WITH BANNERS FLYING Celebrates the Passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution Granting All American Women the Right to Vote in the JOCUNDA FESTIVAL’S Playing Reading Series on Zoom

 

The JOCUNDA FESTIVAL presents WITH BANNERS FLYING by Kay Weaver and Martha Wheelock and directed by Van Dirk Fisher, on Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 8PM EST and 5PM PST on Zoom. 

To obtain tickets in advance go to:  https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_k59inMI5QJ2pfGDmtabC4Q

Tickets are $15.00 to benefit the Riant Theatre.  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. The reading will be followed by a Talk Back with the artists moderated by Van Dirk Fisher, Founder and Artistic Director of the Riant Theatre and producer of the Jocunda, Music, Film & Theatre Festival. 

WITH BANNERS FLYING is a celebration of the passage of the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution granting all American women the Right to Vote.  The fight for women’s right to vote spanned 72 years; it took over 900 local, state, and national campaigns. The vote was won by tens of thousands of ordinary and diverse women 100 years ago.  With Banners Flying captures one sliver of that history. 

The play takes place in the office of Dr. Anna Howard Shaw in 1917. She has brought Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Carrie Chapman Catt to a meeting in the hopes of tamping down the public vitriol being played out in the press between Catt (NAWSA) and Alice Paul (NWP), friction which seemed to be damaging the cause. The play opens with an African-American woman giving a lecture at a University in 2021 and shedding some light on the Black Suffragist’s contributions to the movement, which is often missing from history, as well as telling the story of these remarkable women.

The Cast includes:

SHELLEY HARTLE (Carrie Chapman Catt) has worked as an engaged actor and director for 37 years. Trained at Seattle’s Freehold Theatre, she has appeared in Freehold Theatre, Island Shakespeare festival and Northwest Actor’s Studio.  Her credits include: Miss Julie (Christine), Hamlet (Queen Gertrude), Romeo and Juliet (Nurse), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Quince), Richard III (Queen Margaret), and Macbeth (First Witch).  Other favorite roles include Dr. Livingstone in Agnes of God, Lady Sneerwell in The School for Scandal, Ethel Thayer in On Golden Pond, Clairee Belcher in Steel Magnolias, Mrs. Soames in Our Town, and Polly Wyeth in Other Desert Cities.   

TAYLOR HAWTHORNE (Narrator) is an actress and director, known for Surreal Lounge (2012), What If ... (2011) and Chris/tina (2012). After graduating from the University of So California in Theatre, Taylor has produced and directed several short films.  The most recent, 15 Minutes, has been making the rounds in the film festival circuit.   Some of Taylor’s acting credits include the recently Ovation Award-nominated production of 4.48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane; the world premieres of Sand Moon by Liz Lanier and Hit by Alice Tuan; Men on Boats by Jaclyn Backhaus, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night; and Henry Ong's Dream of the Red Chamber. 

MAGGIE MCCOLLESTER (Alice Paul) has appeared in two Riant Theatre play readings and has enjoyed her experiences with Van and the Riant Theatre. She played Fiama in Fiama’s Finale written and directed by Carrie Gibson.  And Lynn in Veils of Justice written by Tita Anntares and directed by Van Dirk Fisher.  Maggie has recurring television roles in Dexter, The Unit, The Playdate and The Young and the Restless. In the Emmy award winning short film “Cold Winter’s Night” Maggie played Mom.  Among her many stage roles, Maggie’s favorite roles is Kate in The Taming of the Shrew.

AMY WALKER (Lucy Burns) recently starred in her short dramatic film Into Light as Inez Milholland, the suffrage martyr. Now available on Amazon Prime.  In three feature films due out this year Walker plays key roles: Grace and Grit, alongside Mena Suvari and Frances Fisher and based on the best-selling book; Evan Wood, family drama about addiction; and The Scheme of Things, a family adventure film. Most recently, Amy won two Best Actress awards for her starring role as Lulu in Listen, a powerful short film dealing with domestic partner abuse. Amy has been featured on TEDx, the TODAY Show, NPR, Inside Edition, and as Variety's Accents Expert, for her chameleon-like ability to instantly switch between authentic characters, accents and singing styles.  As a voice actress, Amy has performed voice matches for Disney (Kerry Condon for Iron Man VR - Irish) and Universal (Rebel Wilson for Pitch Perfect III - Australian). Her online videos have garnered over 40 million views on her YouTube Channel from the viral 21 Accents, to beloved characters, songs, and inspirational insights.

CAROLE ITA WHITE (Dr. Anna Howard Shaw) started appearing in episodic TV and small film roles in the early 1970s. Her first TV job was Evil Roy Slade, starring John Astin, Mickey Rooney, and Milton Berle. The movie was written by producer and director Garry Marshall.  Carole went on to play Big Rosie Greenbaum on long running series Laverne & Shirley.  Big Rosie was first seen as a nemesis to the title characters.  She continued to make appearances as Big Rosie during the second and third seasons and gain in the seventh season. White made guest starring appearances in over 30 shows on such programs as Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, The Love Boat, Beverly Hills, 90210, The Wayans Bros. and Profiler. She appeared on several game shows, including The $20,000 Pyramid. She has continued to appear in small roles in films over the years, including Falling Down, The Witches of Eastwick, Grand Canyon, and The Fabulous Baker Boys. She appeared in the 2006 independent film Wannabe.

Kay Weaver and Martha Wheelock (Co-Writers).  35 years ago, Kay and Martha wrote With Banners Flying for Kay Weaver’s concert at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, to celebrate the 65^th Anniversary of women winning the right to vote. The cast included Barbara Bain, Norma Connelly, Carole Ita White, and Betty Thomas, with Midge Costanza as the Narrator. Since that time, Kay and Martha formed Wild West Women, Inc, a 501(c)3 non-profit film and education company, producing films to empower women and girls and to spread Women’s History.  WildWestWomen.org distributes our 15 films, featuring four films on Women’s Suffrage History. Visit us.  

 

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Visit the Riant Theatre’s website at www.TheRiantTheatre.com.

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