Corridor theater troupes aim to start conversations on mental health

People in today's society sometimes have difficulty discussing mental health. Well, it just so happens, art specializes in saying the things we find it difficult to say.

For at least five Corridor theater troupes, this dialogue is set to take place on stage.

Issues of mental illness, emotional devastation and tattered relationships are playing out through Riverside Theatre's recent production of 'The Glass Menagerie,” about a family crippled by emotional turmoil, and in the upcoming 'Dancing Lessons,” where a young man with Asperger's syndrome just wants to fit in; with Giving Tree Theater's recent 'Harvey,” about a man who's best friend is a huge, invisible rabbit, and next season's 'Rabbit Hole,” examining a couple's crushing grief; in Revival Theatre Company's recent 'Violet,” where a young woman seeks outward healing for the scar that penetrates from her face to her soul; in Theatre Cedar Rapids' just-finished 'Next to Normal,” depicting a family in crisis borne of the mother's bipolar disorder and hallucinations; and with nearly everything in Dreamwell Theatre's season.

The time is right for bringing these issues out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

'The conversation about mental illness and mental conditions has been very much in the national media, unfortunately because of reasons like gun violence, but also because of changes in our state's approach to treating mental illness - cutting down on psychiatric beds - and the increasing understanding of the prevalence of mental illness in our society in the last couple decades,” said Dr. Christopher Okiishi, 47, of Iowa City, a psychiatrist who also is heavily involved in the Corridor theatrical community.

'That leads the arts and community arts to be able to be more comfortable in talking about a range of mental conditions and mental condition situations. ...

There's nothing quite like art to focus our attention on a story in a compelling, truthful way,” he said. 'The brilliance of ‘Next to Normal' is that it is an authentic snapshot of a patient's experience dealing with the mental health system in 2016.”

His own life is touched not only by anxiety disorder, but with elements of Tourette's syndrome, attention deficit and bipolar disorders that run through his family. All of those are not only reflected in the anxiety that is part of his daily life, but also in the monologues he writes and performs.

'My entire life informs the art I make and the theater that is interesting to me,” he said.

He is heartened by the ripple effect that comes from staging and viewing these issue-related shows.

'One of the best parts about it, when you go to see a piece of art, people start talking openly and honestly about their experience and how they could get help. They feel empowered to get help,” he said, noting people come to his office after seeing a movie or play in which they see themselves. 'It helps enormously. People who have been struggling their entire life suddenly have some understanding. It's the same with abusive relationships or dead-end jobs - if you can see a piece of art that suggests there's another way to live, it's inspiring.”

SALVATION

Art helped save Lyndee Coleman's life. Diagnosed at age 31 with mixed-state, multi-cycling Bipolar II and severe anxiety, she eventually lost her 'family, home, income, dignity and self-worth.”

Now 44 and living on a farm near Mount Vernon, she has emerged from the dark days and is rebuilding her life and her relationship with her three teenage sons, who live with their father in Cedar Rapids.

Her harrowing journey to healing unfolds in her autobiographical play, 'S.O.S. - Save our Soul,” to be performed as part of her artist showcase Saturday and Sunday at the Artisan's Sanctuary in Czech Village, 45 16th Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids. Written under the pen name 'Gregga J. Johnn,” it's for mature audiences, but she'll have plenty of other activities both days for all ages, from artwork and book signings to storytelling and children's creative dramatics.

Australian by birth, she spent her first 20 years in the greater Sydney area. She came to the United States in 1991, went to college in Florida, met her now ex-husband, and the couple moved to his native Iowa to raise their children in what she calls 'the best place to raise kids - it's the most grounding place and has the most solid goodness.”

In her 20s, she 'noticed things happening,” with unrealistic anxiety and stress that would trigger things she couldn't explain.

'At 31, it hit with a vengeance,” she said. It took all her effort not to follow through with suicidal thoughts.

