get to know melanie

Melanie Greenberg (writer/performer) has been writing and performing for her entire life.

Melanie (she/her/hers) was the creator and host of the critically acclaimed YouTube channel, “Kill Switch.” Critically acclaimed, that is, if you believe the old adage, “everyone’s a critic”: the seven people who watched it really loved it. Melanie also wrote a coming-of-age novel about a young volunteer in Southeast Asia, which explores the neocolonial underpinnings of Western nonprofits in developing nations. The book was never published, but it was very good. She also wrote, produced and starred in a comedy TV pilot called "Outnumbered" about a middle-aged mom who attempts to become a YouTuber in order to gain the respect of her children. It was never picked up, but it too was excellent. In her twenties, she recorded an album of original music, for which she was never signed to a label. If she is being honest, the album was only fair-to-middling. But it had its moments! She received her MFA in Creative Writing from the New School, which provided her with the skills she needed in order to successfully continue creating work that would never see the light of day. Also, Melanie did attend Yale for a semester, but she doesn’t like to brag about it.

A believer in the healing power of storytelling, she works with a nonprofit project called OPEN DOORS, which provides outlets for black and brown people who use wheelchairs to share their stories. Inspired by the stories she has heard, she decided to tell her own somewhat harrowing and unconventional story in the form of a psychedelic cabaret called The Elephant in the Room. The process of creating this work has only served to deepen Melanie’s belief that sharing stories is the key to understanding ourselves and others.

She is currently in the process of creating a nonprofit called The Story Sanctuary in the Berkshires, where individuals and communities in conflict can come together to build empathy and self-awareness through storytelling.

TL;DR (“too long don’t read” for the old fogies following):

+ Creator and host of “Kill Switch,” critically acclaimed by 7 viewers

+ Author of never-released coming-of-age novel

Other notable facts:

+ MFA in Creative Writing from New School

+ Semester at Yale (no big deal)