As you may or may not know, once again I’ve partnered with the Marsh in San Francisco to present my show on depression, THE WAITING PERIOD, free to the public throughout 2023. Prior to the pandemic, we’ve been doing this project annually since 2015. THE WAITING PERIOD won the Theater Bay Area award for OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A SOLO PLAY, but more importantly than that, the play has literally saved lives.
It’s my personal story of battling the deepest realms of depression. I go there to show people who are also struggling and their families and friends who don’t fully understand what depressives and those suffering from mental illness deal with, what it’s like from the inside. The project has been more successful that we could have ever imagined. While there are several stories I’ve heard over the years about people who decided not to
take their own lives after seeing the show, one in particular sticks out in my mind.
A San Francisco woman had decided to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. Her plan was to go to her favorite café, have a pastry and her favorite coffee drink, and then drive to the bridge. Coincidentally, the table she chose had a copy of that Sunday’s Chronicle pink section on it. The paper was open to the theater section, and it had a picture of me with information that I’d be performing THE WAITING PERIOD for free and why I was doing it.
The woman read the blurb, then made a fateful decision. She’d flip a coin. Heads, she would go see the show. Tails, she’d drive to the bridge and jump. It came up heads.
She came to the show, and it spoke to her. It told her that she wasn’t alone. That she wasn’t the only one who felt that way and that there was indeed light in the darkness if she could only hold on. Once the play was over, she sat in her seat and cried. She then took out her phone, called her sister and asked for help. She got the psychiatric and therapeutic help she needed all because a coin gave her an option to suicide. THIS is why I
keep doing this show.
In order to present this play for free to the public, we’ve set up a GoFundMe account to cover the rental, staff and show expenses. We’re a little over a third of the way to what we need to raise. WILL YOU HELP US? The Marsh is a registered 501c3 nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible. If you can afford to donate $1500 or more, I’ll take you to lunch or dinner at one of my favorite East Bay eateries. We’d really appreciate
anything that you can do.
So will the people whose lives you save.
Thanks for and help you can give!
Brian Copeland