'I probably spent the last six months of my marriage in and out of psych wards, rehab, spending $1,000 a month on medications,” she said. 'I lost everything, even my ability to function as a human being. I could barely get through the day. I left my family so the destructiveness in my head wouldn't drag them down.”

In a double-whammy, she lost her home to the Floods of 2008. Seeking faith through grace, she finally stopped fighting herself, and went back to her family in Australia in 2010. She spent about two years on 'walkabout,” finding solace meditating by the ocean and traveling the country with a performing troupe presenting puppetry and poetry.

'I've always been an extremely emotional and creative person, that's always been how I operate,” she said. 'I found that through artwork or performance - any kind of creation - when I took part in making something happen, it would come out of me in such a way, it was as if when I didn't create, there was a tap turned off and what was inside became toxic. I had to always open the tap and let that flow out to keep it fresh. It's like this wellspring of freshness, and that's very much how my soul responded, even in healing.”

During her two years back in her homeland, she kept in touch with her boys via Skype, but missed them too much, and returned to Cedar Rapids.

She united the fighting factions in her mind through Internal Family Systems therapy. Those facets come out as Lou, Lara and Lucy in her play, which features eight actors. Coleman also is a prolific author of stories and verse for all ages, many dealing with 'magical, fantastical tales and deeply spiritual allegories.”

She's quick to add that she's not trying to force her beliefs on anyone.

'I am not a moral story for people to follow,” she said. 'I'm a terrible warning that has had incredible amounts of grace applied. That's what I want to share with others. It doesn't matter how much we all mess up, there is grace, there is hope for everyone. Share the love.”

IMMERSION

Director Angie Toomsen, 42, of Iowa City, has plumbed the depths of emotional drama with 'Next to Normal” at Theatre Cedar Rapids this winter, and is now exploring the lighter touches of 'Dancing Lessons” at Riverside Theatre.

Both shows require careful preparation, extensive research and discussions to bring truth to the characters. Okiishi has been working with the 'Dancing Lessons” cast, and a local theater family living with bipolar disorder and its ramifications spoke with the 'Next to Normal” cast. Theatre Cedar Rapids also partnered with area organizations through lobby displays and audience talk-backs to help spread the word about sources available.

'The wonderful thing about the nature of theater is that you learn about someone from the inside and step inside their mind and experience,” Toomsen said. 'It's wonderful in cultivating empathy as artists, but audiences seeing (the actors) connecting so deeply from the inside generates that same level of compassion for the subject matter.”

She said the actors have to 'excavate their own lives” to deepen the awareness of what they bring to their characters.

'Whereas in an orchestra, the violin is the instrument, in acting and singing, you are the instrument,” she said. 'Your experiences, your emotions, your voice - it's all you, so to create a really truthful and honest character, you're using all of the 88 keys of your own experience and your own emotional life. Not everyone approaches acting that way, but that's just where I come from.

'I look at it as an act of compassion first for the character, for you as the actor, and then ultimately for the audience that we're hoping to connect with us so honestly that we reveal universal truths. If you're going to compassionately step into someone else's shoes, even if they're a bad guy, (you have to) really understand what makes them tick. That's going to create a more moving and engaging performance, and is part of the potential of theater to transform people.”

That same philosophy is at the heart of Dreamwell Theatre's mission to 'explore the human condition,” said Matt Falduto, 44, of Coralville, a co-founder of the Iowa City troupe.

This season's theme, 'Interrogation: Uncovering the Buried Self,” brings difficult situations to light. Of the five shows, one dealt with dueling therapy styles, another with repressed childhood trauma and a third with suicide. The non-professional troupe has found a powerful way to connect with audiences by performing in an intimate, 60-seat venue at Public Space One in Iowa City.

'Our mission is to make people ask questions,” Falduto said. 'We consider it a success if after someone sees our shows, they're walking out asking questions, talking about it, having that conversation on the way home.”