The Talking It Out Virtual Arts Festival in support of mental health empowerment is thrilled to be returning this Fall after a year-long hiatus! This season, we will be presenting a new ongoing series of live play readings in NYC and audio drama podcast to be featured worldwide. 

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THIS FEBRUARY'S EVENT: 

A Homeless Thanksgiving

Written by Gordon Blitz

Directed by Em Hausmann

A Homeless Thanksgiving tells the story of a homeless fifty-year-old gay man (Devon) and a homeless thirty-year-old lesbian (Melanie). They form a friendship and end up sharing a tent. Being homeless, each has to learn how to be resourceful and cope with their environment. Their world is shattered when Joel, a straight 16-year-old, enters their lives. He insists that the tent is his, and there is a skirmish, but Devon and Melanie ultimately overpower him. As the play continues, however, Devon and Melanie are not only parents to Joel but also students as Joel, from his long experience living on the streets, teaches them about survival techniques. Joel, Devon and Melanie will learn how to benefit from intergenerational relationships and how to create a family not connected by blood.

Our live performances this season will be held on October 13th, February 9th and May 11th at 2pm at spit&vigor's tiny baby blackbox theater, located at 115 MacDougal Street, 3C, New York, NY and will also be recorded and available via our in-house podcast.

Founded by Anthony J. Piccione, 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 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 play readings and additional arts programming, initially presented online via Zoom during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic before returning to live performance in 2024. 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.

Learn more by visiting www.linktr.ee/talkingitoutfest or following along on Instagram & Facebook @talkingitoutfest

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