Schizm

About the Project

After a terrifying psychotic episode, Greg is committed to a psychiatric unit. There, he meets fellow patient Valeria, a fiercely independent woman who insists she doesn’t belong there. When the two form an unexpected connection, it challenges everything they believe about control and what it means to be “stable.” As they leave the hospital behind, their bond deepens. Placing his trust in her, Valeria convinces Greg to embark together on a spontaneous journey from Boston to an island off the coast of Maine to reconnect with Greg’s father, who also has Schizophrenia and abandoned his family when Greg was a child. Greg’s fragile grip on reality is tested like never before, and they must confront the precarious question: can love hold a fractured mind together, or will it be the very thing that breaks it?

Throughout the play, a Greek Chorus, embodying the voices in Greg’s head and comprised of the significant people in his life, surrounds the action, bringing the audience inside his unraveling reality and illuminating the constant, internal battle of living with psychosis.

Inspired by writer Ryan Lisman’s experience as a therapist in a psychiatric unit, Schizm is a bold and deeply human exploration of mental illness, intimacy, and resilience, aiming to deconstruct and dismantle the stigmas surrounding mental health.

Thank you to everyone who saw Schizm! We had a wonderful experience sharing this story.

Please follow @CatharsisTheatreCollective on Instagram for updates on our next production, Heroes of the Fourth Turning, running August 14th-30th at the Broadwater Black Box.