Let's Unpack That #18: Mental Health in Musical Theatre

Send us Fan Mail For decades, musical theatre has been used to shine the spotlight on important social and cultural issues, and mental health has been no different. Today we sit down with Lauren Collins-Knight and Jared Sparks, a therapist and longtime community theater artist, to talk about what happens when musical theater tackles stories about mental health, representation, and the difference between authenticity and caricature.  We dig into Next to Normal as a powerful example of what responsible storytelling can look like, especially when a production treats the character as human first and symptomatic second. Then we turn to Dear Evan Hansen and the unique pressure points that come with staging teen mental health themes in schools and community theaters. Along the way, we talk about what creators owe audiences: research, consultation with lived experience, and a refusal to treat mental illness like a shortcut to drama. Lastly, we explore the joy of singing to real physiology through polyvagal theory and the vagus nerve, including simple ways breath, humming, and even scream singing can support nervous system regulation.  Lauren and Jared discuss how singing reduces social isolation through co-regulation in groups like choirs and casts. If you enjoy mental health conversations with practical takeaways and a little Broadway energy, subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review so more counselors can find the show. Created by the OCA's Media, Public Relations, and Membership (MPRM) Committee & its Podcast Subcommittee ·Hosted by Lauren Collins-Knight LPCC & Jared Sparks LPCC-S ·Pre-Production & Coordination by Lauren Collins-Knight LPCC ·Editing by Lauren Collins-Knight LPCC ·Original music selections by Elijah Satoru Wood