FIVE-TIME NATIONAL DAYTIME EMMY WINNER BRINGS SOLO SHOW ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESS TO FRINGE

Anxiety Written

Stigma is the opposite of a houseplant. It thrives in darkness.
Let’s bring our stories into the light.

Jessica Carleton has won five National Daytime Emmys (both as an actress, and as a writer for Sesame Street), and her theatrical credits include a leading role at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago. But she also had an acute, severe onset of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder when she was a child, and that’s where this particular story begins.

Carleton’s funny, genuine, and playful storytelling style instantly puts the audience at ease, and lays the groundwork for a journey that is both hilarious and deeply moving. Comedy bleeds seamlessly into intimate vulnerability. As an audience member at a previous festival said, “From the moment she [Carleton] takes the stage, you know you’re in the hands of a master storyteller. We trust her to take us anywhere and to bring us home.”

Anxiety Written is created and performed by Jessica Carleton, and directed by Blake Silver. Hollywood Fringe performances are at the Actors Company in the Let Live Theater @ 916 N. Formosa Ave, Los Angeles CA.
Sat. June 2, 5:30 pm
Sun. June 10, 2:00 pm
Sat. June 16, 10:30 pm
Fri. June 22, 8:30 pm
Sun. June 24, 4:30 pm

Anxiety Written follows a girl with OCD through the struggles and triumphs of treatment, the quirky shenanigans of growing up anxious, and comedic growing pains that accompany meaningful change. Amidst the silliness of emotional support pandas and group therapy in a porta-potty, Carleton deftly slips in moments of profound stillness. There’s an ease, joy, and simplicity about her work that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.

“You start by telling your own story, but the story that everyone else hears is theirs,” Carleton says. “Anxiety Written is a comedy, but it’s also my way of saying, “You are not alone. We all struggle, whether it’s with mental illness or anything else. That’s part of what makes us human! My hope is that the specificity of my story is transferable, and that people will hear echoes of their own experiences inside mine.”

The show also gives an intimate look at the not-often-discussed treatment for OCD. Several audiences members over the years have reached out to Carleton, and gone on to pursue the life-changing therapy. She makes sure to have mental health resources accessible for any audience member should they need it.

Press comp tickets are available for every performance using the comp code: “press”. If you’d like more information, feel free to contact Jessica Carleton at [email protected] or through her website, jessicacarleton.com.