Melissa Bell

Melissa Bell

I write new works for the stage that explore women’s agency and actions as they navigate their power and repression. LADY CAPULET, a prequel to Romeo & Juliet, performed in Central Park and regionally by Barefoot Shakespeare, Nominated for Best Adaptations & Modernizations by New York Shakespeare 2020 & 2021, Finalist Henley Rose Playwrights Competition for Women, 2017. Creative Associate with Farm...
I write new works for the stage that explore women’s agency and actions as they navigate their power and repression. LADY CAPULET, a prequel to Romeo & Juliet, performed in Central Park and regionally by Barefoot Shakespeare, Nominated for Best Adaptations & Modernizations by New York Shakespeare 2020 & 2021, Finalist Henley Rose Playwrights Competition for Women, 2017. Creative Associate with Farm Arts Collective, featured in NY Times Arts, 8/14/21, for DREAM eco-series of plays. COURAGE, based on Mother Courage & Her Children by Bertolt Brecht, an immersive journey produced by NACL Theater, Honored Finalist 2019 Women in the Arts & Media Collaboration Award; director Tannis Kowalchuk, composer Rima Fand, & Mark Dunau, premiered on Governor's Island in NYC & the Catskills. GAME BOY produced by TRU for TRUSPEAK virtual gala, featuring Tony winner Cady Hoffman. DEVIL & THE DEEP, Reimagining Treasure Island. Music & Lyrics by Graham Russell (of Air Supply) & Katie McGhie, produced by Theatre East Off-Broadway. LOST IN LOVE, a musical based on the hits of Air Supply, a One-Night-Only Benefit for the Actors Fund, featuring Constantine Maroulis, Andrea McArdle and Graham Russell (Air Supply), who also wrote the score. LOVE, SEX ANARCHY had staged readings in NYC and excerpts performed at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC. ICEBOX PLACENTA published in Smith & Krause "Best Women's Monologues of 2019." Other: Future is Female Festival, The Reproductive Rights Festival, 29th Street Playwrights Collective New Works Series, Marble Church Summer Arts Festival, The Mother-Lode Festival, Turn To Flesh 5th Annual Staged Reading. 29th Street Playwrights Collective Resident Playwright, Dramatist Guild Member, Columbia University, BA, Concentration in Writing.

Plays

  • LADY CAPULET by Melissa Bell
    Recommendations: 10
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: adaptation, drama + 3 more
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    Keyword: Shakespeare, Shakespeare-inspired + 5 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, period, tragedy, verse
    Keyword: Shakespeare, Shakespeare-inspired, based on Shakespeare, complex female lead, love and betrayal, monologues for men, scenes for women ages 15-30
    What caused the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets? This prequel to Romeo and Juliet follows the journey of Rose from country girl to matriarch, navigating her repression and power in 16th Century Verona in a time when family, money, power and gender determine everything.
    Using heightened language, LADY CAPULET asks large questions about women’s place in the culture through a Shakespearean...
    What caused the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets? This prequel to Romeo and Juliet follows the journey of Rose from country girl to matriarch, navigating her repression and power in 16th Century Verona in a time when family, money, power and gender determine everything.
    Using heightened language, LADY CAPULET asks large questions about women’s place in the culture through a Shakespearean lens and features a strong female lead.
    Although not a musical, this show has incidental music available without royalty, written by Graham Russell of Air Supply.
    Reviews:
    "Melissa Bell reimagines the life of Juliet’s mother in the years before the events of Romeo & Juliet in this classical prequel." –Time Out NY --- "Tantalizing" -Roundtheworldstage.com
    Published in Smith & Krause's "The Best Men's Stage Monologues 2020" and S&K's Thirty Scenes for Young Women, 15 - 30, 2024
  • Finding Madame Curie, the Musical, Music & Lyrics by David Kurkowski, Book by Melissa Bell
    Cast: 
    14–30
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    Genre: biography, drama + 3 more
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    Keyword: 20th Century Women, women in science + 6 more
    Genre: biography, drama, musical, period, romantic comedy
    Keyword: 20th Century Women, women in science, Marie Curie, Madame Curie, Woman centered, strong female lead roles, Historical musical, large cast
    FINDING MADAME CURIE is about the scientist everybody knows and the woman nobody knows—the scientist who discovers radium and wins two Nobel Prizes, and the woman who dares to pursue her dream in a man’s world. But life in Paris isn’t the dream she imagined as Marie confronts anti-immigrant bias and outright misogyny. Alone with two children after husband Pierre’s death, her carefully constructed world explodes...
    FINDING MADAME CURIE is about the scientist everybody knows and the woman nobody knows—the scientist who discovers radium and wins two Nobel Prizes, and the woman who dares to pursue her dream in a man’s world. But life in Paris isn’t the dream she imagined as Marie confronts anti-immigrant bias and outright misogyny. Alone with two children after husband Pierre’s death, her carefully constructed world explodes in public outcry over her affair with a married French scientist. As World War I threatens France, Marie must use her discoveries to protect the world from destruction, save lives and heal her fractured family.
  • ZOE COMES HOME by Melissa Bell
    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: dark comedy, Mental Health + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: dark comedy, Mental Health, depression & anxiety, mother and daughter relationship, dysfunctional neighbors, art
    A dark comedy about depression, backyard "art," and one errant pooch. Zoe arrives home for a rare visit and finds her estranged mother Gloria, once a respected sculptor, creating new monuments from discarded objects in her backyard—much to the distress of the new neighbor. Buried deep in this menagerie lies a trauma that must be recognized if Zoe and Gloria are ever to heal.

