Happy Cat Ranch Productions

Ain't got no Ranch. 

This way to bloggety-blog -->  Mama Cat and the Crazy Idea 

Welcome to the Ladies Volunteer Army of Actors!

I was going to say “Ladies Volunteer Army of Actors, technicians, and designers”, but Geeeez that’s a lot. 

(Men-identifying enablers welcome. Trans sisters welcome. Haters will be shown the door, courteously. Or not.)

To the best of my knowledge, this particular humble iteration of a goal to produce a 1776 with ALL WOMEN actors, technicians, designers, and team, begain in a certain Bronx apartment somewhere around a couple of years ago. My co-conspirator (and frequent hostess) and I may or may not have been drinking some wine and listening to Hamilton, and may or may not have begun this grandiose idea about how cool it would be... casting all women in 1776 somewhere! Her singing Ben Franklin, me singing John Adams! And after a while (maybe there was also wine) we started to realize that bewteen us, we have been honored to work with a lot of really, really good women directors, technicians, designers, stage managers... every team you would have on a produced show for the stage, every position, we knew women who could.

And so the idea sat while we both went on with our typical #actorslife, a fun conversation (that may have included wine) about a dream production we'd like to create, and how amazingly cool that would be. Not just a cast of women, but an actually #AllFemale1776 from stem to stern.

And then one evening, I saw all these amazing, unpredictable women, taking home Tony Awards for brilliant, groundbreaking work. Someone said, "Hire us, we're ready!" And I must have previously been a Grinch, because my heart grew three sizes that night. The impossible began to appear obtainable.

There is no money. There is no projected schedule. I haven't even heard back from the nice folks at MTI about the rights yet. We have no venue, no costumes, no production staff; not even a crowdfunding campaign (YET!). As of this moment, we revolutionaries have nothing but a dream and a fierce determination. Oddly enough, that puts me in mind of the Founding Fathers.

What we DO have is one another. I am just determined that I’m going to play John Adams, and Shannon is going to play Ben Franklin, even if I have to mount the production myself. I put it out there on the Social & in my blog and I started hearing from all these different women actors and technicians and designers. Suddenly I find that some of the most amazing theatre women I know are also into an #AllFemale1776In2020 too! So now that you've found your way to this page, if you are a woman theatre artist who wants to join in, please reach out via the Contact page and we'll get back to you. Thank you for showing up, sisters.

Look sharp, Mamas. I am suddenly in contact with a lot of surprising people all over the country who have advice, guidance, contact with previous all-women productions. And I am openly encouraging some of them to STEAL THIS IDEA and run with it. Can you imagine? If it were suddenly the theatre fad of next season to mount an # AllFemale1776In2020 all over the place? WHAT IF YOU STEAL THIS IDEA, fellow women?? You have my blessing. Steal the idea or join in the fun. 

We’re doing it. Somehow. We’re doing it. (As long as the nice folks at MTI say so!)

Welcome aboard. Keep yer powder dry. More dispatches to come. 

Love and gratitude,

Diana John Adams Wilde

Well-known Fool