Clips!
Experience a Sampling of A Simple Herstory
September 23, 2023, 1:00 p.m. Arena Stage
Experience a sampling of A Simple Herstory onstage at the Theatre Week Kickoff Fest.
Click here to reserve your FREE ticket! Avant Bard has collaborated with A Simple Herstory to bring the award-winning podcast onstage during the FREE Theatre Week Kickoff Fest at Arena Stage on Saturday Sept. 23 (the festivities begin at 1:00 pm). Avant Bard’s Sara Barker will join podcast creator Jocelyn Kuritsky onstage as they embody characters from the award-winning podcast and play clips. Adding live music to the 30-minute event will be local composer-songwriter Sarah Fridrich, who has collaborated with Avant Bard in the past. The trio brings this performance straight from this summer’s Arlington County Fair–see the DC Theater Arts story for details!
September 23, 2023, 1:00 p.m. Arena Stage
Experience a sampling of A Simple Herstory onstage at the Theatre Week Kickoff Fest.
Click here to reserve your FREE ticket! Avant Bard has collaborated with A Simple Herstory to bring the award-winning podcast onstage during the FREE Theatre Week Kickoff Fest at Arena Stage on Saturday Sept. 23 (the festivities begin at 1:00 pm). Avant Bard’s Sara Barker will join podcast creator Jocelyn Kuritsky onstage as they embody characters from the award-winning podcast and play clips. Adding live music to the 30-minute event will be local composer-songwriter Sarah Fridrich, who has collaborated with Avant Bard in the past. The trio brings this performance straight from this summer’s Arlington County Fair–see the DC Theater Arts story for details!
Arlington County Fair!
Entertainment Stage 3501 2nd St S, Arlington, United States
The Arlington County Fair is one of the largest FREE events on the East Coast. In recent years, attendance has reached approximately 84,000. Visit the live entertainment stage on the tennis courts Friday, August 18th, 2:00-2:45 p.m. and Sunday, August 20th, 8:15-9:00 p.m. to get a taste of the award-winning theatrical history podcast, A Simple Herstory, brought to you by Arlington's Avant Bard Theatre, and A Simple Herstory, LLC. Beloved Arlington musician-songwriter Sarah Fridrich will be there to give the event a rollicking intro and outro. Be there for your chance to meet the ghost of Victoria Woodhull (presented by podcast creator, Jocelyn Kuritsky, and embodied by DC area actress, Sara Barker, onstage). Woodhull was the first woman to run for President of the United States – nearly 50 years before Congress passed the 19th Amendment!
Entertainment Stage 3501 2nd St S, Arlington, United States
The Arlington County Fair is one of the largest FREE events on the East Coast. In recent years, attendance has reached approximately 84,000. Visit the live entertainment stage on the tennis courts Friday, August 18th, 2:00-2:45 p.m. and Sunday, August 20th, 8:15-9:00 p.m. to get a taste of the award-winning theatrical history podcast, A Simple Herstory, brought to you by Arlington's Avant Bard Theatre, and A Simple Herstory, LLC. Beloved Arlington musician-songwriter Sarah Fridrich will be there to give the event a rollicking intro and outro. Be there for your chance to meet the ghost of Victoria Woodhull (presented by podcast creator, Jocelyn Kuritsky, and embodied by DC area actress, Sara Barker, onstage). Woodhull was the first woman to run for President of the United States – nearly 50 years before Congress passed the 19th Amendment!
And join us on September 23rd, at 1pm for a reprise at Arena Stage for Theatre Week Kickoff!
*Special thanks to Jason Howard for event consultation and support.
