Melissa Rose's BAGGAGE to Play The United Solo Festival in October

What mess are you willing to unpack and let go of?

Written and performed by Melissa Rose, directed by Mia Vance and accompanied by music from Cullen Vance, Baggage recounts the story of the playwright's experiences as a touring spoken word artist in the United States and Europe. Baggage will be staged at the United Solo Festival on October 17th, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. at the Studio Theatre at Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street in NYC.

Are you escaping your inner demons or just running away from yourself? In this cathartic memoir, the playwright attempts to answer this question while exploring her need to avoid her troubled past through travel and self-destruction. Originally written as a healing exercise to cope with shame, Melissa Rose explores her own toxic behavior and the damage it creates when her baggage is left unchecked.

"Writing Baggage was an opportunity to acknowledge that through honest reflection, through the process of looking at the messes we have made, we can learn. We don't have to learn, but we can." states playwright/performer, Melissa Rose. "Trauma is an experience that is multi generational, multi faceted, and without acknowledging its impact, we can feel like we have no choices but the ones that cause us more harm. We can't change what happened to us, we can't change what we have done, but we can change who we are right now."

Whether questioning the meaning behind the messes she's made, wallowing in the naivete of magical thinking or discovering the salvation of creativity, Baggage blends elements of travel memoir, dramatic monologue, and poetry together into a stand alone experience of vulnerability and connection.

This performance is presented by United Solo, the world's largest solo theatre festival as part of its 15th season.

The runtime is 90 minutes with no intermission.

General admission tickets are $47.50. For tickets, visit: https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/united-solo-fall-festival-2023/

United Solo is a theatre company based in New York City, dedicated to the genre of one-person performance. Our goal is to present solo pieces, both local and international; discover original scripts; bring creators together; exchange perspectives; and inspire creativity related to solo performance

Melissa Rose is a professional spoken word poet and playwright. In over 20 years of performing and writing she has had her work awarded and published by numerous magazines, podcasts and books. In addition to page publication, she was a team member of 5 National Poetry Slam Teams and a featured performer at over 30 venues in Germany and Austria, including Munich, Frankfurt, Salzburg, and Hamburg. Her first book, "Your Story Matters" focuses on how to foster and support community healing through narrative storytelling. "Baggage" was first created as an exercise in healing internal shame and guilt, and had its first stage performance on the West Coast in Eugene, Oregon. Since then has been featured in New York City at the Rogue Theater Festival and The One Festival in 2021 and at the Downtown Urban Arts Festival in 2020 where it received the award for Best Play.

Mia Vance (director) Is a veteran of page and stage, has read her poetic works all over the green backdrops of Oregon and Ireland and has recently released a book of poetry, entitled "Instead of Butterflies". She has an extensive background in theatre, dance and performance, co-founding the Tesseract Theatre Company in 2017. For Mia, the Viewpoints and other movement- and improv-based techniques used by Tesseract have proven to be invaluable tools in accessing deep truths both for the character and for the actor.

Cullen Vance (music) is a composer, producer, animator, film maker, and game designer. Cullen is proficient in over 30 instruments and specializes in live performances featuring looping electric violin and beatboxing. In addition to collaborating with artists of different disciplines, he has created several music albums showcasing his enormous talent on Tik Tok, Spotify and in pubs across Ireland.

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