BACKGROUND

Maryland is in a drug crisis which has worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH), the death rate of drug overdoses in Maryland has consistently been above the national average since 1999, ranging from roughly 1.5 to 3 times the average rate. According to NIH, Maryland is among the top five states with the highest rates of opioid-related overdose deaths. 

Ursula V. Battle's Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance take a riveting and thought-provoking look at the opioid epidemic. The production debuted December 15, 16, and 17, 2017, at Johns Hopkins' Turner Auditorium and drew sell-out audiences and rave reviews. By popular demand, the production has since been performed numerous times including performances throughout Maryland and Virginia. The highly-acclaimed piece is currently on tour and transforming lives in each venue in which it has been performed. 

Directed by Dr. Gregory Wm. Branch, who serves as Director of Health and Human Services for Baltimore County, this powerful production is a mighty weapon in the charge to fight addiction and spread a message of hope and healing in our communities. 

Through ministry, music, an unforgettable story, and dance, this groundbreaking production takes a heart-wrenching, yet heart-warming look at the devastating impact that addiction has on society - particularly on families that in some cases, spans generations. We believe this marked the first time a play of its kind was presented locally, and perhaps even nationally.  The production also includes an original music score composed by Peabody Conservatory student Allen Branch. 

I was orignally asked to write this production by Dr. Branch. In his capacity as Baltimore County's health officer, Dr. Branch sees the devastating impact of addiction on a daily basis. Dr. Branch felt a production that centered around the opioid epidemic would provide a creative avenue to address this growing problem, offer viable solutions, and get needed information out to our communities. 

Dr. Branch was right. In addition to rave reviews and sell-out audiences,  Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance was a great source of encouragement to many. Several individuals residing in recovery houses, which included Baltimore City's Tuerk House, Marian House, Wilson House, and the Helping Up Mission (HUM), attended the production. Moreover, others impacted by addiction, such as family members and friends of addicted individuals were also enlightened, encouraged, and inspired by the production. 

A Mother's Cry, a group of women have all lost their children to violence in Baltimore, also attended two of the performances, and gave the show high accolades. In addition, the show was a deterrent, as young attendees were moved to think about the consequences of drug use.  Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance also received a great deal of media exposure, which included news coverage by WJZ-TV, The Baltimore Times, The Baltimore AFRO-American Newspaper, and the Baltimore Urban Spectrum. 

Another aspect of the production is that it speaks to addiction across multiple platforms, including alchohol, eating, and prescription medicine. Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance also touched on domestic violence, incest,  and child sex trafficking. Audiences of all ages connected with the play's messages, which in turn brought about self-examination, soul-searching, and our greatest hope - transformation. 

We believe the measure of a great production is one in which its message resonates and stays with audiences long after they have left the theatre. Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance is such a production. In addition, this moving piece exemplifies the power of theater to bring about societal change through the Performing Arts. 

Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance is written and directed for multiple communities in a low-budget way. This was part of our desire to ensure that the show can be mounted as inexpensively as possible so that low-income audiences could also attend, and to keep costs low for touring. 

Our goal is to tour this show throughout Maryland. It is our strong belief that Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance will help to assist in the state's efforts to fight opioid addiction. We realize that the stronghold of addiction is not only a regional issue, but a global one. Ultimately, we would like to take the messages of this inspirational production national and even international by touring it around the country and ultimately all over the world.

INSPIRATION

It was approximately two years ago that Dr. Branch requested that I write a play about drug addiction. I must admit that I was hesitant to write a piece that I knew would highlight the ills and heart-wrenching tales of addiction. 

Despite my hesitation, I finally began writing the piece. As I began working through the first scene, I typed the poem that "Little Mike" would attempt to recite to his mother in the first scene. At the time, I really did not give it much thought. However, I came to realize that God had chosen the poem -  Still I Rise by Dr. Maya Angelou. 

REVELATION

As I continued to work through the play, I began to understand the power of this production and my "role" in it. God, the Producer had given Dr. Branch the vision, and he would be the Director. I had been called to be the Playwright. Through a play, God would use the gifts and talents He had placed in each of us to give hope to all of His children shackled by the bondage of addiction...hope that they can be set free no matter what it looks like. Still I Rise. 

