Wednesday, September 1, 2004

Before the web, we had to rely on the zine model of mass communication by copy machine. 6:51:52 AM     comment []

Reagan inspired women. Spring, following the election of this first Hollywood candidate, his scripts now being crafted by the religious Right, saw a resurgence of local women's events. A great deal of the enegy came from a growing fear that emergency access to safe, legal abortions could be lost. But Reagan seemed to raise all the issues. Women in the troupe, including Selma Vincent, who now was playing our filthy rich lady, Mrs. Banks, Francesca Graziano, who was playing a right-wing cheerleader and Phyllis, and I , with Virginia Cholesterol as he conservative housewife, put together a guest disruption segment to perform for International Women's Day and other festivals and benefit concerts. One spring Saturday Jaime Walker cooked us breakfast and contributed some puns for our very first version of the Ladyfesto. our own evolving contract on America which we printed on pink paper over and over for the next decade. The women in the troupe were suddenly hugely in demand, and some of the men's satirical characters began to be reframed as the Men's Auxilliary of Ladies Against Women. And people began to ask us about forming chapters. We had talked about starting your own Reagan for Shah committee elsewhere, but that was somewhat hypothetical. Ladies Against Women chapters tended to get their dress codes and ladyfestos printed, make up their picket signs and make the local news. We created the Consciousness Lowering Kit, a packet of slogans, smple press releases, the ladyfesto demands (sorry, let's be ladylike, the"requests!"), and sheets of cheers. Locally, we recruited more lady performers for specific events, patades and rallies, During this time the then six to eight members Plutonium Players continued to perform skits and reviews about energy -- our original issue -- and US economic and foreign policy. 6:24:26 AM     comment []