“Birth is art. Birth is theatrical. Birth is a nothing to a something. Birth is a ceremony. Birth is a transformation. So, my art – my writing, my blog writing, my performing, my acting – has gotten so much wider ever since I’ve witnessed birth. Because, isn’t that what we do as actors? We breathe life into people. Isn’t that what we do as writers? We breathe life into characters that never existed before.” - Melissa Rose Hirsch on adding Doula as one of her hyphens.
Multi-hyphenating is an art form – and how you identify as one is up to you. By looking at it on paper, one might not think being a Doula would belong in a theatre multi-hyphenate persona – yet, Melissa Rose Hirsch does it. On top of being a performer, song writer, and blog writer, Hirsch beautifully interweaves the artistry of being a Doula into the rest of her multi-hyphenate artistry.
In this episode, we talk about how heartbreak and the industry viewing us a certain way forced us to look inward and create artistry that feels more personal and reflective of who we are.
“If I am going to be a vessel for art, I would like to be a vessel for my own art.”
Melissa Rose Hirsch is a singer, actor, writer, and birth doula. As a theatre performer, she has acted Off Broadway and found most passion in the development of new musical theatre works. Her musical, Bradical and the Pink Socks, co written with Christopher Hlinka and music by Preston Max Allen, has an upcoming performance this fall! Melissa not only writes her own music, available on all streaming platforms, but she most notably sang back up for PHISH at Madison Square Garden. She runs the blog Charged Thoughts on instagram, where she explores the human experience as romantically as possible and reminds her readers through love, loss, healing, and feeling, that “we are all the same, after all.” As a new birth doula and a person who is deeply passionate about the bodies of birthing people, Melissa finds fascination in all things birth, whether that be breathing life into new characters, new songs, or even new tiny humans. Follow along Melissa’s ride as a multi hyphenate @melissarosehirsch and @chargedthoughts!