At 21, newly sober and recently evicted, Valerie Hager is invited by her best friend Raven to work at a strip club in Tijuana, Mexico. An evening that begins in innocence and excitement over making some easy cash seduces her into a 10-year career that tests the limits of friendship and her will to survive. The characters she portrays — club managers, dancers, customers, and boyfriends—bring audiences viscerally into this shadowy world and reveal the joy, hurt, danger, and common humanity that connect us all in the longing to be free.

 

As her choices in the clubs expose her to increasing danger and violence, Valerie must make a choice: Does she continue to run from what most terrifies her or does she find the strength to face it head on?

Playing to sold-out houses in New York City, Santa Fe, Chicago, and Edinburgh, Scotland, Naked In Alaska tells a complex, sexy, and enchanting story that grapples with issues individuals struggle with in all walks of life: worthiness, friendship, loyalty, forgiveness, and finding a place in oneself and the world to feel free.

 

Valerie Hager is a "not to be missed" (NoHo LA) award-winning actor, improviser, and movement artist. She has appeared in film and TV. Her theatrical performances include Dracula at Symphony Space, The Ensemble Workshop at LAByrinth Theater, Meet the Lady at 92Y, and many others.

Valerie's third solo show, Naked In Alaska, is a five-star Fringe Festival sold-out hit!

Valerie has studied dramatic acting. She is a graduate of the LAByrinth Theater’s Master Class.

Masterful in comedy as well as drama, Valerie has studied improv at Upright Citizen's

Brigade (UCB), The PIT, and Second City. She is a graduate of Bang Comedy Theatre's improv program and has performed throughout Los Angeles with her improv group George.

As a child, Valerie began performing alongside her father, mime artist Jerry Hager, as his silent sidekick Punky the Clown. Her earliest training came from her father in the form of mime, movement, and the art of storytelling.

 

Scott Wesley Slavin (director) has directed Valerie in numerous solo shows in addition to Naked In Alaska, including Sunshiny Days (Knightsbridge Theatre LA), noname (Stage Left Studio, Indies Lab), and Big Man (Stage Left Studio). Scott has studied directing under Seth Barrish of The Barrow Group; playwriting under Matt Hoverman; storytelling under Jack Grapes and Cullen Thomas; improv at The PIT, Victory Gardens Theatre, and Bang Comedy Theatre; and acting under Kimberly Jentzen. He is a graduate of Harvard University’s English and Visual Arts programs and holds a M.A. in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica.

 

Selected Press Review

“The show is so fearless, candid, and personal that it is impossible not to be moved.” (Maxamoo)

“★★★★ A surprisingly complex and personal story. A fearless performance.” (Time Out New York “Critic’s Pick,” “Top 5 Sexiest Events of the Week,” and “Recommend” Show on the Off-Off List)

"★★★★ A visual masterpiece. An audiovisual feast, dynamically performed and produced with flair, Naked in Alaska is an honest, funny and fast-paced walk on the wild side.” (A Yunger Theatre)

"★★★★★ Taut and succinct. A show which never feels jagged or unable to keep up with Hager's own energy. Absolutely go see it!” (Broadway Baby)

 

www.nakedinalaska.com