Shows "C"

CRAZY PEOPLE INCORPORATED an abuse survivors musical Music & lyrics by Snafu Drat FOREWORD: Crazy People Incorporated deals with the very real effects of a mental health condition known as Dissociative Identity Disorder, an illness often identified as the result of severe childhood abuse. The musical was written by a survivor of such trauma and offers a positive attitude towards recovery. SYNOPSIS: This story features Susan, a retired therapist and social worker who befriends Melissa, the subject of the story and one of Susan's former clients. The story portrays Melissa's rise from child abuse survivor through potential suicide victim to warrior for children's rights. Melissa is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and is a drug and alcohol addict who suffers from a mental condition known as Dissociative Identity Disorder which manifests itself in her believing that several other people inhabit the space inside her head; It is these people, (Melissa's alter ego's), who make up the remainder of the 10 strong female cast. At age 40 Melissa finds herself in circumstances where for the first time in her life she begins to receive effective help for her problems; it is some time later that this story begins to document Melissa's journey of discovery as to how she might reconcile the abuse she has suffered with her own desire for better things. STORY Act I At age 40, the heroine, Melissa, a victim of extreme sexual abuse in her childhood, finds herself in a situation where for the first time in her life she is beginning to receive effective support and counseling for the distressing mental and emotional state in which she has spent most of her life. Her mental condition expresses itself in the form of Melissa hearing voices inside her head. The voices occasionally become so demanding and persistent that Melissa has no option but to let them take over and turn her into whoever they want her to be - the usual result of such episodes being that Melissa often ‘wakes up’ in disturbing and/or otherwise unpleasant situations with little or no knowledge of how she got there or why. A cynical person would probably blame the drugs and alcohol to which Melissa was addicted... A more insightful person, however, might realise that Melissa’s misuse of drugs and alcohol was merely a mechanism she employed which enabled her to cope with something far worse. The support that Melissa is currently receiving is almost exclusively from Susan, her closest friend and former councillor. Susan is familiar with most of Melissa’s alter egos, and is now retired, but has maintained a close personal interest in Melissa ever since they met. The play begins on a bad day for Melissa. She has called Susan in desperation, amid fears of an onset of depression, and Susan has popped round to see if there is anything she can do. Melissa conveys her feelings of utter abandonment to Susan [Pity The Child] but is not much cheered by the visit and turns to alcohol to block out the voices the moment Susan departs. The alcohol reacts badly with Melissa’s prescribed medication; and instead of growing less, the confusion in her head becomes a full blown riot [Whore Slag Slut Baby], as childhood memories of her abuse come flooding back. This distresses Melissa even more, but thanks to the alcohol she is in no condition to fight off the invading voices and soon passes out on the kitchen table, leaving Tapes, (one of her more demanding alter egos), still drinking steadily. As Melissa falls into a drunken stupor she is visited by Badbits, a sad and lonely child alter who expresses

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