A Simple Herstory is a Webby Award-honored and Telly Award-winning deviant, multi-platform audio fiction exploration of the 100+ women who have run for President of the United States. The initial season revolves around Victoria Woodhull, arguably the first woman to run in 1872, before women had the right to vote. Season 2 revolves around the life and times of Margaret Chase Smith. Smith ran for President of the United States in 1964. She was a member of the Republican Party. She was the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress. While it is an audio drama, Season 2 borrows from 20th-century film styles to create a complex portrait of the Senator from Maine, challenging preconceived notions, historical facts, and our perceptions of American culture. As with Season 1, it takes a lesser known story, presents it, and then works to deconstruct it.
An experimental and hybrid performance structure turns the acclaimed audio drama, A Simple Herstory, into live events and immersive audio experiences. Working within two spheres — audio and theater — the project exists virtually (as a podcast) and in tactile spaces (in presentational settings, as a live “radio play,” and, as an immersive event).
The Tank—Live Radio Play Event
The Tank
Pre Election Stress Buster Event
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 2 Selections, Margaret Chase Smith
A party event to build community before election day, 2024!
Festive Interactive Shenanigans & Season 2 Selections, Margaret Chase Smith
November 3rd, 2024
Live Radio Play Event
Pre Election Stress Buster Event
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 2 Selections, Margaret Chase Smith
A party event to build community before election day, 2024!
Festive Interactive Shenanigans & Season 2 Selections, Margaret Chase Smith
November 3rd, 2024
Live Radio Play Event
Created by Jocelyn Kuritsky. Written by Jonathan A. Goldberg and Jenny Turner Hall. Directed by Meghan Finn. Series Director and Co-Executive Producer Donya K. Washington. Hosted by Nina Hellman. Featuring Florencia Lozano, David Shih, Colleen Werthmann. Kuritsky presents the event. Pete McCabe produces.
A Simple Herstory — a theatrical, multi-platform, audio fiction exploration of the 100+ women who have run for President of the United States — will throw a pre-election day party event, with interactive fun & mischief, on November 3rd at The Tank (312 West 36th Street, 7PM) to build community.
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Pre election Stress Buster, The Tank, New York City
Powerhouse Theater—Live Radio Play Event
Powerhouse Theater at Vassar College
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 2 Selections, Margaret Chase Smith
July 5th, 2024, 8pm; July 6th, 2024, 8pm; July 7th, 2024, 2pm
Live Radio Play Event
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 2 Selections, Margaret Chase Smith
July 5th, 2024, 8pm; July 6th, 2024, 8pm; July 7th, 2024, 2pm
Live Radio Play Event
Created by Jocelyn Kuritsky. Written by Jonathan A. Goldberg and Jenny Turner Hall. Directed by Meghan Finn. Series Director and Co-Executive Producer Donya K. Washington. Featuring Florencia Lozano, David Shih, and Colleen Werthmann.
"A Simple Herstory" is a groundbreaking—Telly Award-winning and Webby-honored—multi-platform audio fiction exploration of the 100+ women who have run for President of the United States. The initial season revolved around Victoria Woodhull, arguably the first woman to run in 1872, before women had the right to vote. Sections of Season 2 revolve around the life and times of Margaret Chase Smith who ran for President in 1964. She was a member of the Republican Party and the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress. While it is an audio drama, Season 2 borrows from 20th century film styles to create a complex portrait of the Senator from Maine, challenging preconceived notions, historical facts, and our perceptions of American culture. As with Season 1, it takes a lesser-known story, presents it, and then works to deconstruct it.
July 5-7, 2024 Season 2 Workshop & Presentation, Powerhouse, Poughkeepsie, NY
October 27th, 2023 Season 2 Workshop & Presentation, The Tank, New York City
Scripps College—Panel Event
Scripps College: Scripps Presents
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 1 Selections, Victoria Woodhull
March 21st, 2024, 7pm PT
Panel Event
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 1 Selections, Victoria Woodhull
March 21st, 2024, 7pm PT
Panel Event
"A Simple Herstory" has evolved into an intriguing, theatrical, and high concept podcast series about the women who have run for President of the United States. Over a hundred women have made a run for it, but their stories are rarely heard. This podcast series features the lives of the women who aggressively, voraciously, and passionately sought to assume the highest office in the land and lost.
Immerse yourself in a night filled with engaging performances by the creators of the podcast, Jocelyn Kuritsky, Jonathan Goldberg, and Jennifer Hall. Be part of the conversation as we explore the challenges faced by women throughout history and the progress we have made.
Read more from The Student Life.
Immerse yourself in a night filled with engaging performances by the creators of the podcast, Jocelyn Kuritsky, Jonathan Goldberg, and Jennifer Hall. Be part of the conversation as we explore the challenges faced by women throughout history and the progress we have made.
Read more from The Student Life.
Featured Clips
Featured Photos
Arlington County Fair/DC Theatre Week Kickoff—Live Radio Play Event
Arena Stage: Theatre Week Kickoff Fest
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 1 Selections, Victoria Woodhull
September 23rd, 2023, 1pm
Live Radio Play Event
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 1 Selections, Victoria Woodhull
September 23rd, 2023, 1pm
Live Radio Play Event
Experience a sampling of A Simple Herstory onstage at the Theatre Week Kickoff Fest. 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
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 1 Selections, Victoria Woodhull
August 20th, 2023, 8:15pm; August 18th, 2023, 2pm
Live Radio Play Event
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!
