Ice Cream, Kung Fu movies, laughing so hard you shoot milk out your nose – as a mother battles chronic depression, a son creates a list of everything that makes life worth living. As time passes, the list grows. With equal parts humor and empathy, Every Brilliant Thing tells the story of a young man who has lived in the shadow of mental illness and examines the lengths we will go for those we love.
With Every Brilliant Thing opening on August 16th, the company at The Lake Dillon Theatre wanted to make a list of all of the ‘Brilliant Things’ that we thought make life worth living! Here are our Brilliant Things:
Full Time Staff Brilliant Things-
Chris Alleman (Executive Director): Having your child crawl into your bed in the middle of the night because he is scared.
Josh Blanchard (Executive Director): Family, laughter, running, sunrises and rainstorms.
Colt Neidhardt (Director of Education & Outreach):Soul Music! Mavis Staples, Aretha Franklin, Brittany Howard, Paul Janeway— voices that can raise you to your feet or bring you to your knees.
Anne Orban (Marketing & Sales Manager): Sitting in front of the camp fire.
Rachel Dilliplane (Production Manager): Quoting an obscure movie and someone responding with the next line.
Wendy Fellner (Bookkeeper & Office Manager): Getting out in nature to clear my mind – I love being in the woods for a hike with my dog & husband.
Casts Brilliant Things-
Mark Rubald (Mamma Mia!): The great good luck to be offered second chances, in a variety of fields.
Tony Melson (Mamma Mia!): My Buddhist practice keeps me centered and compassionate, it’s an amazingly brilliant thing in my life. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!
Adam Magnacca (Mamma Mia!): My brilliant thing is my amazing and supportive family!
Chrissy Schmidt (Mamma Mia!): The stunning Summit County!
Mark Woodard (Barefoot in the Park): Laughter.
Production Teams Brilliant Things-
Jillian Parzych (Costume Design): When Targets have a Starbucks inside them, just makes life a little easier.
Stefanie M. Senior (Sound Supervisor): Waking up to my cat fast asleep and snuggled into the crook of my knees.
Michael Meketa (Musician): The beauty of creation in summit county.
Melinda Pfundstein (Director of Every Brilliant Thing): When any of my three daughters takes my hand as we walk.
Apprentice Staff Brilliant Things-
Mo Labiaga (Company Management Apprentice): Being alive, my family, being able to see the mountains every morning and The Lake Dillon Theatre Company—having the opportunity to work and learn from them.
Shannon Midlin (Patron Services Apprentice): My sister sending me the most random pictures when she knows I’m under the weather. Or pictures of her cat, or my parents making a theme song for my sisters cat that they sing to her over FaceTime.
Nate Reid (Development Apprentice): Mist drifting through mountain valleys in the morning.
Emilia Anderson (Marketing Apprentice): Meeting new people from all over the world, spending time with family and friends, and hammocking in the mountains!
Maggie Banter (Sound Apprentice): Warm chocolate chip cookies!
Liam Romano (Scenic/Carpentry Apprentice): Playing cards with people I love.
Alexa Hendrickson (Acting Apprentice): Long late-night phone calls with friends from home!
Sometimes in life, it is easy to overlook the ‘brilliant things’ and let our stressors take over our thoughts and cloud our judgment. If you’re reading this, we challenge YOU to pick a few things from your own life that you consider brilliant share them on Facebook and hashtag #LDTCBrilliantThings. Who knows maybe your brilliant thing will end up in the show!
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