Past Projects

UPROOTED: A Tale of Navigating Turbulence to Find Home, a solo-show written and performed by Vanessa Boss and Directed by and Developed with Jessica Lynn Johnson will be premiering at the largest solo-theatre festival on the West-Coast, SOLOFEST 2019.

Buckle your seat belts as the creatures of Vanessa’s inner world take you on the flight of her life! A disturbance triggers violent weather in Vanessa’s inner world, endangering matriarch Elda, the elder tree, the voice of Vanessa’s wisdom. Elda leads Vanessa’s inner creatures on a journey to remind Vanessa of her strength.

Uprooted eight times for her father’s career, Vanessa struggled to find the place she calls home. At five years old she embraced Hong Kong as her home where her family thrived on a magical adventure. But when her Dad accepts a job in Buffalo, NY, the home Vanessa knew disappears. Her Mother’s glowing spirit dims and their heartstrings intertwine. Her mother’s depression weighs on Vanessa’s young heart as she faces unexpected turbulence at her middle school. At eleven years old Vanessa develops an eating disorder that withers away her roots. Inner demons begin to seep into her mind, distorting her self-image as she confuses their voices with her own.

Vanessa’s demons take control of the flight and her mind as she is moved again and again, facing bullies, saying unexpected goodbyes to friends, and hoping for the day to come where she’d get to choose where home is. But is home a place or a feeling? Full of exciting adventure, triumph and heartbreak; Vanessa frees herself from the restraints of her inner demons and proclaims her power to define her own fate. Uprooted is a young woman’s resilient story of growing into the strong, rooted woman she is meant to be.

Technical design by Brandon Loeser.

Festival Producers Nancy Santiago & Bryan Rasmussen

UPROOTED in Solofest at Whitefire Theatre!

Location:

Whitefire Theatre, Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, CA, USA

Whitefire Theatre, Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, CA, USA