May 272014
After four years of performing solo – well, there are about forty women in the show whose stories I tell, talk about, show pictures of (and I portray about eight of ‘em), SHE’S HISTORY! is now A PLAY WITH A FULL CAST!! This has always been my plan and I have been newly inspired by The Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative (http://lafpi.com). I am SO excited about it for SO many reasons. I think having a full cast will make it easier to get these stories out there. And we DEFINITELY need more plays with great parts for women! I have cast a load of fabulous females to play the fabulous females. It WILL BE fabulous! The first reading is Saturday June 21st at The famed Samuel French Bookshop in Los Angeles.
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MAY 2014
YES – this is ELIZABETH WARREN and ME!!!!!! She was in Los Angeles on her “A Fighting Chance” book tour. I am madly, deeply, politically and philosophically in love with this fantastic Senator! Her book is a page-turning MUST READ! Really!!! Here is one of her inspiring stores that she shared with us. When Elizabeth Warren was on the campaign trail in Massachusetts, there were many little girls at her rallies. They had prepared questions and one little asked her, “What events in your life led you to run for the Senate?” So Elizabeth would get down on one knee, and look the little girl in the eye and say: “My name is Elizabeth Warren and I am running for the Senate because that is what little girls do.”
Can you stand it?!
And this is Marianne Williamson who is running for Congress. We DESPERATELY need more women in Congress. But I am not voting for Marianne just because she is a woman. I am voting for her because she’s a fighter, knows her stuff, and she wants to make our lives better. http://www.marianneforcongress.com/endorsements
Bye Bye Barbara…!
Barbara Walters “resigned” after a million years on broadcast television. Quite the fanfare. A true trail-blazer for women, she goes “out” on top but here’s how she started. As the first FEMALE co-anchor, of the evening news, she was NOT welcomed by Harry (NO)Reasoner. Here’s what it was like for the trail-blazer. “I’d walk into the studio and they’d all crack jokes and ignore me. It was so lonely… “
Another trail-blazing fabulous female bids farewell to the airwaves. Randi Rhodes, the bitchinist, most informed, fact checking, knows her stuff inside out and backwards, passionate, pissed off, kind and classy progressive talk show host, ended the Randi Rhodes radio show on Friday May 17th, leaving the gapingest hole on the air. I have had the honor of being on her show with her permanent guest host my pal Nicole
Sandler many times. A true inspiration and political powerhouse, who has interviewed Presidents and politicians her millions of fans and will miss her…..
RANDI AND NICOLE
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A LITTLE RECAP….
It has been a very busy, exciting, enlightening and heartbreaking few months for your favorite Cultural Herstorian. I ran around in March – Women’s History Month – and performed for: SENIORS, who loved the show and LOVED the story of how Alice Paul stole President Wilson’s Parade, (many could relate to World War ONE) but did NOT know who Kim Kardashian was. (Lucky for them) However, the 8th Grade students at Horace Mann Middle School in Beverly Hills……
knew ALL about Kim Kardashian and did know a little about Malala Yousafzai but learned more and were blown away by her story. Read all about her in my BLOG – WOMEN OF 2013 here: http://sheshistory.com/site/year-end-wrap-up-women-of-2013/
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Malala is all over this horrific heartbreaking mind blowing story of Boko Haram, the Islamic barbaric men who kidnapped 270 (or more) Nigerian Schoolgirls on April 14th.
Hear my segment on radioornot.com about this and the Feminist Majority Protest of the Beverly Hills Hotel whose owner – the Sultan of Brunei just enacted some new laws -including amputations, and stoning of gays and lesbians and women who have abortions or commit adultery.
Listen to the segment here:
Read about the protest and boycott here:
http://variety.com/2014/?lm/news/beverly-hills-hotel-sultan-brunei-gays-women-1201171923/
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On the flip side, I had the joy of performing two shows for The Women’s Museum of California in San Diego.
Here is a little movie of the Museum – and please keep in mind I am much better in FRONT of the camera…but you can see a little of the inside of the Museum.
I performed the shows and got my typical response: “Why isn’t this show in the schools?”
The answer is: other than budgets, time constraints, teaching to tests, curriculum pressures, and Women’s History being low on the priority list – I really don’t know. The SHE’S HISTORY EDUCATION PROJECT (a tax deductible 501C) is a collaboration with the Women’s Museum of California to bring performances, to low income schools at no cost. This is a donation based project. Problem is, there is no money on the fund. YOU CAN SPONSOR A SCHOOL. Stay tuned for my fundraising effort.
I was on-stage performing on March 25th – the 80th birthday of Gloria Steinem.
How fabulous that she was born in Women’s History Month! Check it out
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/opinion/sunday/collins-this-is-what-80-looks-like.html?_r=1
and here…
http://www.makers.com/blog/what-80-looks-gloria-steinem-through-years
Also in March… I have spoken and written so often about the crisis of sexual assault in the Military which I learned about from the Oscar nominated documentary “The Invisible War” produced by Amy Ziering. Well, she won a PEABODY Award for her work. How wonderful is that?! Congratulations and WELL DESERVED AMY ZIERING! Read about it and her here:
http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/independent-lens-the-invisible-war-pbs
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Amy Simon
Cultural Herstorian
Playwright/Performer
AmySimon@ShesHistory.com
(310) 308-0947
SHE’S HISTORY!
The Most Dangerous Women In America…
Then And Now
is a play and school program about women
who
MAKE and MADE history