Stage Combat: A Mental Health Story is a new, groundbreaking podcast serial series about a leading actor who experiences a mental health crisis at one of the most powerful theatres in the United States: The Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut.
In 2019, Sean Hayden thought he had booked the opportunity of his dreams late in his career. As he drove over the Connecticut River and looked at the fairytale 1876 Goodspeed Opera House for the first time, Sean had no idea what would be looming behind its doors.
On September 28, 2019, Sean collapsed in front of an audience on the Goodspeed stage. His body was dragged off the stage by crew members. He began sobbing uncontrollably in the wings, “They have to do something!” Sean was experiencing his first panic attack. Little did Sean know that that evening, and what would transpire afterwards at the Opera House, would fundamentally change his life.
Stage Combat: A Mental Health Story takes the listener into the protective, insular world of the theatre industry in which the unspoken rule is, “You are not supposed to speak up. Or there will be consequences.” In an immersive experience, the listener is given backstage access, no holds barred, to the Goodspeed, one of a small elite group of theatres in America that are just “one step from Broadway.” If you think all the drama happens on stage, wait until you hear what happens after the curtain closes.
In a unique podcast format, the scripted nonfiction episodes are followed by short “post-show talkbacks” with Sean and a mental health professional. Together they unpack the issues presented in the episode in provocative conversations about mental health and the theatre industry. Joining Sean in the first series are renowned clinical psychologists Dr. Alisa Hurwitz and Dr. Michelle Sherman.
Sean created a podcast to demonstrate that a mental health crisis can happen to anyone. Inspired by people’s disbelief when he shared his own experience, Sean takes his listeners through every moment of his crisis at the Goodspeed Opera House, hoping to change the way they perceive mental health.
Stage Combat: A Mental Health Story urgently premieres at a moment when performing artists, “post-pandemic,” are questioning their exploitation by the industry emotionally and physically and demanding swift changes in the workplace. And at a moment when workers in all professions across the country are saying, “Mental health matters.”
The podcast is produced by Haywood Productions and features Sean Hayden telling his own personal story along with a team of 20 voice actors. It is recorded and edited by Andrew Linn. It is directed by Sean Hayden. Stage Combat: A Mental Health Story launched this week (May 16) as part of Mental Health Awareness Month on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, IHeartRadio, and all significant podcasts directories.