DEDICATION

These performances are dedicated to the late, great Dr.  Angelou, who was a poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist.  She authored one of the most powerful works of all times, Still I Rise.  Through words, Still I Rise, speaks to our very heart and soul. It inspires us, and conveys so eloquently, that no matter how insurmountable a situation may appear to be, we can be victorious! We believe that Ursula V. Battle's Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance speaks to this theme. 

Ursula V. Battle's Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance  is also dedicted to "Cynthia." It was on the evening of Monday, September 11, 2017, that we saw a woman lying lifelessly on the sidewalk along a block of North Avenue in Baltimore City, directly in front of where we were holding our auditions for this production. Dr. Branch immediately sprung from "Director" to "Physician" mode, and went outside to assist the woman. 

Meanwhile, the paramedics arrived. Dr. Branch and the paramedics tediously worked to revive the woman and administered the NARCAN nasal spray. Seconds later, the woman sat up, dazed and disoriented, but alive. She identified herself as "Cynthia." Sadly, she appeared to be less concerned about the fact that she almost died of an overdose, and more concerned about what might have happened to mess up her high. 

Her wearied face appeared to be one of sadness and despair perhaps brought on by years of addiction. The man who was with "Cynthia", knew Dr. Branch. He was ever so thankful for all that Dr. Branch had done to help save his friend's life. The events of that day re-affirmed our belief that God had chosen Ursula V. Battle's Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance to be brought forth at this appointed time.

Ursula V.  Battle's Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance is dedicated to the "Cynthias" of the world.  While the situation might look bleak, God can turn that situation around. However, we must do our part. We have to fully surrender that addiction, unforgiveness, hatred, or other issue that has us shackled. It is only fitting that the last scene of Ursula V. Battle's Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance end the way it began in the first scene. Still I Rise. 

Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance aligns perfectly with Mary Sawyer's Baker and her neice Mary Imboden's innovative vision to meet the needs of the city of Baltimore. 

From Baltimore playwright, journalist, and entrepreneur Ursula V. Battle comes her first literary work Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance. Based on her highly-acclaimed stage play of the same name, the book is published by Coal Under Pressure Publications, and includes a Foreword written by Dr. Gregory Wm. Branch, Health Officer and Director of Health and Human Services for Baltimore County, MD.  
 
With the fictitious United in Victory Church as its marvelous backdrop and set in Baltimore, Maryland, the riveting story centers around ‘Melvina A. Thomas’, a young songstress with a powerful voice who grows up singing Gospel in the church.
 
Melvina’s story is juxtaposed with that of Audrey Jackson, affectionately called ‘Mama Jackson’, the House Mother of Serenity House – a transitional home opened by United in Victory to help men and women in recovery by offering them safe housing, counseling, prayer, and other means of deep-down intervention. ‘Mama Jackson’ runs Serenity House with ‘Claire C. Voyant’, a spiritually-gifted, eclectic blind social worker with an epic tale of her own. Their lives all intersecting through Serenity House, this is their remarkable journey of love and loss, pain and pride, rags and riches, and trial and triumph amidst the most extraordinary of circumstances.
 
Through them, along with a montage of many other intriguing, unforgettable characters, and light-hearted humor while traveling through the yesteryear of Baltimore and other parts of Maryland, this multi-faceted drama exposes the insidious nature of addiction, while simultaneously uncovering the shocking truth behind an elaborate and scandalous set-up. This life-changing, inspirational story also illustrates human resilience, transformation through forgiveness, the power of faith, and the supernatural ability through God to overcome.
 
The book is a massive 658 pages with 40 chapters. This 15-page excerpt comes from Chapter 1: Addiction. 

This poem was written after efforts to obtain permission to use excerpts from And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou in my new novel Serenity House: From Addiction to Deliverance proved unsuccessful.  Undaunted, I set out to write my own original poem to juxtapose with the message of the play and book.
 
Words that encouraged the protagonist of the story - Michael ‘Lil’ Mike’ Thomas through a terrible childhood marred by a drug-addicted mother and abusive father. Through these words, my hope is to encourage and inspire! To let people everywhere know that despite the heartache, pain and struggles they have endured…are enduring…or will endure…they can RISE above it all!