Having spent a decade in Los Angeles, Melissa worked as a production stage manager, scenic designer and in theatre operations before returning to Malaysia. She has managed musicals, operas, plays, festivals, and concerts in the USA, Australia, Edinburgh, Taiwan, China, Singapore and Malaysia.

She also lectures and trains in these areas, and has taught and conducted workshops at Sunway University, University Malaya, New Era College, National Theatre (Malaysia), National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage and Yale-NUS.

As a scenic designer, her designs have garnered nominations at the LA Weekly Awards, NAACP Awards, honorable mentions at The Garland Awards in the USA, and was exhibited at the World Stage Design 2009 in Korea. Directing credits include Equus, The Woman In Black, Hansel and Gretel and License To Thrill - A Bond Concert starring West End actors David Shannon and Simon Bailey.

In recent years, Melissa has embarked on producing theatrical works, which include P. Ramlee The Musical (Co-Producer), D'State of D'Nation and Nadirah for Festival Tokyo 2016. Melissa is an ensemble member of Furious Theatre Company, former Resident Artists at The Pasadena Playhouse, State Theatre of California and an Associate with Cake Theatrical Productions, Singapore.