

Faulty Lock - Written by AJ Maryn and directed by Michael Beverley

Now in its third season, the Talking It Out Virtual Arts Festival’s current leadership slate consists of Producing Artistic Director Anthony J. Piccione, Associate Artistic Director Ryan Thornhill, Program Manager Maria fe Picar & Literary Manager Angelo Lorenzo.

Founded in 2020 by Mr. Piccione during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the original 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.