New Hampshire Theatre Project's Youth Repertory Company to Present WELL-BEHAVED WOMEN

New Hampshire Theatre Project's Youth Repertory Company is proud to present Well-Behaved Women, an exciting new work about the women's rights movement in the United States. Playwright Jes Marbacher, a NHTP Youth Repertory alumni, received her degree in Creative Writing from Colgate University.

From the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, and the launch of the women's right's movement, women worked tirelessly for their right to vote. After 72 long years the 19th Amendment was passed, and women were legally allowed to cast their ballots for the first time in the 1920 election. This movement spans decades and involves many women. Playwright Jes Marbacher deftly crafts a work in two Acts, the first focusing in on Susan B. Anthony's attempt to vote and subsequent arrest in 1872, and the second on Alice Paul and the suffragettes of the 1910's.

New Hampshire Theatre Project's Junior Repertory Company approaches this epic piece head on, playing multiple characters of all ages. "This is a difficult work," says director Meghann Beauchamp. "It is dense material and touches on all number of issues. Every rehearsal turns into a history lesson. We start to tackle a scene and think that it's relatively straightforward but in reality it has so many layers. Women's suffrage was a complex issue for a lot of people and students of today have a hard time wrapping their heads around why. Even more difficult to understand is why many of these issues still exist today. Susan B. Anthony was fighting for equal pay 150 years ago and women are still fighting for it today. The historical figures portrayed in Well-Behaved Women broached issues that no one wanted to talk about, shaped policy, and changed our nation. They were truly extraordinary."

Along with director Meghann Beauchamp, the Well-Behaved Women production team includes Set Designer Kelsie Sawyer and Costume Designers Samantha Smith and Rachel Vilandre. Junior Repertory Company cast members include Isabel Flemming and Adelaide Kinnaly of Hampton Falls; Elise Gillis of Newmarket; Cayden Glenn Wixson and Mischa Landgarten of Kittery; Colette and Luca Haines of Durham; Sarah Hoskin and Elizabeth Nee of Rye; Avery Mitchell of Exeter: Avery Seuter of Wells; and Amelie Logue, Ella McGrail, Leo Megliola, and Colleen Spear of Portsmouth.

Celebrating its 17th year, the NHTP Youth Repertory Company is an auditioned company which offers intense acting training, master classes with guest artists, and the opportunity to perform in a professional production of classical dramatic literature. NHTP's Senior Youth Repertory Company will be presenting The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare May 27-June 5, 2016.

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