A collaborative theatrical production written and performed by artists living with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and other mental health conditions. Combining humor, music, and drama, the show presented the realities of mental illness from the inside — personal, specific, and deliberately free of political statement. One of the organization’s landmark works.
LuckyChaos Theater Projects presents:
Normal Like Us! The Depression Chronicles
Continues April 6, 10pm at Salvage Vanguard Theater
Collaborative. Experimental. Music. Humor. Drama. OUR STORIES
How can someone convey the experience of living with depression and do it in a way that is both easy to understand and entertaining? Leng Wong, producing director of Lucky Chaos Theater, set out to do just that with Normal Like Us! The Depression Chronicles. The show is a collaborative, experimental production of performers with first-hand experience. It combines humor, music, and drama to present the realities of life with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and other mental health conditions. “We are not trying to make broad political statements about the subject,” says Wong. “It’s important to me that we tell it like it is, from an individual’s point of view. It’s very personal, like we are sitting in our living room having coffee, and instead of telling you what it’s like, we show you what it’s like.”
The performers in this ensemble-based work offer views from the inside. Most cast members are seasoned Austin artists who perform regularly and are trained in voice, theater, and improvisation. Some cast members will be appearing on stage for the first time to share their experiences. The vignettes use music, humor and drama to illustrate their personal perspective of the subject. The show includes an original mini-musical written by Austin musicians/songwriters Jeff Luna, Eddie Lehwald and Emily Breedlove, and the original parody infomercial jingle written by musicians Tyler Mabry and Ann Sauder.
Feedback from premiere on March 2, 2013 includes, “The musical was a brilliant opener, a sincere but upbeat introduction to the discussion,” “it totally exceeded our expectations,’ “it was a very moving experience,’ and “we love the honesty.”
Normal Like Us! The Depression Chronicles premiered to a sold-out audience on Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 10:00 p.m. at the Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Road, Austin, Texas 78722. The company will continue to present the show on the first Saturday of each month through August (April 6, May 4, June 1, July 6, and August 3.) Of the seemingly timely mounting of a production about mental health, which has been front and center on the national and international stage lately, Ms. Wong says, “It’s a cause for concern and compassion for many, but it is also associated with much misunderstanding, misrepresentation, and even fear. It’s usually invisible and doesn’t discriminate based on gender, race, ethnicity, income, or background. I hope Normal Like Us! The Depression Chronicles will give an underrepresented community a new voice, present theater as therapeutic entertainment, and create a safe space for shared experience.”