Gospel of Authenticity (Bridget McCarthy)

cw: adult language, religious trauma, eating disorder

Bridget McCarthy (she/her,@SomethingWittyPlease) is an actor, playwright, teaching artist, and community theatre maker. 

In 2013, she stepped into a men’s prison for the first time and witnessed a theatre making circle. She fell in love with theatre as a tool of amplification, empowerment, and connection.

Since then, she’s worked with the American Shakespeare Center, Elm Shakespeare, Pigeon Creek Shakespeare, Cincinnati Shakeapeare, and is now in residence at the Atlanta Shakespeare Company. 

Bridget’s greatest bliss is using theatre as a tool of amplification for unexpected voices. She has devised new theatre pieces with her neighbors experiencing incarceration, homelessness, folks who are reintegrating into life after sexual slavery, with those battling addiction, and with brave new Americans who came to us as refugees. 

In addition to community work, she is an advocate for eating disorder awareness and mental health destigmatization. Her one woman show is called Fat Juliet: One Woman’s Unsolicited Thoughts About Eating Disorders, Christian Extremism, Shakespeare, and AC/DC. It premiers this summer in Atlanta and is available for booking starting this fall. 

 

Host: Emily Stamets (she/her), @theemilystamets

Original music: Jaclyn S. O'Connor

Graphics: Tiffany Spence