‘Clowns Like Me’, a show taking a deep dive into one man’s mental health journey, to make Off-Broadway debut this monthOne man’s mental health journey has become a vessel for audiences to look at and share their own stories.
“Clowns Like Me” covers a lot of ground in Scott’s life, including his own real-life experiences while grappling with his mental health struggles. When it came to creating the play, Scott’s father Joel Ehrenpreis, who is the executive producer of the play, felt it was important that the story was not only entertaining, but also a punch to the gut for audiences.
“Scott’s parents ended up being incredibly honest and vulnerable with me. Scott told me things I don’t know that he’s told anybody because we had to find a way to get to the core truth of his experience,” said Cannon. “And we’re not gonna be able to find a way to share that in a funny, entertaining or impactful way if we don’t have that core of truth.”
For Scott, it has been very freeing being able to tell his story on stage, not only as an actor but as a man being real about his story. “The thing that really made us want to come to New York and keep this mission moving forward was the people just telling their stories and wanting to connect with Scott after his play. That’s the response that’s just really propelled us forward,” said Cannon.