Fresno State alumnus Miguel Gastelum has been the Department of Theatre and Dance’s communication specialist and box office manager for six years. But on Friday, Nov. 11, he’ll be stepping back into the role he’s had for even longer.
Gastelum will direct “Every Brilliant Thing,” an interactive show about a child’s list of “everything that’s brilliant around the world,” including ice cream, water fights and staying up past bedtime to watch TV. The list comes to life throughout the play, focusing on depression and the lengths we go for those we love, according to its press release.
Written by Duncan MacMillan with Jonny Donahoe, the play opens on a 6-year-old’s reaction to his mother being hospitalized after she’s “done something stupid,” according to the child’s dad.
Two separate actors, Camille Gaston and Nick Haas, will take turns as the role of the storyteller in alternating performances, beginning with Haas in the opening show on Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
The play marks the return of theatrical productions for The Fools Collaborative, a nonprofit organization that Gastelum said started off as a “rag-tag theatre group that would produce guerilla-style theatre in unconventional venues.”
The group continued to produce online theatrical events during COVID-19, produce protest pieces in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death and was one of the organizations leading the charge during the Save the Tower Theatre protests.
Gastelum, founding member and current board president of the nonprofit, has been directing plays for over 10 years now after getting his start as a student director for the Experimental Theatre Company’s (ETC) “Dear Harvey.”
Gastelum described the show as an “intimate piece of theater” unlike anything he’s seen before.
“The show is filled with humor, joy and hope, all while dealing with the sensitive topics of mental health and suicide. I truly believe audiences will leave the show with a new appreciation for life and all the small moments that can truly make it brilliant,” he said.
The ViSTA Theatre in Tower District at 1296 North Wishon Ave. will host the play. Tickets are available on a “pay-what-you-can” model with a suggested donation of $10.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to NAMI Fresno, a local affiliate of NAMI California intended to share information with people with mental illness, their families, friends, mental health professionals and the general public, according to its website.
The production contains descriptions of depression, self-harm and suicide, including a brief description of a character’s attempted suicides and her death by suicide, which includes the specific means that were used.
