Tuesday, January 21, 1997
THEATER:
Actress stars in one-woman show about feminist Margaret SangerBy
Stephanie Sheh
Daily Bruin Contributor
Today the controversy is abortion. However, not so long ago the
fight was for simple birth control.
Former UCLA teacher/alumna and now actress/writer Miriam Reed
understands the historic struggle. She stars in "Margaret Sanger
Meets the Press," a one-woman piece about the pioneer fighter for
contraception rights. It plays Monday nights at Masquer’s Cabaret
and Dinner Theatre. The piece, directed by Elaine Moe, is an
excerpt from "Margaret Sanger: Radian Rebel – Part 1," a one-woman
show that Reed researched and created.
This is not Reed’s first attempt at creating a one-person show
about the feminist movement. Reed started working on her first show
about Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony when she was
teaching in UCLA’s writing program. Reed says that she created that
piece to educate the young women in her classes. Now, with Margaret
Sanger, she is looking to educate a larger audience.
Based on an actual press conference that Sanger gave in Holyoke,
Mass., Reed hopes "Margaret Sanger Meets the Press" will bring the
idea of contraception and education to a modern audience. At the
time, Holyoke was being threatened by an economic boycott if anyone
allowed Sanger to speak. Eventually, a Catholic woman, who belonged
to the CIO union, gave Sanger a union meeting room to give her
lecture in.
Reed admits that a lot of people did not like the always
controversial Sanger because she was so militant with her beliefs.
At the time, the issue of contraception was as controversial as
today’s discussions on abortion.
"In 1873, laws in the U.S. forbade the discussion of
contraception by any medical or non-medical person," Reed
reveals.
"You could not say ‘contraception.’ If you did, you were jailed.
In fact, there was one woman physician who killed herself, because
she would rather die than face jail," Reed says. "I mean there’s
case after case where the woman desperately would die if she were
to have another child, but anyone who told her how to prevent
conception to even save her life would go to jail if she was
caught."
In a way, the fight for birth control rights is the root of the
feminist movement. Reed feels that the struggle for women’s
contraception rights reflects the right that women have to control
their own bodies.
"The real basis of women’s intelligence and women’s control is
to control their own bodies," Reed says. "We know that when women
become educated, one of the first things that happens is that the
birth rates go down. Women understand that it doesn’t make sense to
have a baby every year  and that children are not a right,
they are a responsibility. Women then start recognizing that they
have lives that have to be lived too. Women are not baby
machines."
But Reed says she feels that women’s position in society has
definitely improved over the years.
"I think the UN conference is very encouraging," Reed says. "So
many women are coming out now and recognizing what’s going on. I
think it’s very exciting that there are so many women coming. All
over the world there are little pockets of women who are
recognizing that things need to be done. Of course sometimes they
are very small and sometimes they are very much assaulted, but at
least you do have them. So, I think there’s hope."
However, no matter how much hope there seems to be, the battle
for women’s rights has not yet been won. Reed says that in certain
segments of societies in the world women have been recently
forbidden to go to school. In fact, the idea of world consciousness
in women’s rights is one reason director Elaine Moe became involved
in the project.
"If the play had not had any kind of world consciousness to it,
I would not have done it," Moe admits. "But Miriam really brought
really fine focus to it and that’s with her writing and judicious
research. And as we worked with the material, we found elements of
the piece that were really touching and insightful into the
character and the quirks of the woman too."
One of these quirks was the fact that Sanger moved her hands a
great deal whenever she spoke. But because the piece was based on
speeches, letters and other written documentation of what Sanger
thought or spoke, it was difficult to research how Sanger moved and
spoke.
"I’ve sort of broken my heart trying to talk to people who knew
Margaret Sanger. I’ve seen some video tapes too of her speaking,"
Reed says. "When she first started out speaking she stood like a
statue. She didn’t move at all. But when she was relaxed, she was
very vivacious and she was always talked about as being very very
gay."
Moe believes that Reed’s naturally charismatic personality helps
bring Sanger to life on the stage. She feels that the spirit of the
piece makes for an extremely entertaining show.
In addition to entertainment value, Reed feels that "Margaret
Sanger Meets the Press" has a lot of educational value as well. She
feels the public still needs to be educated about contraception and
feminism.
"It’s important for women to recognize that this (show) is part
of our education," Reed says. "We also certainly need to pay our
debt to our foremothers. We need to pay our debt to those who made
it possible for us to have lives. We need to know that and not take
it for granted."
Moe adds, "One of the great contributions that Margaret Sanger
made to this world is the very idea that there could be
contraception, that there could be birth control. And this applies
not only to those that are wealthy, but the people who are less
fortunate than ourselves. And many people are not even aware of who
Margaret Sanger was, or what effect she had. She had the effect of
a Ghandi in our world and was greatly revered."
THEATER: "Margaret Sanger Meets the Press" runs Monday evenings
through Feb. 10 at Masquer’s Cabaret and Dinner Theatre. For
reservations call (213) 486-4466 or (213) 653-4848.
Miriam Reed, former UCLA writing teacher, stars in a show about
feminist Margaret Sanger.