Listen to our first installment of Ellie O’Day On-Line! Interviews and candid conversations with the who’s who of theatre!
In honour of International Women’s Day on Monday, March 8, Ellie chats with actors and playwrights Jenn Griffin and Marilyn Norry, the forces behind My Mother’s Story, a grassroots initiative that has taken off and is documenting women’s history day by day—in the voices of their daughters.
International Women’s Day is a global event celebrating the achievements of women since 1911.
if you are looking for wardrobe inspiration for this particular day, purple, green, and white are the colours! Purple signifies justice and dignity; Green symbolizes hope; White represents purity (albeit a controversial concept)!
Sound and editing by Stephen Bulat and Mixed Media Productions
A bit about this episode's artist:
Ellie O’Day has worked in music, performing arts and cultural industries for nearly 40 years. She was one of North America’s first female DJs in the 70s, a columnist for the Georgia Straight in the 80s, and Executive Director of Pacific Music Industry Assn in the 90s. For 17 years, her O’Day Productions provided media relations to The Cultch, festivals (PuSh Festival, Children’s Festival, VIFF, VIBC, Sonic Boom, KickstArt, Sound of Dragon), theatre companies, special events, CD launches and more. She has served on numerous boards, including twice as a Director of PAL Vancouver.
Marilyn Norry is a professional actor who has lived in the Vancouver area for 30 years. Favourite stage roles include Heidi Holland in The Heidi Chronicles (Vancouver Playhouse), Hagar Shipley in The Stone Angel (Firehall Theatre), Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter (United Players). On screen she has worked with directors Steven Spielberg (The BFG), Gillian Armstrong (Little Women), Brian De Palma (Mission to Mars), and with actors Johnny Depp, Sam Shepherd, Leonardo di Caprio and the many, many great actors who live and work right here. She is also the creator and producer of My Mother’s Story, a multimedia campaign encouraging people to write the story of their mothers’ lives so women’s history is valued, saved, and shared. www.mymothersstory.org
Jenn Griffin is grateful to live, work, and play on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples. As a playwright, Jenn was awarded the Sydney Risk award for best emerging playwright with her first play Drinking with Persephone. While an Associate at Playwrights Theatre Centre, Jenn created a multi-disciplinary play, The Long Call. In 2017, Jenn received an Arts Club Silver Commission for a new comedy entitled House and Home which premiered at The Firehall Arts Centre in 2020. Amongst her many roles as an actor, Jenn played “Vi” in Western Gold’s acclaimed production of Caryl Churchill’s Escaped Alone in 2019.