On Friday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m., Florida State University’s own student-led theatre company White Mouse Productions will be hosting its fourth annual 365 Women a Year Festival. The festival will be held virtually and will feature five female-written plays, with all-female artistic teams, directors and stage managers, focusing on the message of female empowerment.
If you’ve never heard of White Mouse Productions, they are a student-led theatre company at FSU. Originally founded in 2016, the organization has been producing plays and other events at FSU, as well as attending and performing at the Orlando Fringe Festival. According to their website, White Mouse Productions strives to “promote positive social change through a theatrical medium that empowers unheard voices in an effort to educate audiences by bringing awareness to them through our diverse programming.” It seems that the women’s play festival is an extension of that diverse programming that the organization aims to showcase.
According to White Mouse Productions, “The goal of the event is to empower forgotten women’s voices throughout history.” This year those forgotten voices will shine through the group of actors through a computer screen, given the current peak in COVID-19 cases. With nearly 30 students involved in the production of the festival, it was important to White Mouse Productions to ensure the safety of all its members by taking precautions in the rehearsal process and extending those precautions to the actual performance as well. Director of one of the plays Jade Ahneman stated, “Some of the plays have been pre-filmed, but we’ve also created some strict COVID-19 policies to include everyone’s safety.”
The 365 Women a Year Project was originally founded in 2014 by Jesse Eisenburg. Since then, the festival has gained popularity and grown into an international enterprise, with festivals being hosted in London, Spain and all across the United States, with that enterprise extending to Florida State University in 2017.
This year, White Mouse will be bringing the stories of several historical women to the stage with plays such as Mother of Chemistry by Rex McGregor about Marie-Anne Lavoisier and The Great Retreat by Danielle Wirsansky about World War One nurse and suffragette Evelina Haverfield. Each play will run about five minutes long, making for an estimated run time of 50 minutes. Other plays include Drawing Lili’u by Lynda Crawford, which is about Queen Lili’uokalani, the last monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, as well as And Peggy by Allie Costa, a true story involving Catherine, Angelica, Eliza and Peggy Schuyler. Lastly, Standard Practices by Shellen Lubin will be performed, featuring conversations about the implications of breaking the standardized expectations of womanhood in society at the time.
With so many different stories being brought to the (virtual) stage, the message of female empowerment throughout history is strong. If this festival is something that is of interest to you, be sure to check out White Mouse Productions’ social media, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more information. Also, check their website for the link to the virtual performance. The cast and crew are excited to see you there!
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