The aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, feeling the cool ocean breeze on a warm sunny day, listening to a babbling brook, watching clouds move, the sound of laughter, a child’s embrace and eating an ice cream cone with multi-colored sprinkles. This is a short list of everything brilliant about the world. Everything that is worth living for.

On April 29 and 30, the Sedona International Film Festival will present “Every Brilliant Thing” at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre at 4 p.m. SIFF Executive Director Patrick Schweiss said he has been trying to bring this one-man stage show to Sedona for years.

The show will also be performed at Sedona Red Rock High School, Verde Valley School, Mingus Union High School and Camp Verde High School to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Month in May.

“I’ve been working for four years to bring this production of ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ to Sedona, as I wanted to deliver its life-affirming message to our residents and our schools. I particularly wanted to do it with this actor — the extraordinary Michael Doherty,” Schweiss stated.

Schweiss discovered “Every Brilliant Thing” at the Utah Shakespeare Festival when actor and comedian Doherty was starring in the production.

“The audiences were absolutely blown away with his [Doherty’s] performance and with the life-affirming message of the play,” Schweiss noted. “The state of Utah was so impressed with the production that it gave the Utah Shakespeare Festival a huge grant to take the production into every high school in the state of Utah to do free performances for all the students who so desperately need to hear this uplifting message.

“It has the power to change lives and help anyone who may be experiencing bouts of depression, which is so prevalent in our young people.”

Based on true and fictional stories, “Every Brilliant Thing” is told in collaboration with the audience, delivering the story of how hope can be achieved by focusing on the smallest miracles of life. The play was written by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe and opened at the Ludlow Fringe Festival in England in 2013. The North American premiere took place on Dec. 6, 2014, at the Barrow Street Theatre in New York City.

Doherty said that the performance tells a highly compelling story in less than 90 minutes. While it’s quick, funny and well-written, he continues to be surprised at the audience’s openness and their ability to comfortably discuss their personal experiences with depression and, in many cases, suicide.

“I feel incredibly lucky that I am doing something that makes people open up like that,” Doherty said. “What’s most astonishing is that everyone talks about the healing nature of it [the performance]. I have yet to get the response that’s like, ‘That wasn’t good for me,’ ‘That hurt me’ or ‘That opened up painful memories.’ It’s always like, ‘Thank you for talking about that,’ ‘I feel like I’m not crazy,’ ‘We’re not alone’ and a lot of crying, and a lot of hugging.”

Doherty discussed the unique connections he can form with members of the audience while exploring this sensitive topic.

“The question that is often asked is, did that happen to you? I’m like, ‘No, that is a play that was written by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe, and that was not my own experience,’” he said. “Sometimes people feel let down or betrayed by that because they totally bought [the performance] for an hour and 10 minutes. But the truth is, even though I have not been personally affected by my own suicidal ideation, I believe everyone knows someone who has struggled, and that is very, very true for me.”

Doherty also touched on his own experiences with depression and said that he has a strong family support system.

“I think we all struggle with dark thoughts to a certain extent and there have been moments in my life when my circumstances felt so dire that finding a way out felt incredibly difficult. I’m also very fortunate to have a really strong support system. But I also think that the answer doesn’t quite speak to the other side — which are the issues of mental health — it’s so tricky,” he said.

“My dad’s side of the family is just always telling stories and we’re just laughing constantly,” Doherty added. “They’re very supportive, they come to see a lot of my work, and it’s really lovely and we’re always having a ball. I always say nobody parties like the Dohertys because it’s a real trip with them.”

Doherty believes that “Every Brilliant Thing” is a play that everyone needs to see. “However often I can do this, for whoever will listen, it feels like it could actually make the world a better place,” he said.

Doherty noted that the play has been life-changing and unlike any other performance he has done. He is used to doing comedy, Off-Broadway and regional plays around the country.

He created a Dungeon & Dragons mystical podcast and has won the Barrymore Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, Theatre Bay Area and Critics’ Circle awards for Best Performance in a Play and the Independent TV Festival Award for writing.

“When I’m interacting with people after the show, I find myself in such a different emotional state than what I was previously in moments before,” Doherty said. “Because now I feel like I’m in service to them, and to the play … I feel like this vessel of human emotion.”

While this play has the power to change lives and influence the future of young people and their families, Schweiss also reiterated that “every adult needs to see this play; every student needs to experience its message.” “It is hilariously funny while delivering a powerful and heartfelt message,” Schweiss said. “It will make you think of every brilliant thing in your own world that makes life worth living. It is a theatrical experience unlike anything you have seen before. Truly life-changing and inspiring.”

“Every Brilliant Thing” will inspire you to think about everything that life has to offer.

When asked Doherty to share a few of his brilliant things worth living for, he replied, “The most obvious is acting, doing the thing that I love to do. My cats — we bring them everywhere; they are coming to Sedona with us. My wife Alex, we’ve known each other for 15 years, and my last one — cooking — I literally was terrified to attempt it until the pandemic. I love doing it now; it’s actually therapeutic for me, and it is my new love language.”

For tickets and more information, call (928) 282-1177 or visit www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.

The school performances are due to the sponsorship of Health First Foundation Northern Arizona, the Arizona Community Foundation and Linda Goldenstein.