Initially launched in 2008, SWAN Day quickly grew in a only few short years, encompassing over 700 events by 2011, not only in the United States but practically every continent on the planet. Although the last Saturday of March—which is also Women’s History Month—is the official designation for International SWAN Day, a variety of activities are likewise held in cities across the globe throughout March and April as well. Thanks to Pittsburgh theater troupe No Name Players and their artistic directors Tressa Glover and Don DiGiulio, the Steel City is a regular participant in SWAN Day, and Pittsburgh was even named an official SWAN Day partner in 2012 alongside producers in Kenya, Bulgaria, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Florida. 2015 again brings SWAN Day to the region with a full evening of performances on Saturday, March 14th, at the Twentieth Century Club on Bigelow Boulevard in Oakland.
In preparation for the 2012 SWAN Day, Glover and DiGiulio interviewed women of all ages from across the state of Pennsylvania, including attendees at the October 2011 Pennsylvania Conference for Women in Philadelphia. In 2014, meanwhile, No Name Players asked local female musicians, dancers, playwrights, poets, filmmakers, fashion designers and visual artists to create new works inspired by the Maya Angelou quote, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” For SWAN Day 2015, the saying “Everyone has an untold story hidden behind closed doors—try to understand that people are not always as they first seem” is the muse to be utilized by a plethora of local female talent for the event, including theatre directors and actors, dance and ballet troupes, filmmakers, musicians and painters.
The complete list of 2015 participants is a long one and features Kahmeela Adams, Brooke Annibale, Judith Avers, Jackie Baker, David Bielewicz, Jennifer Buck, Camelia Road, Siovhan Christensen, Angela Citrola, Continuum Dance Theater, Ashley Cornwall, Tiara Dinkins, Erin Mader, Aimee Manion, Jena Oberg, Gayle Pazerski, Bridgette Perdue, Rachna Rajen, Reed Dance, Danielle Rode, Elizabeth L. Ruelas, Texture Contemporary Ballet, Bria Walker, and students from both the Act One Theatre School and Pittsburgh CAPA. In addition to the main March 14th event, meanwhile, a special staged reading of original plays crafted by Emily Carslon, Amanda Rogus, Jennifer Schaupp and Ayne Terceira will take place at the Arcade Comedy Theater the evening of Thursday, March 12, 2015.
In 2012, International SWAN Day co-founder Martha Richards herself was in attendance at the Pittsburgh SWAN Day celebration and was impressed by the full range of activities that No Name Players had put together for the evening. “Producers Tressa Glover and Don DiGiulio have really captured the essence of SWAN Day,” Richards wrote afterwards. “Their event was artistically ambitious, women’s perspectives were at the core of all of the art, and it was clear that their SWAN events are really building a sense of solidarity among the artists in their community. It takes a generous heart and a huge amount of work to organize an event like this that showcases so many artists in so many disciplines. It was clear that Tressa Glover and Don DiGiulio had selected the artists carefully and then worked hard to create an environment where the artists felt supported to stretch and develop new works. Congratulations to the two of them for producing this event with so much grace and skill, and thanks to all the artists for their excellent work.”
Based on past SWAN Day celebrations and the impressive array of talent lined up in 2015, this year’s SWAN Day in Pittsburgh will no doubt be an equally rewarding and successful event.
(Ticket for SWAN Day can be purchased online at Showclix.)
Anthony Letizia (March 9, 2015)
