HERSTORY 2: WE RISE
Now more than ever, it’s important for women to tell our stories and make our voices heard. On March 10th and 11th of 2017, in honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, NOplays proudly presented: HERSTORY 2: WE RISE, two evenings of new plays celebrating the strength and bravery of unsung heroines.
HERSTORY 2: WE RISE; was NOplays second incarnation of the HERSTORY Festival. The goal of the HERSTORY productions is to continue shedding a light on the untold stories of women in our world, both in our history, and on our stages. HERSTORY 2: WE RISE featured the struggles and triumphs of native women, like Native American civil rights activist Anna Mae Aquash; groundbreakers like Ida Lupino, who became one of Hollywood’s first female directors; and immigrants who came to this country and dreamed of touching the stars, like astronaut Kalpana Chawla, among others.
The plays featured in HERSTORY are part of 365 Women a Year. This international playwriting coalition involves over 200 women across the world who have signed on to write one or more one-acts about extraordinary women in history. The project’s ambitious yet focused goal is to write women back into the social consciousness as well as empower and promote female playwrights, and plant seeds of herstory around the country.
HERSTORY took place at the Silk Road Art Gallery in New Haven, CT, March 10th and 11th at 7pm. The performance was followed by a lively Q & A with the writers, actors, directors, and organizers. Plays included Ida and Leonor written by Danielle Winston and directed by Ingrid Oslund, A Moment of Silence, written by Allie Costa and directed by Moira Malone, K.C. Reporting, Earth Do You Read Me? written by Natalie Osborne and directed by Keith Paul, and My Aim is True, written by Lucy Wang and directed by Shellen Lubin.
NOplays would like to thank the Silk Road Art Gallery for hosting us a second year, to all the businesses and individuals who supported us with their generous donations, to Scratch Bakery and Katalina’s Bakery for providing refreshments, to the artists who gave their time and talent to this project, and to the audience members who braved the cold weather in order to see our production. Thank you!
The Cast of HERSTORY 2: WE RISE:
K.C. REPORTING written by Natalie Osborne
Directed by Keith Paul
Starring Madu Lyer as K.C.
A MOMENT OF SILENCE by Allie Costa
Directed by Moira Malone
Starring Jessie Perez Tarzia as Hailey and Janet Marie Tarzia as Martha
IDA AND LEONOR by Danielle Winston
Directed by Ingrid Oslund
Starring Elizabeth Berg as Ida and Marina Silva as Leonor
MY AIM IS TRUE by Lucy Wang
Directed by Shellen Lubin
Starring Alexandra de Hart as Anna and John Little as the FBI Agent
Thank you to the following organizations an individuals for sponsoring this event:
Sandra Jack
Chris DeFillipp
Rainbow Gardens
Cloud 9 Day Spa
The Canvas Patch
Brittney Garth
Lynn R. Lichtig
Lauren Gray