Lady LiberTease at Santa Monica Playhouse

Written and performed by Kirsten Laurel Caplan. Directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson.Kirsten is an educator and theatre director. Shes happily married with two kids. When Hillary Clinton loses the 2016 election to Donald J. Trump, Kirsten is compelled to contemplate the world in which her kids will grow up. It spurs her to activism.As a point of inspiration, she conjures up the goddess Columbia, an original, female, personifying symbol of America (much as France is personified by Marianne and the United Kingdom is personified by Britannia). Although largely forgotten today, except as the logo of a motion picture studio, Columbia was a powerful symbol of America in the first 150 years of its existence, of a free country with liberty and justice for all. When Kirsten takes a deeper dive into history, however, she discovers that the image of Columbia has been subverted, for example, when it was used to promote the white supremacist doctrine of Manifest Destiny, forcibly removing American Indians from their ancestral lands; and, sixty years later, to promote the agenda of the Ku Klux Klan. Kirsten may have to look at the history of earlier generations of her own family to find out whether they were involved in an unsavory chapter of American history. Shes aware of her own privilege, but wants to participate in creating a better world for her family and her community. How does she accomplish that without falling into the trap of becoming the White Savior? She may have to look inside, to expunge herself of her own unexamined racial biases and misogyny.So, in the end, is Columbia our Lady Liberty, or is she just a Lady LiberTease?Lady LiberTease will be performed in front of a live audience at the Santa Monica Playhouse Other Space. The performance will also be livestreamed, for those who prefer an online option. BONUS! 3:15 4:15 Post-show anti-racist workshopCome join Kirsten for an interactive and reflective workshop- where EVERYONE is INCLUDED.Explore issues of Diversity, Inclusion, Justice, and Equity or as Kirsten says- come learn about being a JEDI. Join Kirsten's follow-up workshop after Lady LiberTEASE. (Note: Feel free to come for the workshop even if you arent seeing the show, or vice versa)
Ages: 13 to adult