July 4, 1970 - Golden Gate Park, San Francisco California
San Francisco Mime Troupe Production
"An Independent Woman or A Man Has His Pride"
San Francisco Mime Troupe Production
"An Independent Woman or A Man Has His Pride"
The San Francisco Mime Troupe was a well-known theatrical company that put on free shows with left-leaning themes in parks across San Francisco during the Vietnam War years. “An Independent Female or A Man Has His Pride" was billed as the SF Mime Troupe’s first feminist play. Set in the Old West, the melodrama was also the playwright Joan Holden’s first production.
For us, the play was a disappointment. There were five characters: a conservative man, a traditional woman, her mother, a banker, and a feminist interloper, portrayed like the sneering, cape-wearing villains of nineteenth century melodramas. Issues around sexism were played for laughs. No one was challenged to look at their own lives or question assumptions about gender roles, making it easy for the audience to sit back and enjoy the show. The issues most important to us were turned into farce.
