A Staged Reading Series of 19th century Plays
at Grace Church
1041 Wisconsin Avenue, in Georgetown
7:30pm Wednesday, February 8
Obi, or Three Fingered Jack (by Thomas Hailes Lacy) is set during a slave
rebellion in Jamaica, The legend of Three-Fingered Jack reputedly has its origins
in a true story, circa 1780. The play is based on a pantomime of 1800, which
featured the famous African-American actor Ira Aldridge. The late-18th- early
19th century saw slave rebellions in Haiti and in the USA. The horrifically
violent nature of the Haitian rebellion caused panic in slaveholding southern states.
Directed by Catherine Aselford, with
Philip Baedecker, Sun King Davis, Tia-Cherie Dolet, Demetrius Durrell, Colin Grube,
Ken Jackson, Amy Kellet, Kenny Littlejohn, and Miyuki Williams
7:30pm Wednesday, February 15
The Gladiator (by Robert Montgomery Bird) tells the Spartacus story. Although
championed by Abolitionists, the story of Spartacus was also popular with classically
educated southerners; slaveholders refused to acknowledge the similarities between
the noble gladiator and enslaved people of color.
7:30pm Wednesday, February 29
The Octoroon (by Dion Boucicault) was one of the biggest hits of mid-19th
century American theatre. It is the story of a beautiful mixed-race girl raised
as white; when her father dies in debt, she is sold as property. Like the novel
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Octoroon sensationalized the peril of a young slave woman
at the hands of an evil white man. The play also serves as an apology for
aristocratic slave-owners by presenting them as kindly and broad-minded, while
the lower-class white characters were depicted as vicious, lecherous immigrants.
These stereotypes persisted is Southern literature until well into the 20th century.
7:30pm Wednesday, March 7
The Escape, or A Leap for Freedom (by William Wells Brown) is the only play
in this series that was not widely performed in the 19th century. Written by an
escaped slave who claimed that it was partly autobiographical, The Escape was widely
read and discussed in Abolitionist circles. There is no reliable information on
whether or not The Escape was performed during Brown’s lifetime; The Georgetown
Theatre Company presented The Escape at Discovery Theatre in 1998.
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Free parking in The Georgetown Park Colonial Garage, with Grace Church validation
This program is made possible by a generous grant from the
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5th annual DC SWAN (Support Women Artists Now) Day
on Saturday, March 31
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Women Artists from DC and beyond offer FREE stage performances, music, storytelling,
poetry reading a staged reading marathon and film screenings in celebration of SWAN Day.
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On Saturday, March 31, 2012, The Georgetown Theatre Company and Women in Film &
Video will host the 5th Annual DC SWAN Day, an all-day event featuring FREE Music,
Theatre and Storytelling Performances, Poetry Readings, Visual Arts and Film Screenings.
For the past 4 years, DC SWAN Day has been a walk-able event in Georgetown featuring
approximately 90 artists and serving hundreds of arts lovers. This year, DC SWAN
Day is expanding beyond Georgetown.
Events will include:
- Staged Reading Marathon at National Museum of Women in the Arts (1250 New York Ave., NW)
13 short plays, culled from over 50 submissions -- by women playwrights from all
over the USA, and directed by DC’s woman directors.
- Storytelling at Mellow Mushroom (2436 18th St., NW)
- Performance Art at District of Columbia Art Center (2438 18th St., NW)
- Poetry Readings Grace Church: (1041 Wisconsin Ave., NW)
- Art Exhibition at Baked and Wired (1052 Thomas Jefferson St., NW ), a solo exhibition
by emerging artist Jenny Walton
Click Here for Venue Map
DC SWAN Day Reception Friday, March 30
at Baked & Wired, 1052 Thomas Jefferson St., NW
Jenny Walton's art will be exhibited.
The indie band Not My Sister will be performing at 7:30.
Not My Sister is an indie rock band from the Washington DC metro area. Comprised
of a family of South Asian women, their sound has been described as the Shangri-Las
meet Indie pop. They make music that is "Intelligent and genetically in sync".
Currently in the studio, expect to see their first EP this spring.
To hear Not My Sister, click:
Gentle Approach:
http://soundcloud.com/squij/nms-gentleapproach
Everything Inside:
http://soundcloud.com/squij/nms-everythinginside
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DC SWAN Day 2012 is made possible by a grant from the DC Commission on the Arts
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