On June 3rd, Run Women Run joined with the Moxie Theatre for a night dedicated to women, politics, and conversation.
After the stunning all-female performance of The Revolutionists, written by Laurie Gunderson and directed by Jennifer Eve Thornton, Run Women Run board member Hilary Nemchik discussed women in politics with the actor Jo Anne Glover who played the progressive French playwright Olympia de Gouges. Moxie’s The Revolutionists is a historically-focused, experimental play that grapples with many contemporary themes includingpolitical violence, artistic expression, sisterhood, and the meaning of liberty for women and people of color during a time of change.
The play features three other characters besides Glover’s Olympia de Gouges: the tragic-yet-comedic former queen Marie Antoinette played by Lisel Gorell-Getz, the fierce assassin Charlotte Corday played by Samantha Ginn, and passionate and proud Marianne Angelle a composite character representing the perspective of people of color and the colonies during the revolution played by Cashae Monya. Each character struggles with their own role as women of the revolution, sometimes as warriors and other times as mothers, lovers, artists, or citizens. The play climaxes with an exploration of the female voice and how that voice can live on, through memory and art, to influence future generations of female revolutionaries.
Run Women Run’s post-theater discussion between Glover and Nemchik echoed the play’s exploration of women’s voices. In a series of questions posed by Glover and the audience, Nemchik consistently expressed how important it is to advocate for and recruit more women to serve in political office. Asked how women in political office are different than men, Nemchik emphasized the collaborative attitude of her own women mentors, like Councilmember Barbara Bry. When a few audience members voiced stereotypical notions of women as competitive or “catty”, Nemchik turned the conversation around by refuting those notions as bogus generalizations, affirming her own commitment to support all women regardless. Overall it was the type of evening that everyone can enjoy: great theater and great discussion about the future of women in politics.
STAY TUNED FOR OUR UPCOMING EVENTS — FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK
Published June 23, 2017
