Review: Equitable Dinners series urges American women to think about their vote

At 6 p.m. on a recent Wednesday evening, two co-hosts welcomed visitors to an Ansley Park home for an unusual yet purposeful party. So began another of Out of Hand’s Equitable Dinners, the theater series “in the wild” with a mission for social justice. The night would feature Dear American Women, a play focused on American politics. While other Equitable Dinners are public, this series is private; interested hosts fill out a form, then ask friends and neighbors to attend. 

According to Artistic Director Ariel Fristoe, Out of Hand launched in 2001 with the idea that dramatic performances can create real change. As one of the four key programs for the theater company, each Equitable Dinner includes a meal, a performance on a timely topic and a discussion among all attendees. Equitable Dinners can take place in a variety of venues, from churches and schools to public facilities such as the Carter Center. As many as 1,200 people have attended dinners in a single night, spread across a number of locations.

“We have a recipe,” says Fristoe. “We use performance art to open hearts, information to open minds and conversation to inspire action.”

She adds that this series, ongoing through election day, was put together with a sense of urgency. A one-person show written by playwright Daryl Lisa Fazio, Dear American Women portrays a middle-aged wife and mother named Kim who has a pressing message for other women voters: Be more intentional about your vote. 

The production does well to shatter any awkwardness felt among the audience. Actor Christy Baggett commanded attention the moment she walked into the living room and headed for her chair, settling into the circle of women as though she was a latecomer to the meal. Baggett is a veteran of the Atlanta theater community with the credits to match, but this series is her first performance with Equitable Dinners. Her monologue as Kim, a recent empty nester who is coming into her own after years of voting the same way as her husband, is familiar for some and emotionally moving for all. 

Following a round of applause for Baggett’s performance, our plates of brie, olives and hummus steadied on our knees, the discussion was structured around what we’d all come to ponder: Do American women have a sacred duty to ourselves — and to our mothers, daughters and other women of all backgrounds — to vote a certain way? 

Thought-provoking questions printed on our individual programs (and also read out loud by our facilitator, Niya Randall) got this crowd talking, sharing stories that revealed who they are and what they stand for.

One woman spoke about her two aunts who entered the nunhood; another recounted how she befriended the sister of a deceased Vietnam vet. Family, childhood, activism, marriage and other matters of life came to the surface, displaying the well-watered roots of political leanings. Though the evening would conclude promptly at 8 p.m., the group managed, with Randall’s help, to address all four of the questions. 

But could this newfound sense of friendship at the end of the evening translate to more empathy and camaraderie at the ballot box? 

Armed with the promises of every Equitable Dinner — a heartfelt performance, an informative pamphlet and a thoughtful discussion — chances seem better than ever. Departing the living room-turned-theater for our individual cars, multiple stories felt like one  . . .  which we will tell in unison November 5. 

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Denise K. James is an ArtsATL senior editor.