An Invitation!

This week's Midweek Mention: an online staged reading of an excerpt from my play, "Her Own Words"

Dear Readers,

Imagine being a poor, brilliant female poet who wants to pen plays in late 1500s England — where women are forbidden to write for the stage. What could you do to circumvent the law?

Enter Aemilia Bassano Lanier, the first published female poet in England, and the subject of my play, Her Own Words.

Yes, this week’s “Midweek Musing & Mention” is a shameless plug.

The Bechdel Group in NYC chose to include my play in their Sunday Shortlist program for this Sunday, December 10th at 1:00pm EST. (Mind you, it’s only 10 minutes of the full play — two scenes — so you’ll have plenty of time left on Sunday!)

You’re officially invited, and it’s FREE.

Aemilia is a fascinating historical character: fatherless by age seven, her mother sent her away to live with a countess who educated her in the manner of a noble. At 16, she became the mistress of England’s Lord Chamberlain – then 45 years her senior – and lived at Queen Elizabeth’s court.

In my play, the ambitious Aemilia forges an uneasy secret alliance with the unscrupulous, fame-seeking Shakespeare, and his star rises — with unforeseen dire consequences for them both.

Part biography, part historical fiction, Her Own Words employs Elizabethan language, original verse, Shakespearean quotes, and modern theatricality in a fast-paced, epic exploration of creative longing, anonymity, and the true purpose of art.

I wrote the play in 2020, inspired by Elizabeth Winkler’ article in 2019 for The Atlantic, that later burgeoned into a book entitled, Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies — How Doubting the Bard Became the Biggest Taboo in Literature.

If you’d like to see the free staged reading — which is designed to solicit feedback from you, the audience, to help me as I continue to craft the play — here is the zoom registration link:

Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0sf-GsqTosHdfDj59r8AowmkaWHLHrUuTw#/registration

Please feel free to share the Zoom registration link with whomever you like! You DO have to register in advance, and I’d suggest you do so at least half an hour before the program starts at 1:00pm EST on Dec 10.  

Also, the program starts at 1:00pm, but they don't have a set order yet, so I’m not sure where I’ll be in the line-up. I’ll send out another email notification when I know.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments.

I would LOVE to see you there!

xox
M