And for my upcoming award-winning Pink Hulk performances, go to this link!: https://pinkhulkplay.com/schedule/
Award-winning Baggage From BaghDAD: Becoming My Father’s Daughter, Running time 60 minutes with Audience talkbacks/Q&A’s to follow performance
Feature story in Times Argus https://www.timesargus.com/features/vermont_arts/baggage-from-baghdad-fleeing-the-nazis-in-1941-iraq/article_91facf44-e824-595c-9535-5d8604a0932d.html
BAGGAGE FROM BAGHDAD VIDEO TRAILER
https://youtu.be/lTkZsynaRd8
2023 Baggage From BaghDAD: Becoming My Father’s Daughter, my new award-winning solo show’s upcoming performances
Here is the information on performance engagements for Baggage From BaghDAD:
1) APAP (Association of Performing Arts Festivals) Presents Award-winning Solo Show, Baggage From BaghDAD: Becoming My Father’s Daughter Excerpts
SHOWCASE TIME(S):
Baggage from BaghDAD: Becoming My Father’s Daughter
Saturday, January 14, 2023 @ 10:20 p.m. – 10:35 p.m.
Hilton Midtown ~ Gibson Suite, 2nd Floor
1335 6th Ave, New York, NY 10019 (@West 53 Street)
Performer/playwright Valerie David’s award-winning solo show, Baggage From BaghDAD: Becoming My Father’s Daughter, is about one Middle Eastern Jewish family’s true inspirational journey of being forced to flee from religious persecution during the 1941 “Farhud” pogrom in Baghdad. It is the story of Valerie’s father and his family’s struggle to transcend their harrowing past and build a new home in America. As father and daughter learn to love and to accept their differences, the importance of family takes center stage as she begins to understand how his tale of survival and perseverance shaped her convictions and her future.
Because the play is rooted in the historical civil unrest for the Jews of Iraq, Baggage From BaghDAD also mirrors the current struggle of today’s Ukrainian refugees, and rising racial and religious discrimination worldwide. Some of the universal themes of Valerie’s solo show center around immigration, refugees, social injustice, generational trauma, prejudice, mental health, discrimination, bullying, and the love and loss of family.
Baggage From BaghDAD has received several accolades including the 2021 Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award, and in 2022, it received top theater honors in its very first full production—The Spoken Word and Theatre Award—in the Stockholm Fringe Festival and was also nominated for the Grand Prix Award. Valerie, who is based in New York, was also selected as the Artist-In-Residence at the Grange Hall Cultural Center in Vermont, where she also performed Baggage From BaghDAD.
Valerie’s mission is to perform her one-woman play both domestically and internationally to create awareness of The Farhud, an essential part of history that has largely been forgotten, which had a permanent impact on Middle Eastern culture with its main themes highlighting today’s turbulent times and the global increase of prejudice and discrimination. Valerie takes you on a journey portraying over 15 different characters spanning her family’s travels, their experiences throughout Iraq, Europe, India and eventually settling in the U.S. and those whom Valerie herself encountered along the way.
Run time: 60 minutes
Touring to include:
Synagogues, churches, mosques, religious organizations, refugee centers, immigration offices, universities, colleges, high schools, governmental organizations, embassies, Jewish Community Centers, Jewish and Holocaust museums, museums, art centers, festivals, theaters, conventions and conferences.
AWARDS and PRESS
2) WhiteFire Theatre Solo Festival in Los Angeles on March 4, 2023–details to come
3) MOXIE Productions and the Grange Hall Cultural Center welcome Valerie David for her 2022 GHCC Artist-In-Residence performance of the Award-winning Solo Show, Baggage From BaghDAD: Becoming My Father’s Daughter
One Middle Eastern Jewish Family’s True Epic Journey to America, Sunday, December 11 @ 3pm at the Grange Hall Cultural Center, Waterbury Center, Vermont.
Written and Performed by Renowned Solo Artist Valerie David; Directed by Maris Heller
Performance date and venue: Sunday, December 11, 2022 @ 3:00 pm
Grange Hall Cultural Center, 317 Howard Avenue, Waterbury Center, VT 05677
Audience talkback to follow featuring award-winning filmmakers Carole Basri and Adriana Davis, who have been champions in preserving Iraqi culture.
