March Synopsis
Visionary Women: Champions for Us All
Celebrating/Honoring National Women’s Month
Tea with Alice and Me: A Solo Show Performed and Written by:
Presented by Zoe Nicholson
March 21, 2019
8:00am – 12:00pm
In honor of National Women’s History Month, the Diversity Leadership Alliance shared the amazing stories of visionary women who have been champions for us all throughout our history, er, herstory. Starting off the program, educator and award-winning film-maker Marth Wheelock presented her documentary, Inez Milholland: Forward into Light. Milholland was an outspoken advocate for equality, pacifism, racial justice, labor, and women’s suffrage. She died tragically in 1916 at the age of 30, while campaigning for women’s right to vote. The group was then transported back to Seneca Falls in 1848 to be part of the decades long march for women’s suffrage. Author and activist Zoe Nicholson in her original one-woman performance, Tea with Alice and Me, took us to parlors and tearooms, bookstores and marches, Springfield, IL to Washington, DC; through the course of the women’s non-violent revolution to gain the vote. Through the eyes of the young Alice Paul, we were thrown into the staunch political activism of the National Woman’s Party and its influence today. Finally, putting history into practice, the group examined advocacy at a local level, with a facilitated discussion on what is worth fighting for. You, too, can think about the following questions: – What have been your own experiences with protesting and taking a stand? – What resources are available to promote change for the good? – What barriers exist that need to be overcome? – What will it take to create change in today’s highly diverse and divided communities? This enlightening Women’s History Month program once again highlighted the power, influence and potential of sharing our stories. We are all part of each other’s stories.
Diversity Leadership Alliance Presents
Tea with Alice and Me
A Solo Show
Performed and Written by
Zoe Nicholson
Registration: Begins at 7:30AM
Location:
Estrella Mountain Community College
3000 N Dysart Road
Avondale, AZ 85392
Building: Estrella Conference Center
Note: We encourage you to review the map and directions prior to your arrival.
Cost: Complimentary Event w/ light refreshments – RSVP today!
Please join us on March 21, 2019 when we celebrate women who have led us in efforts to end war, violence, and injustice.
Workshop Summary
This is the story of the power that collects when women gather. It is, what scholar Zoe Nicholson calls, Applied History. Ladies, drawn together for tea, ventured from the parlor onto the street and saw their power explode. From the 5 ladies of 1848 who held a meeting in Seneca Falls to the millions who march all over the world, women together cannot be stopped.
At the center of Zoe’s heart is the first person to organize a march down Pennsylvania Ave, Miss Alice Paul. Knowing this young Quaker woman who was arrested, served time and never rested in her 92 years, will invite you to celebrate Applied History, Applied Activism and honor the Mother of American Political Activism. When you put on a hat and march, you will know how that happened; Alice Paul.
Tea with Alice and Me is a full-length, multi-media one-woman performance, told through first person narrative. Zoe Nicholson, Alice Paul scholar, shows the dynamic collaboration of her life with that of Miss Paul, while visiting the many places and ways that women have gathered. From Parlors to Tearooms, from Bookstores to Marches ~ Seneca, Selfridges, The National Woman’s Party, Springfield to Washington DC., Tea with Alice and Me highlights the iconic role of tea in many women’s revolutions. Zoe inspires action with telling the story of Nonviolent Direct Action in America as originally practiced by the National Woman’s Party and its influence today. Of course, it is really about a cup of revolution served up in nonviolent direct action. From 1775 through today, Zoe takes you on her revolutionary, feminist call to action. Scores of pictures, clippings and personal stories transport you to each time and place she describes.
This amazing performance will be bracketed by an introductory short film, and a distinguished panel of Arizona women to share with and engage our audience in an interactive lesson in equity, inclusive advocacy, and our state’s own role in supporting American women.
From women’s rights and racial justice to disarmament and gun control, the drive for policies for nonviolent, equitable change has been championed by visionary women. These women consciously built supportive alternatives and inclusive communities as well as advocating change. They have given voice to the unrepresented and hope to victims of violence and those who dream of a peaceful world.
Performer
Zoe Nicholson has been practicing nonviolent direct action for over 50 years and her North Star, Miss Alice Paul has led the way. Heckling, fasting, marching, organizing, these two women have a lot to teach and inspire contemporary activists. Zoe Nicholson’s front-line experience informs her presentation of history in a tour-de-force demonstration of why we ask students to understand the value of a purpose beyond themselves. Distinguishing between radical and moderate courses of action, she humorously and graciously bestows the ethical decisions upon her audience as we confront the tasks challenging us as a society, as a nation, today.
Tea with Alice and Me is no history lesson, it is a call to action. Zoe has sifted through what works and how change occurs. This show is the long view of women’s culture as politic. It is never finished. It is dynamic. Zoe is constantly expanding it to include yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Register