CHRISSY METH To Premiere At Hollywood Fringe!

When veteran actor Crystal Bush first started developing her one-woman show, she thought it would be about the many sides of love, from falling to being in love to the breakups. But as she got into it, she realized there was another story to tell...a very dark story that she knew would be tough, but necessary to share.

Crystal presents Chrissy Meth: A Dance with the Devil and the Journey Back to Self this June at The Lounge Theatre as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

In Chrissy Meth, a motherless child, growing up in the western suburbs of Chicago, not only has to face the racially oppressive construct of her world, she also finds herself stumbling from one abusive relationship to the next, pushing her into a deep drug addiction. On top of that, she is shunned and ostracized for her sexuality. Somehow, from the depths, she finds hope and begins to put the pieces back together. Through the use of song, multimedia, humor and multiple characters, she explores, questions and challenges beliefs and social mores surrounding race and sex identity while showing that it's never too late to come back and find one's self-worth.

"I was very, very resistant about doing this show," Crystal said. "I thought, 'No one wants to hear about this' and for a little while my fears did not allow me to tell this story. But I prevailed. That's what this story is about. Prevailing."

Crystal started her recovery process in 2003 and once she started, she never talked about her drug-addicted past and the effects it had on her life. She wouldn't even open up to family and friends about it. She said it has taken her more than 15 years to finally feel strong enough to share.

Part of the reason is the support of the Fringe community and her director. Crystal, who has starred in film and television as well as theatre, worked in last year's Fringe in a show called 17th Floor and she found the support of her fellow Fringe artists amazing. She then connected with veteran solo show director Jessica Lynn Johnson and she knew she was ready to present her story.

At its heart, Chrissy Meth takes an honest look at a black woman losing her self-worth as a result of an abusive upbringing and bad relationships, taking her from runaway bride to the depths of a drug addiction...and how she clawed out.

"It's a real, raw In Your Face story about drug use, and its deep life-changing effects," she said. "But it also shows how sheer perseverance changed my life and got me back. It's dark, but inspiring and if I can affect just one person, I would be ecstatic."

To post a comment, you must register and login.