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"When I die, I'd like "Friends" to be listed behind helping people." --Matthew Perry
The One With Friends: A TV Show Within a Play is a play about depression recently produced at UCLA by the Semel Institute's Center for Health Services and Society and UCLA Health. Written by UCLA's Joseph Mango (NYU alum), the play follows a struggling actor and an aspiring writer, both living with depression, who find connection and hope through the beloved TV show, Friends as well as the support of each other. The play was inspired by Joseph's own experience with depression and how Friends has helped him and so many others during rough patches. This led him to propose a research project at UCLA for the Narratives Project, which is funded by the California State Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health, especially after finding very little research regarding the correlation between the arts and mental health.
With child psychiatrist Dr. Bonnie Zima as his mentor, Joseph became the Principal Investigator for the research study portion of this project to measure how the arts helps promote healing and also how the arts can de-stigmatize depression when accurately portrayed. The audience was given an anonymous survey to complete before and after the play measuring their perceptions and attitudes about depression and stigma.
We are taking the play to New York City to expand our research sample size and NYU, who we have a relationship with, has been generous enough to donate a venue for two performances of the play. We also plan to perform the play at our Center of Excellence sister school UC Davis and other UC schools where we can keep the costs to a minimum. While the play has a simple setup and is easy to produce on the stage, we are asking for donations to help cover the costs of our statistician and research assistant's time in analyzing the data so we may disseminate our findings as well as compensate our actors and cover their travel costs. Joseph, Dr. Zima, and our center want to make a stride in research correlating the arts and mental health and explore how the arts can help promote healing and offer hope for recovery.
"A meaningful, funny, and smart play with a lovely cast that conveys its complexity and hope.” --Dr. Kenneth Wells (UCLA Professor-in-Residence/Psychiatrist)
In a Santa Monica coffee shop, a struggling actor with depression and no confidence strikes up a conversation with a stranger–an assignment by his therapist. The stranger turns out to be an aspiring TV writer who is going through a depressed time herself and just happens to be writing the reunion episode for the beloved TV show Friends as a fun side project. As the two begin their somewhat rocky road to getting to know each other (without the help of social media, apps, or phones) they find connection and healing through the beloved sitcom and soon discover that six “Friends” (Chandler, Monica, Ross, Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe) can change their lives.
The play is not only a celebration of one of America's most beloved sitcoms, Friends, but also an opportunity to show how powerful and educational the arts can be in making a difference in mental health.
"It was warm, funny, and very touching." --Elyn Saks (Author of The Center Cannot Hold)
"The assumption is that the arts is a powerful way to move people…but very little research really supports that."
“Callum and Lucy’s relation to depression is very different, but they can recognize a similar quality and relate to each other through their respective experience. The script is incredibly empathetic and emphasizes the need for one another to reach out and just listen.”
“The play is not only an homage to “Friends,” but an opportunity to use the arts to show an accurate portrayal of major depression with symptoms such as anxiety, loneliness, fatigue, suicidal ideation and self-harm.”
"One thing I tried to highlight in the play is the importance of family and friend support. It’s the loneliness. You don’t have a therapist on nights and weekends. Someone picking up the phone or getting you out of the house, someone showing you kindness can mean so much. It can help you get out of bed in the morning."
“Don’t get me wrong, medication and therapy are helpful when it comes to depression. What is also helpful for recovery is the major support from family and friends; it is all part of the healing process. By the end of the play I hope the audience can understand a little bit more about depression and maybe change their view when they hear about someone dealing with depression,”
“We’re hypothesizing that by viewing the play, (Mango’s) work will make a significant change in perceptions of stigma. We believe persons that have had experiences with depression or depression in a loved one may resonate most with this play.”
The play was written by NYU Tisch School of the Arts alum and current UCLA employee, Joseph Mango; directed by NYU Tisch School of the Arts alum and current UCLA employee, Ashley Griggs; Featuring American Academy of Dramatic Arts alum Nick McLoughlin, UC San Diego theatre alum Miranda Wynne, NYU Tisch School of the Arts alum Chloé Hung and Yale theatre alum Lindsey Moore Ford; Produced by the UCLA Semel Institute's Center for Health Services and Society under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Wells and center administrator Elizabeth Lizaola. The Narratives Project is co-led by Dr. Bowen Chung and Joseph Mango with support from Dr. Armen Arevian and Dr. Bonnie Zima.
"Friends" introduced us to The Holiday Armadillo where Ross wanted to teach his son Ben that there's more to Christmas than receiving and with this special holiday $10 giving option, you'll support our efforts in making an impact on mental health through the arts.
We're starting The Hugsy Movement! Click this donation and then share our Hugsy button (visit http://www.facebook.com/uclahss) and tag a friend on Facebook letting them know you're giving them a hug...sy and challenge them to do the same by making a Hugsy donation at http://spark.ucla.edu/friends and having them tag a friend :)
Since the play takes place in Santa MONICA, we thought this would be a perfect perk for all you Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) fans. For your in-kind donation, we'll send you a postcard of artist The Plaia's digital drawing of the Santa Monica Pier as seen on the poster for the play and have it signed by the cast, writer and director. (A $40 tax deductible donation.)
Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) loves taking the stage at Central Perk to sing her fun songs and for your in-kind donation of $75, you can play your own version of "Smelly Cat" with this special guitar pick with our "One of 'The Ones'" logo on it--"The Ones" is the cool, new name the writer of the play created for the "Friends" fanbase. We think it's the best fan name yet :) (An $63 tax deductible donation.)
Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) got her first job at Central Perk as a cafe waitress and for your in-kind donation, we'll send you your very own "The One With Friends" coffee mug and officially declare you part of "The Ones"--the name the writer created for what to call the "Friends" fanbase. Your donation will also help pay for flights for our actors for the tour of the play. (An $85 tax deductible donation.)
For those outside of NYC, you will receive the postcard, mug, guitar pick with the added bonus of "The One With Friends" deck of cards because it's a poker-loving Ross Geller perk--remember that episode from Season1? (A $222 tax deductible donation.)
We never really knew what Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) did for a living before he became an intern at an advertising firm, but we know he loved cheesecake--so much that he kept eating his neighbor's (along with Rachel). For your in-kind donation of $500, you get our many thanks as well as a cheesecake delivered to your home from Junior's NYC, a perfect treat for the holiday season :) Your donation will also help pay for the flight and accommodations for the tour of the play. (A $450 tax deductible donation.)
We can't thank you enough for supporting the arts and mental health, so for the biggest perk, "The Central PERK", we're sending you and a friend (if you're in the LA area) on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour so you can tour the lot and then visit the Central Perk set and take a photo on the famous "Friends" couch. For those outside of the LA area, we'll send you the "Friends" Pop vinyl figurine of your choice as well as the mug, deck of cards, guitar pick, and Santa Monica Pier postcard art. Your generous donation will help fund the time of our statistician to analyze the data as well as a research assistant's time for data-entry, lit reviews, and research admin work. (A $878 tax deductible gift)
For those outside of the LA area, we'll send you the "Friends" Pop vinyl figurine of your choice as well as the mug, pen, guitar pick, and Santa Monica Pier postcard art. Your generous donation will help fund the time of our statistician to analyze the data as well as a research assistant's time for data-entry, lit reviews, and research admin work. (A $961 tax deductible gift)