Echoes by N. Richard Nash, is the story of two very real people who deeply love each other despite their struggles with mental illness.
It is a story that shows us again how love is truly universal and will hopefully start a conversation about how we think and relate to those of us who struggle with mental illness.
A young man and woman build a low-keyed paradise of happiness within an asylum, only to have it shattered by the intrusion of the outside world.
The two characters search, at times agonizingly, to determine the difference between illusion and reality. The effort is lightened by moments of shared love and “pretend” games, like decorating Christmas trees that are not really there.
The theme of love, vulnerability to the asylum’s surveillance and the ministrations of the psychiatrist (a non speaking part) seems as fragile in the constrained setting as it is in the outside world.
Caity Brown and Mike Rudden talk about their characters:
Why we chose this play
Perhaps this story can help us see these two people struggling with mental illness as one of us and not simply one of them. In bringing this play to Capital Fringe, it is our aim that in some small way we can take part in breaking down the social stigma associated with mental illness and bring it out of the closet where too many suffer terribly and needlessly.
Mia Amado is excited to be directing her first Capital Fringe show. She recently directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a one-act, Crimson and Doug: A Buddy Cop Conclusion with the Mason Players. Her favorite acting roles are: Helen Keller* (The Miracle Worker), Dona Milla/Flora (Boleros for the Disenchanted), and The Woman Who Loved… (The Vagina Monologues). She is currently pursuing a BFA in Theater with a focus on Acting and Directing at George Mason University.
*2012 Cappie Winner for Best Supporting Actress in a Show
