Why can Patti Murin tweet about Broadway World but Broadway World can't talk about Patti Murin? — Page 2

Does anybody know where her blog post about these boards is?

Sondheimite said: "I’m going to try to broach this topic from a personal stand point.

I’d first like to say that playing a lead in a Broadway Musical (in some cases) gives you mental health opportunities that others who are suffering could not dream of. The millions of people trying to struggle to make ends meet don’t get mental health days, we get fired for missing work. I’ve been in the hospital twice for trying to kill myself. I lost a job one of those times. Not because of work performance, not because I was losing the company money, but because I missed work due to being in the hospital because I had a mental health emergency. That’s the reality for most people. That’s the reality for almost everyone else who works for Murins parent company, Disney. I watched so many cast members get driven by Disney to the brink of suicide only to lose their jobs once they attempt suicide. Patti Murin is paid very well to work (at max) four hours a day playing the lead in a Broadway Musical. People who have to work 60 hour work weeks for 1/3rd of Patti Murin’s pay don’t get the luxury she gets. That’s not a dig on Patti, that’s a dig on the system.

(I’d also like to say that not myself or anyone made personal attacks on Murin. We asked hard questions and brought up hard talking points)

And I’ll share another personal story:
I played Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch last year… and it destroyed my (already iffy) mental health. I don’t mean that I went a little bit crazy playing Hedwig. I mean that I came very close to Heath-Ledgering-Out-Of-Here and the production process can best be described by the documentary film Jim and Andy which is streaming on Netflix. I completely lost myself and had an almost successful suicide attempt (to the point where my heart stopped and I was revived by police) when i was dealing with the fallout I’d caused playing Hedwig. This was late 2017/early 2018. It hasn't even been a year since my attempt at taking my life due to the mental strain that acting put on my mental illness.

I had to have a LONG conversation with myself that I didn’t want to have:
Did my mental illness allow me to safely be an actor?
Does acting put my mental state in jeopardy and, in turn, put entire productions I act for in jeopardy?
Even if the ends are justified by the means and I churn out brilliant performances, is it worth it from a personal standpoint?

These were hard discussions that I didn’t even want to let my mind wander into. It is easier and less painful to keep these conversations locked away.

But I had the conversations.
And found that my joy, talent, skills, ideas, and mental state are much better suited for directing and producing.

And I’m much happier because I battled hard conversations.

That’s all I’ll say, without making any implications or drawing any lines."

Sondheimite thank you for being so brave in sharing your story. I’m so glad that you are still with us and exploring the career options that will make you healthy and happiest. Hopefully your story might help others who are struggling. Thank you

It’s true that mental health care in the United States doesn’t get the attention it should. That’s for a variety of reasons. Stigma is a big one. The profit-driven commercialization of health care is another. The health (which includes mental health) care system is simply broken. You have to be economically fortunate or have good insurance to access the care you need. And as Sondheimite pointed out that doesn’t mean you won’t be penalized for using it. Or that you’ll access it if you fear the stigma that accompanies it.

As someone who worked as a mental health professional in a state prison system for 24+ years, I saw first hand the consequences of untreated mental illness. And yes, I had clients who killed themselves. As a mental health professional, that it not something you ever completely recover from. When I was bawling my eyes out during the revival of Spring Awakening, it was their names that were going through my head.

I have also had my mental health struggles including suicidal thoughts following the dissolution of relationships (tied to low self-esteem associated with growing up gay in a less gay-friendly time). I was fortunate to have access to brief mental health counseling including sometimes a few free mental health counseling sessions provided through my employer. I’d like to think I’d still be here without them, but I’ll never know. I am happy to report that I have not experienced persistent suicidal thoughts in 8 to 10 years. Of course, that might be because i won’t let any guy get close enough to me to get hurt again. But I digress...lol

I don’t share all this for sympathy or attention. I just believe we all feel less alone when we share our stories as Sondheimite has bravely done. It is then we believe we are not alone. When we drop our facades.

I do try (and often fail) to consider before posting anywhere on any social media platform the three rules:

1. Is it true?
2. Is it necessary?
3. Is it kind?

Ideally, I would only post when the answer to all three questions is: yes. But I miss the mark occasionally. And of course it could be argued that very little of what I post on here is necessary. No easy answers I guess...

I admit I haven’t followed the Frozen saga closely as it is not a show that has engaged my interest much. But I wish Patti and Sondheimite and all of us good mental health and the access to resources to maintain it.

Updated On: 12/9/18 at 08:06 PM

Patti LuPone FANatic said: "I read her tweet. She was directing her ire at the specific poster, who was rather insensitive."

The tweet I read, she uses plural context. Posters, fans...

I too work in the theatre and I too have struggled with mental health on and off for many years. My anxiety manifested itself in digestive issues and migraine variants (and still does, now and then) that led to me being unable to go to work on occasion. I was lucky, as Patti seems to be, to have supervisors who were understanding.

And yet. I knew that there might come a time when I might have to stop my work or shift into a different aspect of it if my symptoms did not get under control. Pointing that out is not attacking or bullying anyone, it is a simple discussion of fact. I follow a sport that is notoriously high-pressure mentally and full of snippy fans; it is not bullying when we wonder if someone has to step away for a season to recover from a broken ankle or concussion, so why is it bullying if we wonder if someone has to step away to recover from a mental issue? If they cannot perform, they should take care of themselves first. If we're going to talk about mental health like physical health - which we should! - then let's do it properly.