Original Podcast A Simple Herstory
season 1
Victoria Woodhull
created by
Jocelyn Kuritsky
story by
Jonathan A. Goldberg and Jocelyn Kuritsky
written by
Jonathan A. Goldberg
directed by
Donya K. Washington
sound & technical direction by
Jane Shaw
original music by
David Poe
sound mastering by
Joshua Horvath
starring Florencia Lozano as Victoria Woodhull, and Kara Young as the Host, along with Jacqueline Antaramian, Rebecca Atkinson-Lord, Kate Burton, Erin Cherry, Veanne Cox, Rachel Crowl, Maria Dizzia, Danielle Ferland, Yetta Gottesman, Donnetta Lavinia Grays, Jennifer Ikeda, Jocelyn Kuritsky, Kyra Miller, Zainab Musa, Tonya Pinkins, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Socorro Santiago, Dale Soules, Carmelita Tropicana, Ching Valdes-Aran, and Louise Lasser
executive produced by Jocelyn Kuritsky, Jonathan A. Goldberg, Jenny Turner Hall, Donya K. Washington, and Jane Shaw
season 1
Victoria Woodhull
created by
Jocelyn Kuritsky
story by
Jonathan A. Goldberg and Jocelyn Kuritsky
written by
Jonathan A. Goldberg
directed by
Donya K. Washington
sound & technical direction by
Jane Shaw
original music by
David Poe
sound mastering by
Joshua Horvath
starring Florencia Lozano as Victoria Woodhull, and Kara Young as the Host, along with Jacqueline Antaramian, Rebecca Atkinson-Lord, Kate Burton, Erin Cherry, Veanne Cox, Rachel Crowl, Maria Dizzia, Danielle Ferland, Yetta Gottesman, Donnetta Lavinia Grays, Jennifer Ikeda, Jocelyn Kuritsky, Kyra Miller, Zainab Musa, Tonya Pinkins, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Socorro Santiago, Dale Soules, Carmelita Tropicana, Ching Valdes-Aran, and Louise Lasser
executive produced by Jocelyn Kuritsky, Jonathan A. Goldberg, Jenny Turner Hall, Donya K. Washington, and Jane Shaw
Sara Barker - Theatre Week Kickoff/Arlington Presenter, Victoria Woodhull - (she/her) is an Avant Bard Producing Partner and a Washington, DC-area stage actor whose Avant Bard credits include Suddenly Last Summer, King Lear, Emilie, Orlando, Othello, A Misanthrope, Mary Stuart. Other DC-area credits: A Maze, This Storm is What We Call Progress (Rorschach), 4.48 Psychosis (Factory 449), The Importance of Being Earnest, A Woman of No Importance (Scena), and The Cherry Orchard (Faction of Fools). New York credits include Lear DeBessonet’s Death Might Be Your Santa Claus. In addition to her work with Avant Bard, Sara is a company member with Rorschach Theatre and Factory 449. Sara is a graduate of St. John’s College in Annapolis. www.sarabarker.com.
Jocelyn Kuritsky - Theatre Week Kickoff/Arlington Presenter, Host - is an actor, creator/producer/director, and designer. She is a three-time Princess Grace Award nominated performer, and a founder and the actor-in-residence of the immersive theater company, Woodshed Collective (Broadway’s Tony nominated KPOP). Jocelyn is also the creator of The Muse Project, dedicated to centering and spotlighting women theater actors. Her podcast series, A Simple Herstory, is produced with Muse and The Tank, and stars a bevy of renowned stage and screen stars. In 2022, the team for A Simple Herstory was honored as The Tank’s Artists of the Year. In 2023, A Simple Herstory won a Bronze Telly Award, along with the team for the Oregon Shakespeare Theater Festival's Quills Fest. Onstage, Jocelyn mostly works on new plays and new theatrical forms; and, as a performer, she is a favorite among New York’s downtown theater stalwarts. Papermag calls her an “outstanding actor.” Onscreen, her recent appearances include The Blacklist and Nana Mensah’s Queen of Glory. Her voice work resides in audio fiction, and she can currently be heard in I Think You're Projecting (Audible) and The Land Whale Murders (The Fable & Folly Network). www.jocelynkuritsky.com.
