Artistic Statement

I write new works for the stage that explore women’s agency and actions as they navigate their power and repression. In my research, I often draw upon classic novels by Bronte, Wharton, James, Hardy and Shakespeare to define the idea of a “tragic hero” and use them as tools to create a woman with an ambiguous moral center whose passion drives her to engage in morally questionable actions that thrusts her journey forward, with tragic consequences. Truth matters so I write about people who lie. I write plays that chronical obsession, betrayal, revenge, and recovery.
I view the present through the lens of the past. I often use classic texts as a jumping off point to write a new piece, to engage in a conversation, responding to the way a text influences the progress of humanistic ideas, and the way those ideas relate to us today. My work acts as a continuum allowing deeper access into the original while moving the audience forward rather than transporting them backwards so they experience theatre as a responsive and vital part of their life.

Melissa Bell

Artistic Statement

I write new works for the stage that explore women’s agency and actions as they navigate their power and repression. In my research, I often draw upon classic novels by Bronte, Wharton, James, Hardy and Shakespeare to define the idea of a “tragic hero” and use them as tools to create a woman with an ambiguous moral center whose passion drives her to engage in morally questionable actions that thrusts her journey forward, with tragic consequences. Truth matters so I write about people who lie. I write plays that chronical obsession, betrayal, revenge, and recovery.
I view the present through the lens of the past. I often use classic texts as a jumping off point to write a new piece, to engage in a conversation, responding to the way a text influences the progress of humanistic ideas, and the way those ideas relate to us today. My work acts as a continuum allowing deeper access into the original while moving the audience forward rather than transporting them backwards so they experience theatre as a responsive and vital part of their life.