Troy Rogers Brings Autobiographical Play Drug Baby to Frankston Arts Centre
On 11 October, Troy Rogers will present his one-man show, Drug Baby, at Cube 37 in the Frankston Arts Centre. This hour-long performance combines storytelling, spoken word poetry, and music, offering insights into his upbringing as the child of parents addicted to heroin in Frankston. He vividly remembers his first encounter with his parents purchasing clean needles and heroin at the age of four. After Child Protective Services stepped in, he relocated to Bonbeach to live with his grandmother and attended Frankston High. Following her passing at 17, he faced addiction but managed to finish his VCE and obtain a Diploma of Youth Work. At 28, he started performing poetry, achieving accolades in Bellingen, NSW. Drug Baby, which has received a nomination for Best Solo Performance at Newcastle Fringe, has proven to be a healing experience for him.
Key facts
- Troy Rogers’ debut play Drug Baby will be performed at Cube 37, Frankston Arts Centre, on 11 October.
- The one-man, one-hour show features spoken word poetry, song, and autobiographical storytelling.
- Rogers grew up in Frankston with his older brother Kelvin Rogers and parents who used heroin.
- Child Protective Services intervened when Rogers was in year five, and he moved to his grandmother’s home in Bonbeach.
- After his grandmother died when he was 17, Rogers overcame drug and alcohol struggles, completed VCE, and earned a Diploma of Youth Work at Holmsglen TAFE.
- He volunteered with the Mirabel Foundation, which had previously supported him as a child.
- At 28, Rogers began performing poetry and later won the Bellingen Poetry Slam and People’s Choice Award in New South Wales.
- Drug Baby was created in six months after September 2023 and was nominated for Best Solo Performance at Newcastle Fringe this year.
Entities
Artists
- Troy Rogers
- Kelvin Rogers
- Frankie the Creative
- Stephen A Russell
- Steven Mitchell Wright
- Mich McCowage
- Izabella Yena
- Angus Cameron
Institutions
- Frankston Arts Centre
- Cube 37
- George Pentland Botanical Gardens
- Child Protective Services
- Frankston High
- Holmsglen TAFE
- Mirabel Foundation
- Newcastle Fringe
- Bellingen Poetry Slam
- National Theatre
- Brisbane Festival
- ScreenHub
- ArtsHub
Locations
- Frankston
- Australia
- Melbourne
- Bonbeach
- Bellingen
- New South Wales
- Sydney
- Brisbane