At the AAUW Huntsville (AL) Branch, we are always looking for ways to co-sponsor events with the University of Alabama in Huntsville women’s studies program, not only to benefit women and girls but also to publicize the work our branch does for women and girls.
This year, our branch received a $750 AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund Campus Outreach grant to assist in bringing a 30-minute, one-woman show about dating violence called The Yellow Dress to the UA-Huntsville campus on November 9.
The play is a monologue in which a young woman speaks to the audience as though to friends about a problem she’s having with her boyfriend, who she says broke up with her recently. Throughout the course of the show she leaves the stage twice, once to change into a black dress she’s thinking of wearing to a dance where he will be, and again to change into the yellow dress she wore the last time she saw her boyfriend. The yellow dress has a large red stain on the bodice, and we learn that she did not survive her last encounter with him.
The monologue is designed to illustrate the signs of incipient violence (attempts to control her behavior, monopolizing her time, extreme jealousy) and is based on the life of a Massachusetts woman named Deana (pronounced “Deena”), who died as the result of dating violence. The 30-minute show is followed by a 30-minute question and answer session led by the actor.
The Yellow Dress is one of six short plays available from Deana’s Educational Theater and was recommended to us by friends in a crisis services organization who had seen it performed earlier this year.
Amie Cazel performed in the UA-Huntsville production of The Yellow Dress.
I was impressed by the quality of the acting and the play and would recommend the show to other branches. The actor connected very well with the audience during the monologue and also did an excellent job of leading the question and answer session. The production blends theatre with formal presentation. There is original music provided as well as lighting cues, so it is “staged” and requires only a standing microphone, a chair, and a screen to change clothes behind. I would recommend a venue seating about 150 people since intimacy would add to the effectiveness of the show.
This blog post was written by Rose Norman, AAUW Huntsville (AL) Branch member and UA-Huntsville retired faculty.
AAUW Dialog 
this sounds very interesting. what was TOTAL cost to do this? not clear from their website/booking form.
Total cost to book the production was $1000, which included some travel. It would have been $2000, but we got a lower rate because it was already booked at a local military base. To make this affordable, you might look for ways to partner with another school or military base with a large budget for this kind of thing.
Rose Norman