Family Baggage

Family Baggage 

Written and performed by Errol Strider and Lou Montgomery.

An outrageous series of tragi-comedy vignettes exploring the mania and pathos of modern relationships as they are affected by growing up in addictive, dysfunctional, or otherwise nutso families. A moment in time of heart-felt hilarity, compassion, and absurdity.

Available on DVD or 2 video set

“Family Baggage” is a two act theater piece that consists of 15 scenes:

ACT ONE

“What is Co-Dependency?”
“The Coping Kit”
“Birth Order”
“The Doll”
“The Church of Co-dependency”
“Roles of Our Lives”
“I Tried So Hard”

ACT TWO

“The Chemistry and Varieties of Addiction”
“Approval, the Great Illusion”
“Without a Man: Serial Relationships”
“Hurt Protection”
“Needing to Be Needed”
“The Thrill of Control”
“The Denial of Shame”
“I’m Fine”

Part 1
Scene 1: ”What is Co-dependency?” (6:49)

Scene 2: ”The Coping Kit” (7:32)
(Tapes: scripts, attitudes and behaviors we develop to cope with the difficulties
of life)

Scene 3: ”Birth Order” (6:33)
(How the order of birth affects the roles we play in our families)

Scene 4: ”The Doll (3:43)
(Sexual and emotional abuse as seen from a little child’s perspective)

Scene 5: ”The Church of Co-dependency” (8:30)
(Preaching the unwritten rules of the dysfunctional family)

Scene 6: ”Roles of our Lives” (12:25)
( Roles, expeditions and demands we place on our spouses passed down from
generation to generation) .

Scene 7: “I Tried So Hard” (10:09)
(The pain and struggle of growing up in an alcoholic family)

Part 2
Scene 1 : ”The Chemistry and Varieties of Addiction” (2:48)

Scene 2: ”The Illusion of Approval ” (6:22)
(The ways we try to get approval to overcome self-doubt) .

Scene 3: ”Without a Man: Serial Relationships” (14:45)
(Going from one relationship to another – in the desperate search for
love – leading to a shame attack)

Scene 4: ”Hurt Protection” (6:46)
(The different ways we try to protect ourselves from being hurt and rejected)

Scene 5: ”Needing To Be Needed” (4:40)
(The ways we deny ourselves in order to be liked)

Scene 6: ”The Thrill of control’s (5:44)
(Compulsivity and control acted out during the course of a day)

Scene 7: ”Denial of Shame” (6:56)
(‘The variety of compensations we develop to avoid dealing with our shame)

Scene 8: ”I’m Fine” (6:48)
(Finding hope and inspiration for our recovery)