The Deadline

Join us for this workshop performance “ The Deadline” presented by Brendan Bourque-Sheil, an award-winning Stage Play writer.

Brendon describes this work in process in his own words: “For the past 20 years, I've lived with regular thoughts of suicidal ideation. I've learned to manage them, but I've never been able to fully rid myself of them and I'm not sure I ever will. I once decided to spend a year planning my death, putting my affairs in order, and generally removing all the hangups that had deterred me from suicide in the past.  At the year's end, I didn't end my life or manage to rid myself of suicidal thoughts for good. Instead, I accepted the possibility of suicidality as a lifelong companion. In this workshop performance, I tell about the possibility of living a meaningful life with chronic suicidal thoughts and never acting on them, and how that experience has shaped my perspective on life itself. “

Brendan Bourque-sheil is the winner of the 2023 “Real People” fellowship. This fellowship is for a writer working on a short or long work of non-fiction focusing on how they (the writer or another) have managed, and continue to manage, their mental illness. Their personal story should offer not just insight and awareness, but most importantly, hope.