“This is My Brave” show focuses on mental illness

'This is My Brave,' a collection of monologues, poetry, essays and music focused on mental illness, debuts Friday at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts.

Jennifer Marshall of Ashburn, Va., developed the idea for the show in the summer of 2013 with Anne Marie Ames. The first show was performed in May 2014 in Arlington, Va. A show also was produced in Boston earlier this month, and another is set for Sunday in Arlington, Va. May is Mental Health Awareness Month.

Marshall said the idea for the production sprang from her efforts to eliminate the stigma that often surrounds mental illness. She said she had received a lot of positive feedback after publishing articles about what it was like to be a mother with mental illness.

'I put my real name on the writing,' Marshall said. 'Before that I had been writing anonymously. When I opened up, I got a tremendous outpouring of support, (people) thanking me for my story.'

Marshall said with 'This is My Brave,' she and Ames were looking to give people a platform and 'a community to share their story of living with mental illness.'

'It's an illness just like any other illness, just like heart disease or cancer,' Marshall said. 'Once people get treatment and they are able to recover, then talking about it is very powerful.'

Brook Easton of Iowa City, who is producing the Coralville show, said she comes from a long line of family members who have suffered from mental illness.

'When my Dad was having issues, we lived in rural Iowa,' Easton said. 'When you live out in the country and in small towns in Iowa, it's very hard to find the resources that you need and to find the support that you need. Had he found a supportive environment like me and my son have found here in Iowa City, I think things could have been so much different.'

Easton's goal is for people to see the show and know that there are people who are compassionate and want to help.

The performers hail from all over the Corridor, Easton said. They are 'average, every day types of mothers, fathers, friends,' she said.

'They're the everyday person who on a daily basis has to struggle with mental illness or has been affected by a mental illness,' she said.

One of those taking part in the show will be Joan Becker, the mother of Mark Becker, who was convicted of killing Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas in 2009.

If You Go

• What:

'This is My Brave'

• When:

7 p.m. Friday

• Where:

Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, 1301 Fifth St., Coralville

• Cost:

$20 general admission, $10 students.

• For more information: Buy tickets and learn more about cast members at http://iowacity.thisismybrave.org/