Evening Speaker Series - 'I Cannot Think': An Anti-Suffrage Monologue

What woman wouldn’t want the right to vote? You would be surprised!

It’s 1915, the 19th Amendment is shortly to pass, but Mrs. W. Winslow Crannell is dithering about the terrible disasters that will befall the country if women become voters. She’s serious . . . and hilarious!

I Cannot Think: An Anti-Suffrage Monologue is a satirical piece written by pro-suffragist Marie Jenney Howe in 1913. It was used as a propaganda piece by the women's suffrage movement in the final years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

Sponsored by the Redmond Friends of the Library and the Redmond Historical Society.

Registration not required.

Speaker bio:

Barbara Callander has been acting professionally for over 40 years, appearing in theatres nationwide. Beginning in 1995, for over 20 years she and actress/playwright Toni Douglass toured extensively with plays and other programs about the woman suffrage movement – including May’s Vote, about the successful 1910 Washington State campaign.

She has also presented a variety of solo programs for groups nationwide. She is proud to be a graduate of Oberlin College, the first co-educational college in the country.

In 2019, Ms. Callander appeared at the National Archives in Washington, DC, portraying Emma Smith DeVoe, who led the fight for the vote in Washington State and then continued to work for national suffrage. She also performed in Marching to Victory, an evening of suffrage propaganda plays, including the satirical An Anti-Suffrage Monologue, at Key City Theatre in Port Townsend.

In 2020, she was scheduled to tour the state in a new production of May’s Vote, produced by Key City in celebration of the Centennial of the 19th Amendment. That tour had to be virtual, but hopefully, live touring of the show will begin again soon. Stay tuned!

For information about booking programs, please contact Barbara Callander at: b.callander33@gmail.com or 240-893-3666.