Combatting Depression with Delightful Things

Every Brilliant Thing, the interactive, one-person play by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe, traces the narrator’s lifelong journey which, from age 7, includes  managing both their mother’s bouts with depression and her various attempts at suicide. The child comes up with the idea of cheering up his mom in the hospital by compiling an ever-growing list of “every brilliant thing” in the world that makes life worth living. The list expands and evolves as the unnamed narrator uses it to navigate his own struggles with mental health, moving from childish things like “laughing so hard you shoot milk out of your nose” to more adult pleasures, although most of them simple and pure. 

The play inhabits subjects of great gravity by means of the three H’s – humor, honesty, and hope – never dismissing the issue, but rather attempting to deconstruct and recast the pain through genuine connection, and by forever finding authentic joy in everyday things, in glowing moments and, perhaps most importantly, in other people. 

Every Brilliant Thing has been performed in 80 countries and is currently a smash on Broadway. The show starred Daniel Radcliffe in a Tony-nominated performance through the end of last month, with Mariska Hargitay now taking over the role. But while Ensemble Theatre is mounting its full-run theatrical debut in June, the play isn’t new to Santa Barbara. The nonprofit New Beginnings, which offers low-cost counseling services, brought co-creator Donahoe to town twice over the last four years to perform the narrator role at Center Stage Theatre as a benefit, recognizing a major theme of the play is the concept that we don’t have to bear the burden of life alone – the shared human experience in the interaction with the audience is what repeatedly alleviates moments of despair for the narrator character. 

Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper, who stars in the ETC show, absolutely agrees. 

“I think of Every Brilliant Thing as less of a play and more of a community event, because everybody who comes into the space is part of it,” he said. “The show relies on the interaction, not just the actor and the audience, but the interaction we all have with our communities to lift one another up and to notice these positive, brilliant things about our lives.”

Those aren’t empty words. Mongiardo-Cooper’s interaction with the audience begins well before the lights go down at the New Vic, as he spends time in the lobby to greet people as they enter, welcoming them, distributing numbers for them to shout out a scripted “brilliant thing” when called upon, and seeing who might want to do more. 

“While I’m interacting with folks I get to see who might be game to play with me, people who I think might be an excellent scene partner for various characters,” he explained. 

“So that helps to make my choice of audience members to play the various characters as spontaneous as possible.” 

While almost everything is scripted, there’s a lot of opportunities for the actor to bring who he is to the story, Mongiardo-Cooper said. 

“There are a lot of contingencies and possible changes so that it can be very easily adapted to any performer, any space or location. It’s not for a specific gender, age or ethnicity. So there are options, including to create your own alternatives and opportunities, including that the play should be set in the city where it’s being performed.”

Which is why there will be specific references to points in Santa Barbara, the beaches, parks and nearby mountains in ETC’s Every Brilliant Thing. And Mongiardo-Cooper’s own background also shows up, including having moved to California from the East Coast for college and running his career in SoCal. 

“[Director] Jenny Sullivan and I came up with a story that was close to my own so that I might bring as much of myself as possible to the role, which is such a generous thing,” he said. “I bring myself to a role that says, ‘This is who I am,’ like this is the closest I could come without writing my own piece.”

Meanwhile, the New Vic itself has morphed to be as immersive as possible, moving several rows of seats out of the orchestra and onto the stage and building out the stage, creating a theater-in-the-round experience. 

“I’ll have people on all sides around me, and in excellent lighting so it’s easier to choose who to interact with very spontaneously,” Mongiardo-Cooper said. 

As far as his own list of brilliant things? The actor said it changes every day. 

“Today it starts with the smell of honeysuckle, which seems to be everywhere here,” he said. “It changes over the course of the day with the temperature and the sunlight, which is such a brilliant thing to me. And maybe this is gross, but I fell off my bike because I was looking at this beautiful house in town, and I scraped my knee. Seeing the way your skin heals itself is just brilliant. And outdoor showers in places that are hot, I love those.”

The play itself is brilliant, Mongiardo-Cooper said. 

“It doesn’t sugarcoat the darkness, the depression, but it also provides a real alternative, which is to engage with your imagination and the world around you.”

Every Brilliant Thing runs June 6-21 at the New Vic Theatre. Visit www.etcsb.org

Curtain Up on ETC benefit 

Single tickets are on sale for Ensemble’s annual benefit gala Curtain Up! on Sunday, June 28, when the evening begins with a one-night-only performance at ETC’s home in the New Vic and continues with cocktails, appetizers and a gourmet three-course dinner at the Santa Barbara Club just two blocks away. ETC’s biggest fundraising event of the year, plays a vital role in supporting the organization’s productions, education programs and artistic mission. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for individuals and businesses looking to make an even greater impact.