    A 4 hander...
    A dark comedy about depression, backyard "art," and one errant pooch. Zoe arrives home for a rare visit and finds her estranged mother Gloria, once a respected sculptor, creating new monuments from discarded objects in her backyard—much to the distress of the new neighbor. Buried deep in this menagerie lies a trauma that must be recognized if Zoe and Gloria are ever to heal.

    A 4 hander, mother-daughter story, with an EZ set created from recyclables, junk from the theatre basement, and "found art" from local artists in the community.

    Zoe Comes Home is about letting go of all the "stuff" we hold on to: negative thoughts, destructive actions, and celebrates the courage to create against the haunting demons of doubt that can only thrive through the healing power of love.
  • GAME BOY by Melissa Bell
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: misogyny, future is female + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, political, satire
    Keyword: misogyny, future is female, pop culture, PC, video games, mother, metoo, Violence against women
    Artan’s girlfriend Justine has refused to play his new video game and walked out, leaving him to his own devices, literally. What is this new game, and what does it say about the way women are perceived in society?
  • Icebox Placenta (a monologue for women) by Melissa Bell
    Recommendations: 11
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
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    Keyword: childbirth, reproductive freedom + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    Keyword: childbirth, reproductive freedom, home birth, placenta, cultural diversity
    Patti wants to follow a holistic ritual for her birth placenta, but finds it challenging in the middle of the city; and so, keeps it in her freezer for four years.

    (previously entitled "Playground Placenta")
  • REMIX by Melissa Bell
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: metoo, music industry + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, movement/physical
    Keyword: metoo, music industry, celebrity, diverse cast, feminist, female power
    After being written off as a “one hit wonder,” MINI’s pop icon status is reignited with the remix of her past hit by a younger rap artist, HAKIM XL, which becomes this week’s hottest download. MINI is within reach of a long-desired comeback. Careers burn hot and fast in a business that perpetuates abusive behavior of which MINI is both victim and participant. REMIX deep-dives into the realm of celebrity, the...
    After being written off as a “one hit wonder,” MINI’s pop icon status is reignited with the remix of her past hit by a younger rap artist, HAKIM XL, which becomes this week’s hottest download. MINI is within reach of a long-desired comeback. Careers burn hot and fast in a business that perpetuates abusive behavior of which MINI is both victim and participant. REMIX deep-dives into the realm of celebrity, the obsessive need to be worshiped and the road to recovery.
  • The Ghosts of Wuthering Heights: A Literary Haunted House by Melissa Bell
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    9
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    Genre: adaptation, drama + 5 more
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    Keyword: social distance, site specific + 5 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, experimental, immersive, melodrama, movement/physical, tragedy
    Keyword: social distance, site specific, haunted places, ghosts, classic adaptation, dark romance, immersive
    Did you know Emily Bronte framed her novel as a ghost story? In this socially distanced, site-specific immersive adaptation, the spirits of seven characters, including the iconic Heathcliff and Catherine, return to earth, one room at a time, to tell their stories. Audience pods of 10-12 members move between rooms in random order until all characters are heard, bringing together the passionate story of love,...
    Did you know Emily Bronte framed her novel as a ghost story? In this socially distanced, site-specific immersive adaptation, the spirits of seven characters, including the iconic Heathcliff and Catherine, return to earth, one room at a time, to tell their stories. Audience pods of 10-12 members move between rooms in random order until all characters are heard, bringing together the passionate story of love, betrayal, and revenge of WUTHERING HEIGHTS.

