Mama Votes

“…Meyers’ writing is breezy and easy to follow… her fictional storyline doesn’t stray far from historical events… The play also allows the storytellers the freedom to ask the audience powerful questions: ‘What will be the year when you will cast your first vote?’ An earnest, thoughtful book that will serve as an effective tool for educators.” –

Kirkus Reviews

The author of the story, Madeleine Meyers, became interested in the event described in Mama Votes! when working on a book on Woman Suffrage.  While doing research for Forward Into Light: The Struggle for Woman’s Suffrage (Discovery Enterprises, Ltd., 1994) she learned of the events of 1872 and first encountered the famous letter in which Susan B. Anthony says “I have been and gone and done it.” With the approach of the 100^th anniversary of the 19^th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, Ms. Meyers felt it was the perfect time to introduce girls and boys to this courageous attempt to vote. More recently, watching a young girl’s delight with reading a play aloud inspired her to include a play version of the story. Ms. Meyers’ career includes work as a children’s librarian, and as the Coordinator of Education Outreach and Librarian at an MIT research facility. She has authored a weekly newspaper column, and is the co-author of several articles on science education. This is her fifth book.

Priscilla Stevens began her career in playwriting by teaching about 40 students in grades 1-3 in a one-room schoolhouse in Vermont how to write a musical play about Spring. This sparked a 37-year career of teaching students of all ages to write plays, songs, musicals, and operas, and of producing some of her own plays as well. In addition, she taught English, Theatre Arts, and Acting at the high school and college levels, directed plays and musicals for high school and college, and founded Shakespearean Players groups at various schools. She is affiliated with the Folger Shakespeare Library as a member of their Shakespeare book discussion group and the Shakespeare 2020 project, and she holds memberships in several literary societies. As a freelance director, she created productions in regional repertory theatre in Northern Ireland, designed sets, lighting, and costumes for various theatre productions over the years, acted, and recently directed and presented narration for a variety of events and productions, including those for a small New England opera company. She has done research and presentations on theater and costume history, and is currently preparing pre-concert talks for large chorus concerts. She is always, always writing more plays, musical scripts, and literary, historical, and entertainment narratives and presentations.