a theatrical experiment

by playwright Jonathan Alexandratos (they/them)

directed by Jessica Bashline (she/her)

co-produced by Parity Productions:

SEWING BEARS: A PLAY WITH POCKETS

Performances @ 7:30 PM ET, July 17 and 18, 2024

at The Maker's Studio at Chelsea Market

Sewing Bears: A Play with Pockets is about the resistance to the 1907 teddy bear moral panic. Briefly, in 1907, Father Michael Esper gave his last sermon which warned that teddy bears would result in "race suicide" in the U.S. as young girls would play with them instead of baby dolls, and therefore never learn to be "good mothers." This obvious nonsense was loud enough that it sparked a nationwide moral panic against which women and girls pushed back.

To create the piece, Jonathan, who was a 2021 Parity Development Award Winner, and director Jessica Bashline will use "The Colbert Method."

Recently, late night host Stephen Colbert mentioned he and his friends used to take plays from concept to stage in nine days.

"We are going to replicate that experiment with Sewing Bears. We believe the short time frame will add an element of play to the work we do, and prove that the creation of theatre can happen, as activism does, in a pop-up rapid response fashion."

-Jonathan Alexandratos

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All proceeds from ticket sales will go towards paying the actors who have given their time for this project as well as to the wonderful organization GIRLS WHO CODE.

In 1995, 37% of computer scientists were women. Today, it’s only 24%. The percent will continue to decline if we do nothing. We know that the biggest drop off of girls in computer science is between the ages of 13 and 17.

https://girlswhocode.com