Philadelphia is known for its history and is considered the birthplace of America because rabble-rousing men from around the thirteen colonies met in this unofficial capital to deliberate on the Declaration of Independence and, later, the Constitution on which this nation is founded upon. These men became our Founding Fathers, and the legacy they left is important but, and let’s be real, America’s Revolutionary history is an overly romanticized picture of land-owning white men—many of whom had slaves— that treated women poorly.
So what about our Founding Mothers? There are many women in Philadelphia’s history who have not only helped shape the city but also helped shape the nation. Women like Lucretia Mott, a Quaker abolitionist who fought for the rights of black people, Native Americans, and women. Women like Eliza Sproat Turner, a poet, and suffragist who fought for women’s clubs, and of course Betsy Ross, America’s favorite flag maker. Philadelphia has many trailblazing women and today, women continue to pave the way for equality in a patriarchal world. Welcome to the city of Sisterly Love.
Don’t forget The Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival! PWTF fosters and encourages women in the performing arts by offering unique opportunities for exposure, professional, artistic and personal development and a platform for performance. By providing resources, support and a stage for exposure, PWTF fosters and encourages women in the arts of all disciplines: directors, playwrights, performers, designers, administrators and more. Through the development of this often marginalized group of artisans, PWTF will usher in a new era of artistic voices, their distinct perspectives and otherwise untold stories.