Sean Daniels Stages Recovery, One Show at a Time

THE WHITE CHIP, NEVER AGAIN –

March 14, 2023 – Since getting sober on Oct. 12, 2011, Daniels has not only been up front about the perils he encountered as an artist with substance use disorder—especially a highly successful one—whose alcohol use was escalating but who felt that drinking was a prerequisite of being a creative person, and a necessary aid in charming donors and award bestowers. He has also made it part of his theatre making, not only with The White Chip, which had a successful run Off-Broadway in 2019, but with his new job at Florida Studio Theatre as director of a venture called “The Recovery Project,” whose mission is to eliminate stigma by developing new plays, theatre education programs, and outreach to “change the narrative of the public health crisis that is addiction in our country.” Though the Atlanta production of The White Chip, and the special performance at Ascensa Health, are not officially part of his new gig, these are among the kinds of things he plans to do with the Recovery Project.

During his time of imbibing, he directed shows just about everywhere and received many glowing appraisals of his work. These days, though, if you ask Sean about the best review he’s ever gotten, he’ll point you to the heap of direct messages he’s accrued—emails and texts, an average of at least one a week for the last three years—from addicts and their loved ones who’ve come to see his story, or have heard about what he went through, and said it got them thinking differently about the disease.