A Single Woman (play)

History

First drafted as a one-woman show by Nevada Shakespeare Company founding Artistic Director, Jeanmarie Simpson, "A Single Woman", based on the life of first female Congressmember Jeannette Rankin, developed into a "duet performance work" by the time it premiered at the Oats Park Art Center in Fallon, Nevada on February 7, 2004.

The play subsequently toured the United States with hundreds of grassroots performances before running at The Culture Project Off-Broadway in the summer of 2005. The play closed at the Invisible Theatre in Tucson, Arizona on November 5, 2006.

Artists

In addition to being a theatre artist, Simpson, the author and performer of the title role, is a peace activist. Many performances of the play have been fundraisers for individual branches and the national office of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, in addition to hundreds of other peace and justice organizations including United Methodist Church's Social Justice and Global Ministries, Jews for Peace, Planned Parenthood, American Civil Liberties Union, Veterans for Peace, American Friends Service Committee and many others. "A Single Woman" was also produced by the Tennessee Women's Theatre Project as their inaugural production. The performances were a part of the entertainment offerings of the National Organization for Women's 2005 National Conference in Nashville.

Cameron Crain, who created the role of 'Everyman' in the play, also directed the production that toured the United States. Simpson directed the production in New York, initially with Claudia Schneider and Les Misérables (musical) veteran, Neal Mayer, in the roles. Midway through, Simpson stepped in and completed the run as Rankin.

Film artist Kamala Lopez attended the play in New York and conceived the idea of creating a film using visual art, high definition and greenscreen technology to translate the live performance work to the medium of cinema. The film is anticipated for release in Summer 2008 in partnership with Heroica Films.

See also

* Jeannette Rankin
* WILPF
* Jane Addams
* Raging Grannies
* Nevada Shakespeare Company
* Jeanmarie Simpson
* A Single Woman (film)

External links

* [http://www.nevada-shakespeare.org/ NSC Website]
* [http://theater2.nytimes.com/rnr/theater/rnr_read.html?id=1109275135251&fid=.f70e5d4&sort=newest&offset=0/ New York Times Reader Reviews]
* [http://www.asinglewomanmovie.com A Single Woman film site]
*
* [http://www.wilpf.int.ch/ WILPF Official website]
* [http://www.twtp.org/ Tennessee Women's Theatre Project]
* [http://new.gbgm-umc.org/ Global Ministries The United Methodist Church]
* [http://aclu.org/ American Civil Liberties Union]
* [http://plannedparenthood.org/ Planned Parenthood]
* [http://NOW.org/ National Organization for Women]
* [http://AFSC.org/ American Friends Service Committee]
* [http://www.jrpc.org/ Jeannette Rankin Peace Center, Missoula Montana]
* [http://www.45bleecker.com/ The Culture Project]
* [http://www.invisibletheatre.com/ The Invisible Theatre]
* [http://www.heroicafilms.com/ Heroica Films]
* [http://www.peacepathpictures.com/ Peace Path Pictures]
* [http://www.broadwaylesmis.com/actors.asp?id=293 Neal Mayer]