Written & Performed by MELISSA DuPREY
Directorial Support David Mendizábal
Sound Design Steve Lebedz
Curated by Vision Resident David Mendizábal
Originally Premiered February 6, 2021
Run Time: 52 minutes
Concept workshopped at the Solo Playwright Workshop through The Goodman Theater with Dael Orlandersmith in May 2020.
Developed in artistic collaboration with communities of artists of color from Chicago and NYC.
Original music written by Melissa DuPrey inspired by the soundtrack to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
MELISSA DuPREY is a multidisciplinary artist with roots from Humboldt Park, Chicago. After earning double Bachelor degrees from the University of Houston, she returned to Chicago to join the all-Latina theatre company, Teatro Luna. Her one-woman show, SEXomedy (2012), was developed during their monthly series for women of color in the arts and received a Chicago Reader Recommendation, a Member’s Pick, and had a successful debut Off-Broadway in New York. The popular show spurred a progressive sequel, SEXomedy 2.0, which debuted at Steppenwolf Theater in April 2019. Her second solo show, SUSHI-frito, has also been critically acclaimed as part of MPAACT’s Signature Series for solo artists. DuPrey is also a community organizer and spiritualist who also launched The Good Grief Project- an extension of the social justice component from her play GOOD GRIEF where communities of color are connected to local, accessible and multidisciplinary mental and spiritual wellness practitioners of color. Her full-length play BRUJAJA was selected as part of 16th Street’s New Play Pop Up Reading Series for 2019. In 2014, she was selected as a new talent in the ABC Diversity Showcase in New York City. She has performed stand-up comedy in Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. She is a featured actor in the Emmy-nominated web-series Brown Girls and has many regional and non regional theater credits in Chicago. Film credits include: Cherry (2020), Two in the Bush (2017), The Way We Speak (2014), and Bromance(2014). TV credits include a recurring appearances on “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC) and “Empire” (FOX), “The Resident” (FOX), “Chicago PD” (NBC), and “The Chi” (Showtime). As a musician and active member of her community, she is dedicated to the preservation of Puerto Rican culture by way of the folkloric music, Bomba y Plena, with Africaribe and Las BomPleneras. She is currently an Ensemble Member at UrbanTheater Company and Artistic Associate at Sideshow Theater.
