Artist in residence debuts ‘Baggage From BaghDAD’ Sunday at Grange Hall
Dec. 9, 2022 | By Waterbury Roundabout 
Valerie David on stage reading from her solo play, 'Baggage From BaghDAD.' Photo by Naomi Carter
After a pandemic-forced postponement, the Grange Hall Cultural Center and MOXIE Productions welcome artist in residence Valerie David back to Vermont this weekend with a solo show and discussion program on Sunday.
David presents “Baggage From BaghDAD: Becoming My Father’s Daughter,” a story that chronicles her father’s escape from Baghdad as an 8-year-old refugee with his family and their immigration to America to begin a new life.
David was scheduled to come to Vermont to attend her residency with MOXIE Productions and the Grange Hall Cultural Center in June 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the past two years, she has worked on her presentation, sharing it in small public gatherings in New York City. In September she traveled to Sweden for the Stockholm Fringe Festival where the project received accolades for its staged readings of early drafts.
Mirroring the struggle of today’s Ukrainian refugees and reflecting rising racial and religious discrimination worldwide, “Baggage From BaghDAD” is 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 playwright and performer David’s father and his family’s struggle to transcend their harrowing past and build a new home in America.
Over time, father and daughter learn to love and accept their differences and the importance of family takes center stage as David begins to understand how her father’s tale of survival and perseverance shaped her convictions and her future. Some of the themes of this new solo show include generational trauma, prejudice, discrimination, bullying, and the love and loss of family.
In February 2019, David performed her award-winning solo show at the Grange Hall Cultural Center in its “One & Only Series.” Her performance titled “The Pink Hulk: One Woman’s Journey to Find the Superhero Within” explored her inspiring story as a three-time cancer survivor.
Playwright Valerie David reads from 'Baggage From BaghDAD.' Photo by Naomi Carter
Monica Callan of MOXIE Productions and the Grange Hall Cultural Center says part of David’s charm is her personal resilience and “never-give-up” attitude that shone through in her earlier production. “We will see in this next show just where that originates from,” Callan said.
David shares her presentation this Sunday, Dec. 11, at 3 p.m. at the Grange Hall Cultural Center, 317 Howard Avenue, in Waterbury Center. “Baggage From BaghDAD” runs approximately 60 min. and is directed by Maris Heller.
A discussion with the audience following the performance will include award-winning filmmakers Carole Basri and Adriana Davis, whose documentaries have centered around highlighting and preserving Iraqi Jewish culture.
Tickets are $15 for general admission and available online at
In addition, forms and guidelines are now available for the 2023 MOXIE Production/GHCC Artist-In-Residence program. Applicants exploring all forms of performance are welcome to apply. For more information, email grangehallcc@gmail.com or visit grangehallcc.com.