In-Person &
Virtual Portrayals
-Frances Perkins forges through Washington politics as the first women cabinet secretary
Portrayals for
Adults / Young Adults
The Unsung Heroine Behind the New Deal (Part 1)
Frances Perkins' rocky road to Washington
She was the architect of Social Security, the first female in the US Cabinet, and an object of admiration and contempt from her male colleagues. Frances Perkins was an unstoppable force in advocating safety and justice for working adults, children, and retirees.
Walk with Frances as this Massachusetts native celebrates hard-won victories, ploughs through political quagmires, and finesses gender-related quandaries in her mission to make government an ally of exploited workers, and forgotten retirees.
Discover the stories behind the following:
- Mount Holyoke College introduces he working poor
- Decision to change her first name
- Alliances with big-city reformers & Tammany Hall
- The New York City fire that set ablaze her reform resolv
- First-woman positions in NY government
- The storybehind Social Security
Learn about the people and events that honed the skills Frances needed to, later, thrive and survive in Washington politics. Discover her secrets to building alliances and staring down bullies to enact legislation to help make government a champion for working people and retirees.
The Unsung Heroine Behind the New Deal (Part 2)
First Female Cabinet Secretary Frances Perkins forges through Washington politics
Frances Perkins shares the trials, trip-ups, and triumphs that characterize her time as the country’s first female cabinet secretary (Secretary of Labor) and beyond to the final years of her life.
Discover stories behind the following:
- Working with FDR (and Eleanor)
- "Here are my demands, Mr. President"
- Attempt to impeach her
- Navigating through gender bias
- Creating the New Deal
- Career in tatters!
- Time to leave Washington
- Success in her Golden Years
Gain insights into some of the many reasons Frances Perkins is referred to as one of the most influential women of the first half of the 20th century
Quaker Girl Takes Washington's Center Stage
-The influence of Dolley Madison
Step into the life of this Quaker child who became the fashionable, yet lesser known First Lady, wife of our fourth President. Although she would cringe at such a label, Dolley Madison was an early feminist, a champion for women, opening social and political doors for them. At the same time she was renowned for her European fashions and graciousness. Through this performance, audiences discover how Dolley used her charm and resourcefulness to fuel James’ ascendancy to the Presidency, influence Washington society and politics and shape the evolution of our country..
Discover the stiories behind following:
- Dolley’s humble beginnings as a Quaker child
- First marriage and losses in the Fever of 1793
- Dolley and James’ courtship
- A gracious champion for women’s rights
- Regrets as a mother to wild-child Payne
- Strategies for uniting a fractured Congress
Comer to know how this centerpiece of Washington’s high society stepped softly outside of its social constraints to establish new standards of etiquette, unite the citizens of Washington and draw women out of their drawing rooms and into the news of the day.
Myths & Miracles of Victorian Medicine
The primitive practices & life-saving discoveries that distinguish turn-of-the-century healthcare.
Chuckle, sigh, and cringe as you learn about health and wellbeing turn-of-the-century style! Covering topics that range from opium-based Laudanum to x-rays, aspirin, and amalgam, (fictional) Miss Myrtle Mills wil lead you into the era’s discoveries, techniques, and treatments, some of which formed the roots of modern medicine.
Discover the stories behind the following:
- Hygiene
- Kitchen cupboard “cures”
- Narcotics-infused “miracle medicines”
- Pregnancy protocols
- Key contributors such as Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell
- Discoveries that formed the roots of today’s medicine
Take a stroll through the primitive practices and life-saving discoveries that characterize medicine, as the 19th century gave way to the 20th!
The Etiquette Expert of 1890
Advice and admonitions from a proper Victorian lady
Ladies preparefor a promenade through the days of corsets, calling cards, and decorum, as the oh-so-proper Mrs. Russell Parsons escorts you through the life of a proper Victorian lady! You will gain insights into the wisdom, misconceptions and, by today’s standards, ridiculous customs of the Age of Gentility;
Discover the stories behind the following:
- Fashion and hygiene
- Fan language
- Calling-card protocols
- Courtship
- The Code of Etiquette
- Household regimen of the middle-class wife and mother
Reminisce about your mother and grandmothers or simply delight in the poignant, amusing, always historically accurate story, as Mrs. Parsons discloses snippets of her life in 1890
Farm Girl on the Front Lines: Deborah Sampson’s Secret!
How did this humble heroine hoodwink the Continental Army?
Discover “the story behind the story” of the only woman known to have disguised herself as a man and serve in the Continental Army without detection. Raised as an indentured servant in Middleborough, mistress-of-disguise Deborah Sampson, (aka Samson) dreamed of serving in the Continental Army; She persisted in developing a plan that made this dream a reality.
Without connections, social status or material means, this unsung heroine achieved seemingly unattainable goals.
Discover the stories behind the following
- Childhood as an indentured servant
- Deborah’s first plan, failure, revised plan, and success
- Enlistment and role in the army
- Close calls and a bullet to the shoulder
- Marriage and life as a farmer’s wife in Sharon, MA
- First woman alone on the speaking circuit!
Deborah’s story dispels many of the myths that circulate about her and places her in relief against a backdrop of traditional Colonial culture. Peppered with props and surprises, this performance reveals the story behind this famous, principled deception and the character of the quiet rebel who pulled it off.