Grief Dialogues: Putting Death and Dying on Stage with Elizabeth Coplan

Grief Dialogues: Putting Death and Dying on Stage with Elizabeth Coplan

From Before You Go by Abode Contemplative Care For The Dying

October 13, 2025 · 37 min · Season 3 · Episode 5

About this episode

Natalie Buster discusses the intersection of creative arts and grief with Elizabeth Coplan, founder of Grief Dialogues.

In this episode of Before You Go , host Natalie Buster explores the power of creative arts and storytelling to normalize conversations about death and grief—a central theme of the podcast's current season. Natalie sits down with Elizabeth Coplan , founder of Grief Dialogues. Elizabeth shares her journey from a corporate career back to her roots in theater and storytelling after a year of profound loss. She explains how she founded Grief Dialogues to utilize the theatrical arts (stage and screen) as instruments to put death, dying, and grief on display. This work creates a vital space for audience members to connect with and process their own fears and losses. Tune in to learn about Elizabeth's mission to address the "death taboo" and why she calls mortality "the great equalizer". You’ll also hear about her highly-regarded work, including the short play, "Hospice: A Love Story," and her Pulitzer-nominated full-length play, "Till Death". [00:00:14] Host Introduction/The Power of Creative Arts: Natalie introduces the season's focus on using creative arts to hold space for the stories of people who have died. [00:01:11] Guest Introduction: The…

People in this episode

Host: Natalie Buster

Guest: Elizabeth Coplan

Topics covered

  • grief
  • death
  • storytelling
  • theater
  • creative arts
  • normalizing conversations

Keywords

  • grief
  • death
  • storytelling
  • theater
  • creative arts
  • Elizabeth Coplan
  • Grief Dialogues
  • Hospice: A Love Story
  • Till Death

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Grief Dialogues

Books & works: Hospice: A Love Story, Till Death

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