AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN
FREMONT, CA
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A Woman’s History Tea Performed Beautifully to a Full House
By Shirley Gilbert, Member of AAUW Fremont Branch Administrative Team
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| Sandy Cashmark, producer, director and writer of The Women, YES! holds the script just prior to the Reader's Theater Production. |
The event, called The Women, YES!, was produced, directed and scripted by Fremont Branch member Sandy Cashmark, who orchestrates the program every year. She was much taken with the 1980 non-fiction book Voices, the People’s History of the United States of America by Howard Zinn, American historian and political scientist. In the book, Zinn presents history through the eyes of the common people.
Sandy, in her script, pulled out some of the powerful quotes that describe the struggle of women in their fight for equality: women who were slaves and fought to be free; women who struggled to be recognized as equals to men and who passionately petitioned for the vote; women who railed against the terrible treatment of working men and women; and women who strongly resisted the status quo.
She selected a cast of talented AAUW members and non-members. Sandy, Karis Griffin, JoAnn Houk, Bernadette Galleguillos, Dee Murphy, Mary Ann Mackey (member) and Kathy Garfinkle (member) either narrated or took the roles of protesting women in this riveting Reader’s Theater production. They read their parts feelingly and transported us into the hearts and minds of women who made it possible for us all to experience the freedom we enjoy today.
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| Full house for tea and the voices of the women in our past. |
Before the presentation started, guests were royally served tea goodies including all kinds of sandwiches (of course there were cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches among them) a slew of different kinds of cookies and endless cups of tea by Fremont branch hostesses and servers with aprons made especially for the occasion. Attendees wore bright spring colors and many donned fabulous, floppy hats.
There are so many to thank for putting on this entertaining and educational program. Sandy received a bouquet of flowers and roaring applause from the crowd as did the band of players who brought the words of women to life. All the servers, hostesses, food preparers, and behind-the-scenes committee members also took a well deserved bow.
As someone who was attending her first Women’s History Tea I felt so proud of our branch and the talented and dedicated people who bring such professional theater and programs to us. Here’s a toast to all the women who made A Women’s History Tea possible!
