Melissa Paulson

Originally from Montreal, Melissa Paulson is a creator, performance artist, educator and writer who continually pushes boundaries. Throughout the last decade, she has worked alongside artists to create unique programs, performances, and experiences that challenge societal norms and amplify women’s voices.

Her advocacy has included leadership programming in New York City schools through WET Productions, a non-profit organization aiming to empower women and girls by producing media that challenges female stereotypes and advocates for equality. She’s also the co-founder of Hysterical Hearts, a female-founded storytelling collective, whose first short film, Savage Breakup, was selected at St. John’s International Women’s Festival 2020 in Newfoundland. She’s also been busy guest starring in roles in TV shows such as The Boys, The Detectives, and The Bold Type.

For the last few years, Melissa has been creating and performing in Prince Edward County. She acted alongside Joan McBride in County Road Theatre Company’s Collected Stories in 2022, and in the Marsyburgh Mummers production of The Vagina Monologues in 2023. This March, she was reunited with Joan McBride and County Roads Theatre Company to co-direct Joan Didion’s autobiographical one-woman show, The Year of Magical Thinking, to Mount Tabor Playhouse. The play will have its premier on September 26th, with both evening and matinee shows on until October 6th, 2024.

Find out more about about The Year of Magical Thinking in this month’s edition of Artscene, and read on to learn more about Melissa’s inspirations, how she approaches theatre, and helpful resources.

Describe your artistic practice:

I create theatre as a way to drag the complicated, often painful questions of life into the light and hold them there in front of an audience. It’s less about finding answers and more about the act of collective searching where we are reminded that we’re not alone in our struggles, and maybe, just maybe, there’s a new way of seeing, of being, that we can discover together.

What have you worked on recently that has you excited?

I’m co-directing Joan Didion’s one-woman show The Year of Magical Thinking with Joan McBride. This is my first time co-directing a theatre piece, and Joan, both the actress and my co-director, has been remarkably generous. She’s created space for me to find my voice as a director, and together we’ve found a rhythm. We’ve been having a lot of fun shaping Didion’s perceptive words into something tangible—a visceral experience that breathes life into the intimate, unsettling space where memory and mourning collide.

Tell us about another artist’s artwork/artistic project you’ve experienced recently that made an impact on you.

I just finished the second season of playwright Katori Hall’s television drama, P-Valley. I’m in awe of her fearless honesty in tackling heavy themes all while weaving in sharp humor. Every scene in every episode is meticulously crafted and works flawlessly—a feat that’s incredibly difficult to pull off. I’m also a sucker for magical realism, and Hall often allows the fantastical to intersect with the mundane which creates drama that is layered and full of depth. I’d like to write like that.

Where in the County do you find the most creative inspiration? 

Maison Depoivre Art Gallery. It’s a five minute drive from my house. I always feel welcomed when I arrive and inspired when I leave.

Which tools and/or resources have helped you the most in your artistic career? 

– Just doing the thing. Patsy Rodenburg names it “the rigour of the craft.”
– Acting or writing classes
– Competing in Monologue Slams
– Listening to Marc Maron’s podcast WTF, where a comedian trying to do the acting thing interviews artists. He’s curious, charming, self-deprecating and asks a lot of questions about process and attaining creative flow.