Sarah Fridrich - Theatre Week/Arlington Musician/Songwriter - “An Arlington singer-songwriter who gives superlatives a workout: sultry, unhurried, stirring and alluring ... lyrically descriptive, sincere, emollient and vocally enchanting.” -Portland Press Herald. www.sarahfridrich.com.
Florencia Lozano - Victoria Woodhull (voice), A Simple Herstory Original Podcast - WET BRAIN at Playwrights’ Horizons (also PLACEBO), NYTW, Public, Shakespeare in the Park, LAByrinth, MTC, MCC, Clubbed Thumb, Movement Theatre Co., Second Stage, EST, Teatro IATI, Repertorio Español NETFLIX: Keep Breathing, Narcos TV: Bull, The Baker and The Beauty, Kevin Can Wait, Blacklist, Mysteries of Laura, Blue Bloods, Lipstick Jungle, Ugly Betty, Royal Pains, Law & Order (CI&SVU), Gossip Girl, One Life To Live. FILM: Life After You (she also co-wrote &produced), Faraway Eyes, The Ministers, Veronika Decides To Die. Upcoming: Crybaby Bridge. Her play underneathmybed was produced at Rattlestick and won HOLA’s Best New Play Award. BA Brown, MFA NYU.
Kara Young - Host (voice), A Simple Herstory Original Podcast - Harlem born and raised. Film/TV: Chemical Hearts (Amazon, dir. Richard Tanne), After Yang (A24, dir. Kogonada), the lead in Hair Wolf, winner of Sundance 2018 Short Film Jury Award: US fiction, Random Acts of Flyness (HBO), The Punisher (Netflix). Theater: All The Natalie Portmans (dir. Kate Whoriskey, MCC) Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven (dir. John Ortiz, Atlantic), New Englanders (dir Saheem Ali, MTC), Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll'd (dir. Awoye Timpo, The Duke), Syncing Ink (dir. Niegel Smith, Alley Theatre, The Flea), Pretty Hunger (dir. Martha Banta, The Public). Labyrinth Theater Company Member. Twice nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play: in 2022 for Clyde's and in 2023 for Cost of Living. 2020 Lucille Lortel Nominee for Outsanding Lead Actress in a Play, Antonyo Award Nominee for Best Actor in a Play, Recipient of Audelco’s 2020 Special Achievement Award. Live Voice Over Announcer for 2018, 2019, & 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV's Girl Code (4 seasons).
Jonathan A. Goldberg - Writer, A Simple Herstory Original podcast - is an internationally produced and published writer. He has had plays staged at HERE Arts Center, Mixed Blood, The Public Theater, Robert Gill Theater, Ars Nova, among others. He received the Israel Baron Award from the Theatricum Botanicum and the Rita and Burton Award from the Tisch School of Drama. He won the L Magazine pocket fiction contest. He is the co-creator and writer of the award winning musical podcast The Fall of the House of Sunshine (www.podmusical.com) with Matt Roi Berger (named one of the 100 best podcasts to listen to in 2019 by The Sunday Times, and listed among the 'best of' in Refinery 29, Woman's Day, & Polygon). The Fall of the House of Sunshine has featured a range of celebrated performers, including Tony nominee Arian Moayed and podcast darling Lauren Shippen. Other projects include The Land Whale Murders, Radio Free Mushroom America, Margaret's Garden (with Pacific Obadiah), among others. He has an MFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
Donya K. Washington she/her - Director, A Simple Herstory Original Podcast - Shutter Sisters by Mansa Ra (The Old Globe); Hometown Boy by Keiko Green (reading at Actor’s Express); You Will Get Sick by Noah Diaz (reading at Seven Devils New Play Foundry), The Way North by Tira Palmquist (readings at Seven Devils and Amphibian Theatre). Atlanta: Downstairs by Theresa Rebeck (Actor’s Express); An Octoroon by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Actor’s Express); Beautiful Blackbird (Alliance Theatre, Theatre for the Very Young); Come Back to Me and Manikato (Shakespeare in Paradise, Bahamas). Spunk (Penobscot Theatre, Bangor, Maine); NYC: Eve’s Song (workshop, The Playwrights Realm); God, Man and Devil (Target Margin Theatre); Pete the Girl (Rising Circle/Culture Project Women’s Center Stage); Little Louise (Fire This Time Festival); Now the Cats with Jeweled Claws (Target Margin Theatre); Jump Jim Crow (Subjective Theater Company); Cold Keener (Target Margin Theatre). 2008/2010 Women's Project Lab. Van Lier Directing Fellow 2009, Second Stage Theatre. MFA, Directing - Brown University/Trinity Rep; BFA, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU. Festival Producer, Oregon Shakespeare Festival; formerly BOLD Associate Producer and Off Site Season Producer, Alliance Theatre. www.donyakwashington.com.
