Reclaiming History for the Future

by Chelseadee Harrison, 2008 Legacy Awardee

I was directing a production of Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro at New York University when I first learned there was a rapidly spreading virus in the city. At that time, we thought rehearsal might be cancelled for a few days but, little did we know, we’d spend the next 18 months apart. During this time of social distance and masking, making theater and bringing people together to hear a story seemed impossible and dangerous. How could I reach audiences? How could I share the inspiring stories from history I was reading about? What does a theater-maker create during a pandemic?

Fortunately, I was selected to be a member of the 2019-2020 LabWorks program, a new play development program with the New Victory Theater. The New Victory is an off-Broadway theater for young audiences and families. They are interested in presenting work that challenges and entertains young people, a place where big ideas can be digested through art and community. I wanted to create a theatrical experience that sparked wonder in youth and adults, something to shake up the status quo in regards to theater for young audiences. I am deeply impacted by the amount of gendered violence that women, girls, and other marginalized genders face around the world. Why is so much violence directed at our bodies? What is so culturally disturbing about independent women in positions of leadership? I was reading Adrienne Mayor’s book, The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World, and I realized I wanted to talk about violence. Through my new play, Sheela & The Amazons, I wanted to unpack our culutral unease with femininity and femme-presenting bodies in public space holding power. Yet, what started as a play for middle and high school students morphed into an entire season of a new podcast called Vanguard of the Viragoes.

With Vanguard of the Viragoes, I wanted to trace the legacies of powerful women and untraditional femininities. I wanted to create a place to celebrate all the ways we come into “womanhood”, however you define it, and all the historical evidence that points out the fact that women being in leadership is part of our collective human history. For the first season, I researched stories of warrior queens and rewrote them into short sonic dramas. I then performed and sound designed each story, like a mini radio play. After the sonic drama, I interviewed an array of incredible guests- historians, teachers, archeologists, art preservationists, teachers, and artists- to speak about the legacy of warrior queens and how their history can empower us all. With this podcast, I aim to redress a cultural imbalance and depict femininity as diverse, fierce, and more than capable to lead. As I continue to develop my play and this companion podcast, I hope to broaden the conversation about what leadership looks like and to be a beacon to inspire future generations to reclaim their history and take pride in who they are. 

To learn more about Sheela & The Amazons visit this linktree: linktr.ee/ChelseaDee

You can listen to Vanguard of the Viragoes wherever you listen to podcasts or visit the podcast website at https://vanguardoftheviragoes.com

ChelseaDee Harrison is a multi-hyphenate, interdisciplinary creator, artivist, and arts educator. Specializing in theater-making, she performs, teaches, curates, co-facilitates, develops curriculum, directs, and produces arts events. Her focus is creating new works of theater that highlight history and challenge dominant narratives while ensuring art is a tool in the hands of the people. Most recently, her work includes being the executive producer and host of the podcast, Vanguard of the Viragoes and the co-creator of the digital healing experience, The Ritual of Repair. She is also a former New Victory Theater LabWorks artist and she was part of the inaugural ARTIVISM Fellowship with the Tony-award winning Broadway Advocacy Coalition. You can follow her on IG @thatuppitygirl, at her website, or at linktr.ee/ChelseaDee

Image credits: Sheela & The Amazons poster designed by Sharone Malka | Virago spear logo designed by Denzel Faison | Headshot of Chelsea by Sindayiganza Photography