←Recommendations of Coping with Autumn

A sweeping display of the human psyche. Jacobs presents a potent story for the characters and the audience alike.

Subjects like abuse, domestic violence, and mental illness are never easy to talk about in fiction let alone real-life. However, Jacobs tackles each subject with bold creative strokes and unflinching honesty. And in doing so she provides the language and messages of hope, resilience, and healing necessary to spark further dialogue. In that sense, Coping with Autumn is an utter triumph.

Coping with Autumn is an honest and heartfelt story that not only presents emotional and sexual trauma in ways I’ve never seen on stage, but also shows how compassion can lead to survival, even if it is taking it one day at a time. Having seen it performed in various states, this is the perfect show for a small company, but it is also a show that has the presence for a fully realized production. There are characters to love, sympathize with, and hate - and as a show that centers women, I'd recommend to any interested theatre company.

I’d love to see this chilling exploration of Autumn’s psyche. A powerfully theatrical ensemble piece about mental health, domestic violence, and childhood sexual abuse. Autumn’s trauma-bonded to her abusive boyfriend. He lures her with love-bombing and escalates abuse: Isolation from her flawed but devoted friend Kasey, beatings, rape, a knife to her throat. Autumn murders her abuser in self-defense. Manifestations of coping mechanisms, a trio of characters (excellent roles for women), swoop to her aid. Autumn discovers the long-secret story of her childhood abuse and truth of her mother’s weakness for monstrous men with beautiful eyes.

This play is a heavy, heavy play and sticks with you like glue. The story is captivating and would be an excellent ensemble piece for those looking for a femme-heavy college-aged work on a budget for production. The themes are timely, the conflict/characters dynamic, and the catharsis absolutely earned. A great play for scene study/ensemble work!

Megan Ann Jacobs tells a richly woven story of mental illness, abuse, and addiction that propels us to a redemptive and satisfying conclusion. The characters are wonderfully developed. We fully embrace Autumn and vividly feel her pain. Her three alter egos are used brilliantly to illuminate and add dimension. The loathsome male antagonists (Steven and Father) pique our emotions, but it’s Kasey, the deeply flawed friend turned savior that warms our heart – and only a beat behind Autumn who completely captures the heart. Bravo!

I was lucky enough to see a virtual reading of this script and was immediately struck by the depth of the piece and the incorporation of humor in such a dark topic. The journey we take with Autumn and her psyche is both tumultuous and revealing. Highly theatrical, this script would be a joy to stage, and I hope to see it produced in the future!

If a mental health play is done right, you're in for a ride that you'll gladly go on. Here's a mental health play done right. Coping with Autumn does a wonderful job transporting the audience directly into our main character's psyche *right* from the beginning, holding us tight and never letting us go. A multi-layered piece with great character work and concept, I want to simply say, "Well done!"

A powerful, unsettling play about trauma, violence against women, and mental health. Despite heavy themes, Jacobs does an excellent job of using theatricality to render disturbing content onstage in a way that doesn't exploit or sensationalize. Her use of Dee, Joy, and Vera is such a potent visual metaphor for the multitudinous effects of violence and abuse and the coping mechanisms that result. I also appreciated that Kasey, who could've fallen into "just the best friend" territory has a satisfying arc--Autumn's mom does too. Part movement theater, part courtroom drama, part lyrical ensemble piece. Would be powerful onstage!

I loved Coping with Autumn. It is beautifully written. The intrigue created by the playwright throughout the play creates a stage from which the audience learns about Autumn's trials and tribulations, as she weaves through and deals with her own psychiatric illness. In so doing, she learns about herself and, and by default, we begin to appreciate the enormous impact mental health issues have on people, families, and friends.