\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of insecurity,\u201d Corigliano said of the reasons people over-apologize. \u201cThere\u2019s that feeling of needing validation, not feeling you deserve to say and feel what you say and feel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Apologizing becomes a kind of attitude, where \u201csorry\u201d can be spoken or expressed in other words, undermining statements and introducing uncertainty.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are other ways of saying it, like disguised apologizes. Sorry if I\u2019m taking too long, sorry if I\u2019m bothering you,\u201d Corigliano said. \u201cAm I taking too long? Am I bothering you? There are indirect ways of apologizing. It interrupts the conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The production features four female actors \u2014 Corigliano, Marguerite A. Boone, Gabby Franco Ferro and Blair Tate \u2014 with voiceover artist Terri Corigliano as the Counselor. Zack Watson portrays the male roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe average person apologizes eight times a day,\u201d Corigliano said, with the count easily reaching 3,000 annually and eclipsing 200,000 in a lifetime. \u201cI thought it was a good thing to apologize and not take up too much space. It wasn\u2019t until a couple of years ago that somebody I didn\u2019t know turned to me and said, \u2018It\u2019s annoying that you apologize so much.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Born in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, Corigliano moved to the Upper East Side 10 years ago and, five years later, to Brooklyn.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI fell in love with a guy who lives here. We\u2019ve been together for five years,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re getting married this year.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
They met in 2020 at a party in a Crown Heights apartment where he was rooming with some of her friends.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cHe proposed with a scavenger hunt through all of Brooklyn,\u201d she said. \u201cWe biked to our favorite spots. The proposal ended in our apartment, which is where we first met.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Someone who has done theater for around 20 years, Corigliano spent the last decade primarily doing comedy, including her sketch comedy show \u201cThat Just Happened,\u201d at the PIT, Upright Citizens Brigade, the Asylum and elsewhere, headlining the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival.<\/p>\n
\u201c[During the COVID-19 pandemic], it was tough to do that. I did a couple of virtual shows,\u201d she said. \u201cAfter COVID, I tried to come back with the show.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Audiences hadn\u2019t returned, but \u201cApoloholics,\u201d Corigliano added, \u201cwas everyone\u2019s favorite,\u201d so she decided to change, expand and develop it into a play. Nora Alexander signed on to direct, and Caitlin Malczon is stage manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seemed like we just were having a conversation,\u201d she said of scenes with the entire cast. \u201cWe have incredibly strong women on stage and we all have done what we\u2019re saying.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
They rehearsed at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange in Park Slope and Art Haus in Williamsburg after she expanded it beyond sketches.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried to focus on people going through more unique experiences,\u201d Corigliano said. \u201cThat allowed us to explore the idea in a more layered, in-depth way.\u201d
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Apoloholics-Writer-and-Actor-Mary-Corigliano.jpg\")
Playwright and performer Mary Corigliano appears in her new play \u201cApoloholics,\u201d part of the New York Fringe Festival.Photo courtesy of Mary Corigliano\n<\/p>\n
A new mother grapples with the loss of her old identity, while a woman amid the Black Lives Matter movement who realizes she is Afro-Latina decides to stop straightening her hair and embrace her true identity.<\/p>\n
A woman whose father passed away delivers a monologue. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t want people to say, \u2018Sorry,\u2019\u201d Corigliano said. \u201cShe\u2019d rather share a memory than have them apologize for his passing.\u201d<\/p>\n
While apologies transcend gender, Corigliano said many women apologize more than men, who typically utter three or four mea culpas daily.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel that\u2019s part of the reason I\u2019ve been taught to apologize. Don\u2019t take too much space. Be agreeable,\u201d she said. \u201cMy mother and my grandmother are strong women. I don\u2019t even know where I picked it up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Male characters wish they could talk more openly and honestly without having to bring up sports to divert conversations.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIn one of the group scenes, we all have puppets,\u201d she said of an exercise. \u201cThe puppets are our inner critic.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
She wrote a kind of \u201cmantra\u201d group members say, reminding themselves sorry is not something to be squandered.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cMy apology is sacred and should not be abused,\u201d the cast says. \u201cNor is it a default when I am confused. Saying it too often is an annoying trait and will push away my loved ones, not to mention irritate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Corigliano believes many of us need to change from within, as well as those around us, if they feed the apology beast.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need a supportive group around you,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I set this in a support group. If you\u2019re with people who make you feel there\u2019s something to be sorry for, it\u2019s like an alcoholic surrounded by their favorite alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cast members are happy with a play that, they believe, blends reality with creativity.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery scene brings you in emotionally, and I\u2019ve found myself being able to relate to so many of our characters\u2019 circumstances,\u201d Gabby Franco Ferro said, adding Corigliano \u201ccaptured real life stories and wove them into a hilarious and tear-jerking play.\u201d<\/p>\n
While a real group for those who overly apologize could find support, Corigliano wouldn\u2019t want to run it.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I could,\u201d she said, \u201calthough if someone wanted to start one from this, I fully support that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
She\u2019s happy in Brooklyn, where she enjoys cycling through Prospect Park and has run the Brooklyn Half Marathon as well as the New York City Marathon. She enjoys grabbing a bagel at the Bagel Pub on Franklin Avenue on weekends \u2014 and some weekdays.<\/p>\n
She also likes going to trivia nights hosted by her friends Walker Snow Harrison and Kate Romero on Thursdays at Paddy\u2019s of Park Slope.\n<\/p>\n
Corigliano believes if you stop feeling sorry over small and large things, you can be happier and more fulfilled.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you believe in yourself more,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen your brain doesn\u2019t hear you apologizing for everything you say, you inherently believe in yourself.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
While some may feel emotionally cleansed, others will enjoy the comedy, and others may gravitate to the drama.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people should be able to identify with at least one story. The point is to make people feel seen,\u201d Corigliano said. \u201cIt can be therapeutic, if you identify with the show. If not, you will probably laugh and say, \u2018I know this person.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApoloholics: Based on True Stories of People Who Apologize Too Much\u201d runs April 1, 8, 11 and 13 at The Chain Theatre\u2019s Main Stage as part of the New York Fringe Festival. Tickets are $20 in person and $10 for livestream and are available at apoloholics.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a largely stark stage with five chairs, five performers gather for what looks like a self-help group.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168569,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[69148,4982,2571,98,100,99,60886,9,24,12,370,63,69149,8005],"class_list":["post-168956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-apoloholics","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-entertainment","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-fringe-festival","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-news","tag-newsletter","tag-nyc","tag-paddys","tag-park-slope"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}