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 1 Selections, Victoria Woodhull
August 20th, 2023, 8:15pm; August 18th, 2023, 2pm
Live Radio Play Event
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!
*Special thanks to Jason Howard for event consultation and support.
Featured Clips
Featured Photos
Quills Fest—Panel & Immersive Event
Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Quills Fest 2022 O! Digital Stage
An annual festival where live theatre and extended reality come out to play!
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 1 Selections, Victoria Woodhull
November 4th, 2022; November 5th, 2022
Panel Event; Immersive Event
An annual festival where live theatre and extended reality come out to play!
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 1 Selections, Victoria Woodhull
November 4th, 2022; November 5th, 2022
Panel Event; Immersive Event
Congratulations to Quills Fest for winning a 2023 Bronze Telly Award for Immersive & Mixed Reality!
Congratulations to Quills Fest for being a finalist for the 2023 Auggie Award for Best Art or Film!
Quills Fest
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 1 Selections, Victoria Woodhull
November 4th, 2022
6pm ET / 3pm PT
Panel Event — Conversation — Podcast as Theatre, Theatre as Podcast
What is a theatrical podcast? What does it mean when theater and podcasting collide? The discussion will feature trendsetters in the arena of narrative, “theatrical podcasting.”
Tune into the livestream on the Quills Fest website. Guests: Jenny Turner Hall ("A Simple Herstory," "The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel," "Marvel’s Wastelanders: Wolverine," Jocelyn Kuritsky ("A Simple Herstory"), Donya K. Washington ("A Simple Herstory"), Jonathan A. Goldberg ("A Simple Herstory," "The Land Whale Murders," "The Fall of the House of Sunshine"), Cecil Baldwin ("Welcome to Night Vale," "Random Horror 9," "Hit/Play," "Ask Me Another – NPR"), and Aaron Mark ("The Horror of Dolores Roach").
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 1 Selections, Victoria Woodhull
November 4th, 2022
6pm ET / 3pm PT
Panel Event — Conversation — Podcast as Theatre, Theatre as Podcast
What is a theatrical podcast? What does it mean when theater and podcasting collide? The discussion will feature trendsetters in the arena of narrative, “theatrical podcasting.”
Tune into the livestream on the Quills Fest website. Guests: Jenny Turner Hall ("A Simple Herstory," "The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel," "Marvel’s Wastelanders: Wolverine," Jocelyn Kuritsky ("A Simple Herstory"), Donya K. Washington ("A Simple Herstory"), Jonathan A. Goldberg ("A Simple Herstory," "The Land Whale Murders," "The Fall of the House of Sunshine"), Cecil Baldwin ("Welcome to Night Vale," "Random Horror 9," "Hit/Play," "Ask Me Another – NPR"), and Aaron Mark ("The Horror of Dolores Roach").
Featured Panel
Quills Fest
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 1 Selections, Victoria Woodhull
November 5th, 2022
5:30pm – 7pm ET / 2:30pm – 4pm PT
Playtest — Herstory in the House — Immersive Audio Experience (work in progress)
In partnership with The Tank, The Merchant's House Museum, The Muse Project, and A Simple Herstory, LLC
Immersive Audio Experience devised by Donya K. Washington, Jocelyn Kuritsky, Cecil Baldwin, with Florencia Lozano. Original text written by Jonathan A. Goldberg. Performed by Kara Young and Florencia Lozano. Sound design by Jane Shaw. Music by David Poe. Additional soundscape by Josh Horvath. Conversation with Ann Haddad.
Led by a star-studded team — Cecil Baldwin ("Welcome to Night Vale"), Donya K. Washington (OSF Festival Producer), Jocelyn Kuritsky ("KPOP") — and in collaboration with The Tank, this is an exciting, exclusive invitation to participate in an early-stage, work-in-progress experiment. This event turns the critically acclaimed audio drama podcast, "A Simple Herstory," into an immersive audio experience at the storied location of the Merchant’s House Museum in New York City’s Lower East Side. Participants have the unique opportunity to contribute to the making of this new project by being “playtesters” to try out the individual, promenade audio experience that is mapped throughout the house. The playtest will end with a feedback session with the artists.
"A Simple Herstory"
Season 1 Selections, Victoria Woodhull
November 5th, 2022
5:30pm – 7pm ET / 2:30pm – 4pm PT
Playtest — Herstory in the House — Immersive Audio Experience (work in progress)
In partnership with The Tank, The Merchant's House Museum, The Muse Project, and A Simple Herstory, LLC
Immersive Audio Experience devised by Donya K. Washington, Jocelyn Kuritsky, Cecil Baldwin, with Florencia Lozano. Original text written by Jonathan A. Goldberg. Performed by Kara Young and Florencia Lozano. Sound design by Jane Shaw. Music by David Poe. Additional soundscape by Josh Horvath. Conversation with Ann Haddad.
Led by a star-studded team — Cecil Baldwin ("Welcome to Night Vale"), Donya K. Washington (OSF Festival Producer), Jocelyn Kuritsky ("KPOP") — and in collaboration with The Tank, this is an exciting, exclusive invitation to participate in an early-stage, work-in-progress experiment. This event turns the critically acclaimed audio drama podcast, "A Simple Herstory," into an immersive audio experience at the storied location of the Merchant’s House Museum in New York City’s Lower East Side. Participants have the unique opportunity to contribute to the making of this new project by being “playtesters” to try out the individual, promenade audio experience that is mapped throughout the house. The playtest will end with a feedback session with the artists.
Interview Excerpts
Soundscape Excerpts
Featured Photos
