1988 O'Neill Show

1988 was the third year the Second Step Players performed at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Centre. The show took 6 months of concentrated development and rehearsal. 1988 saw the addition of a band and music to the O’Neill show. This would later evolve into “The Come Together Coffeehouse,” an annual music production with two bands which continues now in 2024.
In 1988, most of the sketches were not mental health related, although the drive to make comedy with a purpose was growing; the sketch “The Psychiatric and the Patient” broke the ice into creating mental health themed sketch comedy for the purpose of stigma busting, education, and promoting the concept of RECOVERY - something which was not discussed in the mental health system at large until the mid-2000’s.
The dream to tour this new brand of theater to conferences, mental health agencies, and other community theaters was on the cusp of coming to fruition. In addition to the show at the O’Neill, Second Step Players productions were held this year at The Norwich State Hospital, the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, the New London Convalescent Home and with The Mystic Paper Beasts.
A silly note: here has been ongoing discussion through the years about why the program book says SECOND annual benefit show, with one camp believing you can’t say “annual” until year two - making the second performance the “first ANNUAL.”