"Ain't I a woman?”
With voices reverberating from the pages of history, six suffragists will come to life Saturday during two showings of the play "In Their Own Words: 19th Century Suffragists Tell It Like It Is.” Including former slave, abolitionist, and women's suffragist Sojourner Truth quoted above, who traveled the country passionately advocating these issues in the 1800s and gave a famous speech by the same title in 1851.
The original manuscript by Carol Atkins of Manistee has a woman reporter falling asleep and being visited in turn by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Ernestine Rose, Ida B. Wells, Anna Howard Shaw and Sojourner Truth. Each figure shares with the reporter some of her experiences, actions and beliefs that impacted history.
Five Northwestern Michigan College students and two veteran actresses from the community portray the historical figures in the play, which will be presented for two showings this Saturday at the college.
Merging compelling entertainment with pivotal women in history has galvanized everyone involved with the production. The event is held in honor of Women's History Month to showcase women's contributions in the United States.
"This is definitely inspiring, I learned a lot just reading the script for the first time,” said Kayla Ginop, an NMC student and the director of the play. "In history books, there's two pages of description of women's history and the rest is about what presidents we had.”
"The best part is what the reporter learns,” she added of the lessons woven into the play.
Pam Vandermeer, a nursing student and president of the student government, is honored to portray Sojourner Truth, a women whose life she had already studied. As a devout Christian and African-American herself, Vandermeer has embraced her character.
"I see myself as a 21st Century Sojourner, there's something about putting on this shawl…” she said. "I'm a Christian and I believe very much in the power of prayer and in the script she develops a perfect relationship with God. When she says, 'Lord, Lord!' I can really throw myself into it.”
The production of "In Their Own Words” is a joint effort by the college's Phi Theta Kappa honor society, the Women's History Project and the American Association of University Women. Proceeds from the event will be split between Phi Theta Kappa and the Women's History Project.
"It's a chance to get to know all that history in a short time span, easily absorbed and, I think, very interestingly presented,” said Ann Swaney, a member of the Women's History Project and co-chair of this event along with Kathi Houston. "It's just been a really good collaboration between the two organizations.”
This is the third year that the Women's History Project and Phi Theta Kappa have worked together on a project for Women's History Month. Two years ago, they showed the movie "Iron Jawed Angels” and drew a substantial audience. Last year, an intergenerational discussion group drew fewer participants but sparked interesting discussions.
Swaney, who is a government documents librarian at the NMC Osterlin Library, said the Women's History Project and Phi Theta Kappa connected in part because the society meets at the library.
"We got to talking and what a wonderful group of young women, they are so busy and yet they still find time to do this,” she said of the play. "We like to do something different every year.”
"In Their Own Words: 19th Century Suffragists Tell It Like It Is” will be presented at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 10, in Room 217 of Scholars Hall, Northwestern Michigan College. Admission by donation, with a suggestion of $5. After both shows, there will be a short discussion and then reception hosted by the AAUW.