Being a part of SHE is one the best decisions I have made at Harvard. The show, which took place on April 14th and 15th at the A.R.T.’s Oberon, was a 90-minute musical about what it means to be female. It was devised from real stories submitted anonymously and in collaboration with Harvard undergraduate women. The show featured music and lyrics written by Liz Kantor, ‘18, also inspired by stories of Harvard women. In short, it was a celebration of femininity and all that comes along with it. Each of the four performances was packed. Since the show closed, the Schlesinger Library has reached out to archive the show, and requests were so high for an album, that the songs will soon be recorded at Harvard’s brand new recording studio. As a cast member, I am humbled that the show has received such high praise, and to have worked in the presence of such an immensely talented cast and creative team–all comprised of women–who made this success possible. To me, there were many reasons the show was so successful.
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The stories were real.
Not only was the show comprised of deeply personal events from the cast members themselves, but the show was curated in a way that, in my opinion, represented the “female experience” well. While the show did not and could not have addressed every topic, I think it did a good job of representing the highs and lows, with everything from periods, to female friendship, to sexual assault.
2. The show involved the audience.
One of my favorite parts about the show was that it was far from preachy, and yet I think it still was able to achieve a sort of call to action as to the way we view feminism. One of my favorite examples of this was how at the start of every show audience members were encouraged to fill out a questionnaire that asked, “What does taking up space mean to you?” Audience members responded, and each show, three responses were read aloud on stage during a song about how occupying a part of the universe should be seen as “an act of declaration” and pride, rather than a negative. In this way, audience members were encouraged to challenge their perspective of this issue, without being scolded or preached at.
3. The team practiced what they preached.
We were all in it together from the beginning. As a cast member, I felt lucky to be lead by such an amazing staff, but we were very much a team. That in part, was due to the nature of the show–the stories were ours, and since the script was literally a work in progress until it opened, everyone felt very much a part of its creation. But beyond that, in SHE I found a team of women who supported me unconditionally. Six-hour tech rehearsals flew by and I found myself longing for the show to never close. On stage and off, it was a celebration of femininity for sure.
I think often feminism gets a bad rap. Feminists are billed as militant or angry. And yet, SHE managed to address some of the most important ideals of feminism all with a tone of honesty and support. I couldn’t be happier to have been a part of it, and I couldn’t be happier it happened on Harvard’s campus.