Jenny Turner Hall - Executive Producer, A Simple Herstory Original Podcast - is a Peabody Award Winner and a Writer/Director at the forefront of multi-platform storytelling. She has projects in television, podcasting, and fiction. Her scripted podcast Mars Patel is being developed as a TV series with Anonymous Content and as a three-book serial with Candlewick Press. She wrote and directed a new audio series for Marvel, Wastelanders: Wolverine - with Robert Patrick, and she also recently directed a show for Audible. Jenny is the co-executive producer of A Simple Herstory, and will be a writer on the second season. www.jennyturnerhall.com.
Jane Shaw - Sound Design, A Simple Herstory Original Podcast - After over twenty years in the theater as a sound designer and composer, Ms. Shaw is excited to be exploring the world of scripted audio drama. Other projects include Faith, Hope, and Charity adapted as a radio play by Peter Hackett. Theatrical work in New York includes designs at Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Mint Theater, Theatre for a New Audience, National Black Theatre, Repertorio Español, New York Theatre Workshop, Cherry Lane, and the COOP. Regional work includes projects with Hartford Stage, ART, Old Globe, Mark Taper Forum, Two River Theater, Asolo, Williamstown Theatre Festival, ACT, and Northern Stage. Awards: Drama Desk, Connecticut Critics Circle, Henry Award, Bessie Award, Meet the Composer Grant, NEA-TCG Career Development Grant recipient, nominations for Lortel and Elliot Norton awards. Member: USA 829, TSDCA (Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association). Training: Harvard University, Yale School of Drama. Ms. Shaw was born and raised in Kansas and lives in Brooklyn.
David Poe - Music, A Simple Herstory Original Podcast - gives the singer-songwriter genre a much-needed jolt” writes Rolling Stone. The Village Voice calls Poe “the major domo of songwriters.” “Every songwriter worth their salt is striving for the kind of balanced poetry and simplicity that Poe seems to just pour out,” says No Depression. “It’s hard to deny the expert craftsmanship of Poe’s songwriting,” wrote Paste Magazine. The London Independent compared his songs to “miniature novels.” Since his solo debut, produced by T-Bone Burnett, songs written by David Poe have been performed by a wide array of artists and recorded by producers including T-Bone Burnett, Larry Klein, and Buddy Miller. He has toured the world with Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Tori Amos, and many more, and performed as lead vocalist with the Blackstar Symphony, the orchestral rendition of David Bowie’s final masterpiece. Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem publicly voiced support for his song What The President Said, which features in A Simple Herstory. A composer fellow of the Sundance Institute, his work features in numerous film and TV projects, including Nashville, Dexter, Diary Of A Teenage Girl, Transamerica. He has produced recordings for other artists, including Regina Spektor, Brendan Hines, and Kraig Jarret Johnson. Poe’s commissioned scores for dance include work by the Los Angeles Dance Project, performed at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar during the 2022 World Cup, American Repertory Theater, and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. Shadowland by the dance company Pilobolus toured for over a decade and was performed on five continents, for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and released as a feature film. Transplanted from the American Midwest to New York City, David Poe served as the sound engineer at CBGB’s 313 Gallery before signing with Sony/Epic. He currently lives in Los Angeles. www.davidpoemusic.com