Sometimes you have to unpack your sh*t to find the magic and Peta Morris’s one woman musical monologue does just that.
Peta is a Sydney based writer, performer, artist and educator and is debuting her original show, ‘Baggage Limit’ in this year’s Adelaide Fringe.
Sam About Town spoke to Peta to learn more about the show and the inspiration for creating it.
SAT: Peta, thank you for speaking with us today. This is an intensely personal piece of work. What was the inspiration for creating it?
PM: In 2018 I had what I now like to refer to as a nervous breakthrough. A life trying to self-medicate anxiety and depression had finally caught up with me and I literally had to allow myself to fall apart, to put myself back together with the support of a therapist, doctor, my husband and friends. I decided to write a musical monologue about the experience. It has really been a huge part of this process of discovery about where this all began and getting to know the internal machinations in my head and making friends with them.
SAT: You tell your story through two alter-egos, Wayne and Sharon. Could you tell us more about them?
PM: I use storytelling and song to interweave my personal narrative about a life lived with anxiety and depression. Wayne and Sharon are the light and dark internal forces that are inherent to us at birth but that are also formed from outside experiences. I also look at the intergenerational effects that run-down family lines, looking to my parents’ and grand parents’ lives and how they’ve affected mine.
Wayne and Sharon
SAT: A commonly understood concept is that of ‘invisible scripts’; the values and expectations that we inherit from our parents, often not even noticed by us, but completely ingrained. Did you find that from looking closely at your parent’s lives that you gained a clearer understanding of your own life and even a cleansing of ideas that didn’t serve you?
PM: I don’t think we can ever cleanse anything, we can learn to live with things, get a better understanding and try to find forgiveness. I had this funny experience with my therapist where I asked, “I don’t get it why am I still thinking about this shit”, she responded “because this shit will always be with you, it never goes away, it’s how you learn to live with it”. The penny bloody dropped and that was, (in the words of the Big O, my ha ha moment) .
SAT: Some of this subject matter can be quite confronting. How do you communicate and connect with the audience on issues many of us find too difficult to confront?
PM: Humour is the key. Delivering messages with a delicate balance of humour enables the audience to relax and access the information in a not too confrontational manner. I think it’s very important in life to have a really good laugh about this as well. We forget to laugh and we’re not perfect. We’re complex creatures of different shapes, angles and sizes. Having a better understanding of who we are, and acceptance is a better way of dealing with the challenges we face.
SAT: The format of your show as a musical monologue has been described as “creating an experience that makes the darkest of times hit the highest of notes.” What do you hope audiences will take away from seeing your show?
PM: ‘Baggage Limit’ is as much about coming to terms with what is, but learning how to make peace with the past and having a better relationship with the voices in your head. I hope people come away feeling uplifted, challenged, confident to explore their own situations a little more deeply and most of all that they are entertained and leave with smiles on their faces.
SAT: Thank you Peta and best of luck with your show!
PM: I am really proud and happy to bring this to you. I am also nervous. So nervous, but I thought, why not? Why not do it. Hope to see you there!
Baggage Limit is at The Bakehouse Theatre from March 9-14.
http://www.bakehousetheatre.com/
Tickets can be purchased here:
https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/baggage-limit-af2020
And, just a little bit more…
Some people will be familiar with Peta’s powerhouse vocals on her work with Paul Mac on two ARIA award winning albums, as well as the hit single ‘Just The Thing’ in the early 2000’s. She has also recorded with Australian bands such as The Church and Eskimo Joe.
Baggage Limit, Peta’s new venture into theatre performance is a culmination to date of her artistic skills.
For more information you can visit her website or follow her on social media.
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