February 16-March 5, 2023
THE REVOLUTIONISTS
By Lauren Gunderson
Four beautiful, badass women lose their heads in this irreverent, girl-powered comedy set during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. Playwright Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen (and fan of ribbons) Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle hang out, murder Marat, and try to beat back the extremist insanity in 1793 Paris. This grand and dream-tweaked comedy is about violence and legacy, art and activism, feminism and terrorism, compatriots and chosen sisters, and how we actually go about changing the world.
PRODUCTION BIOGRAPHIES
Jennifer Reif (Olympe de Gouges) has been part of the Pacific Northwest theater community for 30 years as a teaching artist, actor, and director. After leading drama programs in both public and private schools, she now happily spends her days writing plays and facilitating professional development workshops for Drama Notebook. Her time with The Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis filled her with a life-long passion for creating theater experiences with young people. Jennifer holds her BA in Theater from Morningside College and also studied at Oxford University in England. Jennifer was a founding member of SSR in 1997 and is happy to be back on stage.
Christina WIlliams (Marie Antoinette) Hilarious! Christina is over-the-moon excited to be a part of this show, her sophomore performance at SSR! She is a Seattle native who has been acting since the mid-90’s. An alumna of Freehold Theatre, she also had the privilege of studying stage combat for several years under the helm of Fight Master Geoffrey Alm. Her favorite stage roles include Trudy (Social Security), Rosemary (Outside Mullingar), Pony (The Realistic Joneses), Corie (Barefoot in the Park), and Florence (The Odd Couple: Female Version). Christina started pursuing film work in 2017, and is loving the rollercoaster of that journey! This past October, her team took home 4 awards for the Seattle 48-Hour Film Festival. Hilarious! Outside of acting she loves her husband (Drake), their labradoodle (Charlie), ziplining, traveling, traveling to go ziplining, and will gleefully chat with you for hours about old movies and tv shows. Her biggest acting influences are Barbara Stanwyck, Olivia de Havilland, Olivia Colman, and Helen Mirren. Elle aime aussi les gâteaux!
Sara Schweid (Charlotte Codray) is excited to return to the SSR stage, where she was last seen in Bye Bye Birdie. Some favorite roles include Viola in Twelfth Night, Gretchen in Boeing Boeing, Kate in Legally Blonde, Sulu in Outdoor Trek, Poppy in Noises Off, and Gwendolen in The Importance of Being Earnest. She’s performed at Driftwood Players, Twelfth Night Productions, Burien Actors Theatre, and Seattle Fringe Festival, among others.
Shana Emile (Marianne Angelle) is delighted to be making her SSR debut in The Revolutionists. As a Haitian-American the opportunity to portray a Haitian woman fighting for the abolition of slavery is particularly meaningful. Shana moved to the Seattle area four years ago and has since been involved in numerous theater productions and vocal groups including Puget Sound Company, an 8-person acapella group founded in Seattle. Shana holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Southern California and practices environmental law with a national non-profit. She would like to thank the Seattle theater community for being so welcoming and her friends and family for supporting her theater endeavors.
MEET THE PRODUCTION TEAM
Alicia Mendez (Director) is beyond ecstatic to be back home on the SSR stage, this show will be the 20th she has worked on either as a performer or in a production role. Her last foray into directing was The Flick. All her most favorite theater memories were made on this stage, with this amazing production team. A very special thanks goes to Mark and Jen for trusting her with this revolutionary show.