The Pacific University Department of Theatre & Dance presents The Independent Female, a high-energy comedy about feminist agitation, corporate greed, and outdated assumptions.  The play, by Joan Holden, provides a hilarious commentary on the attitudes that provoked the second-wave feminism of the 20th century as well as that movement’s idealism and excesses.

"Free our sisters!  Free ourselves!"

The story begins with the betrothal of Gloria Pennybank and John Heartright.  Both John and Gloria’s mother are horrified that Gloria plans to keep working at Amalgamated Corporate Life after she is married.  When both her fiancé and her mother insist she has to choose between marriage and a career, Gloria finds herself drawn to Sarah Bullitt, a co-worker with a plan for female empowerment in mind.  Says director Ellen Margolis, “The idioms of the show are that of traditional melodrama:  Gloria is the ingénue, John the hyper-masculine hero, and Sarah the traditional villain lurking in the shadows.  The comedy derives from how these roles are at odds with the politics the play truly promotes. It even has a subtitle like the old-fashioned melodramas:  The Independent Female or A Man Has His Pride.  It’s really a funny and fun show for all ages.” 

Scenic Designer Tal Sanders, the newest member of Pacific’s Theatre & Dance faculty, and costume designer Caitlin Quinn draw upon the classic, prescriptive gender roles of 1950s-era popular culture for the production’s aesthetic.  “We were drawn to the 1950s as an era of great anxiety about gender roles, countered with energetic marketing of the American dream.  In both ways, that period resonates with this show.  And the department is at a new high point with fantastic designers, so we can really make the production look great,” says Margolis.    

The show runs a brisk 45 minutes and features a cast of five student actors—Case Middleton, Madalyn Clemence, Haley Hadduck, Sean Lindsay, and Tori Galiel—assisted by stage managers Sarah Layton and Kimberly Stites. 

The Independent Female will have four performances in the Tom Miles Theatre, Warner Hall, at Pacific University’s Forest Grove Campus.  The show will run Thursday through Saturday, October 9 through 11, at 7:30 PM, and Sunday, October 12, March 9 at 2:00 PM.  For tickets and information, please call the Pacific University Box Office at (503) 352 – 2918.