Ice cream. Water fights. Dreams of flying. Could you list everything that makes life worth living?
In “Every Brilliant Thing,” a new performance from Theatreworks at UCCS, the hero begins a list to save their mother — and ends up saving themselves.
“Every Brilliant Thing” is a story of finding joy in the mundane and gratitude for life’s simple pleasures. From childhood through adolescence and finally into adulthood, the narrator guides us through an intimate tour of life’s most poignant moments, inviting the audience to participate as they collect tens, hundreds and thousands of reasons to live. The story celebrates resilience, perseverance and the power of human connection against all odds.
And it asks us to consider one essential question: What makes life worth living?
The show features two local Colorado Springs actors playing the main character at different performances and interactive components that let audience members join in on the storytelling from the safety of their own seats.
Written by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Marisa Hébert, “Every Brilliant Thing” will run in the Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater at the Ent Center for the Arts from Nov. 26–Dec. 19, 2021. Performances will be ticket-limited and socially-distanced.
Tickets to “Every Brilliant Thing” may be purchased online or by phone at 719-255-8181. Tickets start at $21 for adults and youth. Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday matinee performances are at 2 p.m, with Sunday matinees at 4 p.m. UCCS students receive free admission to all Theatreworks productions. Contact the Box Office with a student ID number handy to receive a complimentary ticket.
Learn more about the performance on the Ent Center for the Arts website.
Content advisory:
Due to the exploration of mental health issues in the piece, Theatreworks is partnering with the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to offer resources, literatures, and speakers in context with the production.
Kathryn Dosch, Director of the Veterans Health and Trauma Clinic at the Lyda Hill Institute, highlights the benefit of the production to mental health conversations in the area: “It’s hard to talk about these kinds of things…there is a misconception that says if you talk about suicide, you’ll make people commit suicide, but that’s not scientifically based in any way. We have to talk about these things so people feel comfortable addressing them.”
With that in mind, please note the play grapples with depression, self-harm, and suicide. Questions about show specifics? Email Caitlin Lowans at [email protected].