  • TREASURE, a musical reimagining of RL Stevenson's Treasure Island by Melissa Bell
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    12–18
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    Genre: adaptation, adventure + 3 more
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    Keyword: Treasure Island, classic tale + 2 more
    Genre: adaptation, adventure, musical, period, young audiences
    Keyword: Treasure Island, classic tale, devised, rock and roll
    Music and Lyrics by Graham Russell (AIR SUPPLY) and Katie McGhie, Book by Melissa Bell. Jim Hawkins’ dream of going to sea becomes reality after he discovers a treasure map. But where he thought he would find adventure, he is confronted by greed, betrayal and mutiny. To save himself and the crew, Jim must make choices that challenge his values of loyalty, trust and integrity. This adaptation includes devised...
    Music and Lyrics by Graham Russell (AIR SUPPLY) and Katie McGhie, Book by Melissa Bell. Jim Hawkins’ dream of going to sea becomes reality after he discovers a treasure map. But where he thought he would find adventure, he is confronted by greed, betrayal and mutiny. To save himself and the crew, Jim must make choices that challenge his values of loyalty, trust and integrity. This adaptation includes devised roles for women, including Benita Gunn, a young female protagonist, who helps Jim discover the true meaning of Treasure.
  • ANGEL OF HOPE by Melissa Bell
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: drama, faith-based + 2 more
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    Keyword: adoption, foster parenting + 4 more
    Genre: drama, faith-based, holiday, young audiences
    Keyword: adoption, foster parenting, christmas, resilience, family, spiritual
    A young girl rescues an angel from a Christmas tree while she and her sister try to cope with their sense of abandonment by their mother; when Hope enters their lives. Some families are born. Others are found.
  • MINI'S COMEBACK by Melissa Bell
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: metoo, show business + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, political, tragedy
    Keyword: metoo, show business, music industry
    After 12 years, one-hit-wonder MINI has a chance for a big comeback. Her long time ex-producer wants a piece of the action and maybe a piece of MINI.
  • MINI'S COMEBACK (20-min one act) by Melissa Bell
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: metoo, music industry + 1 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: metoo, music industry, show business
    After 12 years, one-hit-wonder MINI has a chance for a comeback. Her long time ex-producer wants a piece of the action and, possibly, a piece of MINI too. She knows what it takes. Does she still have it?
  • LOVE, SEX, ANARCHY by Melissa Bell
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    6–14
    ·
    Genre: biography, dark comedy + 4 more
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    Keyword: Sex, Emma Goldman + 4 more
    Genre: biography, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, period, political
    Keyword: Sex, Emma Goldman, protest, women's history, betrayal, hottopic
    Escaping a brutal childhood and the monotony of factory work in Russia, Emma Goldman arrives in New York City, ripe for the Anarchist philosophy. A fiery speaker, proponent of woman’s reproductive rights and practitioner of Free Love, she becomes caught up in a passionate affair with Ben Reitman. Through their combined efforts, she becomes the most notorious woman in America. But Emma is tortured by Ben’s...
    Escaping a brutal childhood and the monotony of factory work in Russia, Emma Goldman arrives in New York City, ripe for the Anarchist philosophy. A fiery speaker, proponent of woman’s reproductive rights and practitioner of Free Love, she becomes caught up in a passionate affair with Ben Reitman. Through their combined efforts, she becomes the most notorious woman in America. But Emma is tortured by Ben’s inconsistencies and sexual betrayals. Can Emma reconcile her idealistic beliefs with her all too human emotional needs?
  • Stripes and Polka-Dots by Melissa Bell
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
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    Keyword: dating, gender parity
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: dating, gender parity
    Matt and Zoe are having drinks in a bar, recapping the meeting of the day. But something is bothering Matt. Is it his drink? Is the way the bartender ignores him? Or does he feel threatened in some odd way? What does a drink say about the person who's drinking it, if anything?
  • THE AGENDA by Melissa Bell
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: hidden racism, teachers + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, political, satire
    Keyword: hidden racism, teachers, parenthood, PTA, school, women's history month
    A type-A Assistant Principal named Betsy, a diabetic librarian, a mother in denial, and a crusading teacher discuss Women’s History Month, slavery, teenage pregnancy, control, bias, and everyone is trying to forward their agenda; all happening at the local PTA meeting. Cookie anyone? (Formerly titled THE PTA MEETING)
  • THE PTA MEETING by Melissa Bell
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, political + 1 more
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    Keyword: PTA, parenthood + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, political, satire
    Keyword: PTA, parenthood, teachers, school, women's history, racism in America
    NEW TITLE: THE AGENDA A type-A Assistant Principal named Betsy, a diabetic librarian, a mother in denial, and a crusading teacher discuss Women’s History Month, slavery, teenage pregnancy, control, bias, and everyone is trying to forward their agenda; all happening at the local PTA meeting. Cookie anyone? (Formerly titled THE PTA MEETING)
  • THIS IS HOW IT STARTS by Melissa Bell
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: resistance, military
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, political, satire
    Keyword: resistance, military
    THE GENERAL is on a mission to deport the enemies of the people of the United States of America. The SERGEANT is a true believer. SOLDIERS are refusing to "do their duty." ARNIE just wants a job. This short plays examines the way xenophobia becomes policy.