Miracle Theatre Group Hosts Free Staged Reading for International Women's Day March 8

In commemoration of International Women's Day on March 8, 2009, the Miracle will present a staged reading and community forum in Spanish about the important work that women do in the Latino community. Members of Miracle Theatre's Teatro Español ensemble will present Entre nos ("Between Us") by Santiago Serrano, a one-act play that addresses the isolation of women by a society that, in spite of many changes, continues to be chauvinistic. A forum led by community leaders will follow; childcare will be provided free of charge.

International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900s, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. IWD is now an official holiday in China, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The tradition sees men honoring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother's Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women's and society's thoughts about women's equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that 'all the battles have been won for women' while many feminists from the 1970's know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women's visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally as their male counterparts, women are still not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.

However, great improvements have been made. There are female astronauts and prime ministers; school girls are welcomed into university; women can work and have a family; women have real choices. And so the tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.

Annually on March 8, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more.

Many global corporations have also started to more actively support IWD by running their own internal events and through supporting external ones. For example, for some years, on March 8, even search engine and media giant Google changes its global search pages to honor International Women's Day. Year on year IWD is certainly increasing in status. The United States even designates the whole month of March as 'Women's History Month'.

For more information, visit http://www.internationalwomensday.com.

ABOUT MIRACLE THEATRE GROUP

Now in its silver anniversary season, the Miracle Theatre Group has been dedicated to bringing the vibrancy of Latino theatre to the Northwest community and beyond for 25 years. In addition to its national tours, Miracle provides a home for Spanish and Latin American arts and culture at El Centro Milagro, where it enriches the local community with a variety of community outreach projects and educational programs designed to share the diversity of Latino culture.

For more information about the Miracle Theatre Group, visit www.milagro.org or call 503-236-7253.

 

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