Ticket price: $15
For info and to purchase tickets: https://sevendaystickets.com/events/baggage-from-baghdad-becoming-my-fathers-daughter-12-11-2022
Runtime: Approx. 60 minutes
Testimonials/Reviews
Camille Siegel of Chaucer’s Corner says, “Valerie blew [me] away with her one-woman show. It was not only moving, but resonated with everyone on a profound level—a show not to be missed.”
Judy Hermansson says, “Your story really touched my heart. I can’t imagine that anyone could watch your performance and not be moved. With so many refugees in today’s very uncertain world, we need to understand that trauma affects not only those experiencing it firsthand. It has a large impact on the following generations. And not only refugees, of course, also the many others that are being discriminated against for who they are. We need to accept each other unconditionally. Your show presents that message in a strong and moving way.”
4) Gothenburg (Dates of Festival: 7 Sept – 11 Sept, 2022)
The 7th Annual Gothenburg Fringe Festival Presents the World Premiere Production of Baggage From BaghDAD: Becoming my Father’s Daughter
One Middle Eastern Jewish Family’s True Epic Journey to America
Written and Performed by Renowned Solo Artist Valerie David; Directed by Maris Heller
Performance dates:
-Thursday, 8 Sept @ 8:30 pm (20:30)
30-min talkback to follow performance with award-winning Iraqi-Jewish-American filmmaker Carole Basri and filmmaker Adriana Davis
-Saturday, 10 September @ 7:00 pm (19:00)
-Sunday, 11 September @ 3:55 pm (15:55)
Venue: Göteborgs Dramatiska Teater @ Stigbergsliden 5B, 414 63 Göteborg
Runtime: Approx. 60 minutes
Ticket link: https://www.gbgfringe.com/events/baggage-from-baghdad/
5) Stockholm (Dates of Festival: 13 Sept – 17 Sept, 2022)–WINNER OF THE SPOKEN WORD & THEATRE AWARD 2022!
The 13th Annual Stockholm Fringe Festival (STOFF 2022) Presents Solo Show Baggage From BaghDAD: Becoming my Father’s Daughter
Performance dates:
-Thursday, 15 September @ 9:00 pm (21:00)
-Saturday, 17 September @ 6:00 pm (18:00)
Venue: The Pygméteatern, Vegagatan 17, 113 29 Stockholm
Ticket link: https://stoff.ssboxoffice.com/events/baggage-from-baghdad/
2022: COMPANION PIECE TO THE PINK HULK!
The 7th Annual W.H.A.M. Festival of Manhattan Presents a Staged Reading of
Baggage From BaghDAD
One Middle Eastern Jewish Family’s
True Epic Journey to America
Written and Performed by Renowned Solo Artist Valerie David
Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 7:30 pm
The Bernie Wohl Center at Goddard Riverside
647 Columbus Ave @ West 91st Street, NY, NY
Tickets are $20 for general admission, $15 for students/seniors
Visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/baggage-from-baghdad-wham-2022-tickets-273689792537
Runtime: Approx. 60 minutes, plus post-show talkback
(New York – March 18, 2022) – In honor of Women’s History Month, the 7th Annual W.H.A.M. Festival of Manhattan presents Baggage From BaghDAD, a new solo play about the power of family and perseverance amid a harrowing past. Written and performed by Valerie David, the play will be presented as a staged reading at The Bernie Wohl Center at Goddard Riverside, 647 Columbus Avenue in NYC on Thursday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. A talkback with Iraqi-Jewish-American filmmaker Carole Basri. Proceeds from the evening will be donated to both SaveTheChildren to help support the families of Ukraine and also the Goddard Riverside Performing Arts Conservatory.Mirroring the struggle of today’s Ukrainian refugees and reflecting rising global racial, religious and sexual intolerance, Baggage From BaghDAD is one Middle Eastern Jewish family’s true inspirational journey as they are forced to flee religious persecution during the 1941 Iraqi “Farhud.” It is the story of playwright and performer Valerie David’s father, and his family’s struggle to transcend their harrowing past as they build a new home in America. As father and daughter learn to love and to accept their differences, the importance of family takes center stage as she begins to understand how his tale of survival and perseverance shaped her convictions and her future.
Tickets are $20. Students and seniors: $15. Visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/baggage-from-baghdad-wham-2022-tickets-273689792537
The Pink Hulk 