Missed the show? You can still watch How the Vote Was Won on demand until Saturday, October 17th! See the show and ticket information at https://www.showtix4u.com/events/cofcstages, by emailing cofcstages@cofc.edu, or by calling 843-953-6306.

Yesterday night was our last performance. We had another splendid turnout (140 viewers on the livestream), a visit from Dr. Timothy Baxter-Ferguson of Limestone University, and many compliments and congratulatory remarks to all of our cast and crew from the audience. Many, many thanks for all of your support and encouragement, and remember to get out there and vote!

Great show 1 out of 2! Though our in-person audience was small, we had a great livestream turnout, with 126 viewers tuning in.

The stage and all of our computers ready to go.

Some of our live audience members being seated, with Dr. Kattwinkel chatting with them.

Some reminders:

• Our next (and final) show is tonight at 7:30p!
• Today is also the deadline for in-person voting registration!
• If you still wish to register to vote after that deadline, you can still do so online (by October 4th) or by mail (postmarked by October 5th).

These last two days were our last dress rehearsal before the premiere. Everyone was adding their last-minute touchups, and a class came in yesterday to see our progress. Now that we’ve got everything ready to go, we can’t wait to see you tonight (and tomorrow night)!

Dr. Kattwinkel taking Stuart’s place to test the camera angles during the final scene.

JD watching his livestream test.

It’s the next-to-next-to-last dress rehearsal! Here’s what our actors did Monday.

Leah walking around and clapping to test the camera and sound, with Dr. Kattwinkel and Nora looking on, while the pre-show slideshow is being tested.

The lights in the back of the theater, all aglow.

The sound and camera technicians getting prepared.

Carsyn readying her camera.

Here are some of my concept sketches for the characters in my voting PSAs. They were based on the original sketches that our costume shop manager, Ms. Ellen Swick, did for the characters in the play.

Our crew’s getting everything refined for this week’s performances — camera angles, lighting, sound effects, and everything else that makes a livestream show great. Last Saturday we had:

Some of the camera equipment.

The Butt Board, where our soundboard operators sit.

Chandler’s very own soundboard, ready for action.

Bethany’s desk, complete with a laptop, the script and blocking notes, and some snacks to get through the long night of work.

The camera operators and livestream technicians hanging out before the second run through.

Dr. Kattwinkel heading backstage after having chatted with the actors on some hints for refining their performances.

Here are some more candid photos from our rehearsal last Wednesday, September 23rd, this time on the Emmett Robinson stage!

Gwen trying on a neat little hat, while the stage is being sweeped.

Bethany and her crew hard at work before the rehearsal.

Stuart once again leading the other actors in some stretches to warm up.

If you’re a student here at CofC, and would like to help others to vote, one way you can do so is by being involved in a club on campus. Here are some of them, along with contact information. (Special thanks to Ms. Ellen Swick for compiling this list!)

• College Republicans: cofccrs@cofc.edu
• Democrats at CofC: cofcdemocrats@gmail.com
• CougarVotes: moyonls@g.cofc.edu; kerngs@g.cofc.edu
  • The primary function of CougarVotes will be to host frequent voter registration drives. Members of CougarVotes will be responsible for tabling at these drives in order to register as many new voters as possible. Additionally, CougarVotes will distribute information regarding primary elections, the electoral process, voting procedure, absentee ballots, and political candidates in order to encourage a larger and more informed young voter population. There will be a big push heading into the 2020 presidential primary and general elections, but it is our intention for this club to function in the years to come as well. Young voters should be informed about local and state elections as well as presidential elections, and this is where our focus will shift after the fall of 2020. 
• Political Science Club:  lopezhernandezki@g.cofc.edu
  • The Political Science Club is a non partisan organization focused on getting students and the campus as a whole to be more politically informed and knowledgeable on the structures of government, political philosophy and current events. We emphasize engagement with the community to create a social fabric that supports freedom of thought and discussion so that we all can feel safe to discuss whatever ideas we think in a relaxed environment. We show information in the most balanced way possible and try to emphasize to our membership to avoid cognitive biases and learn to read through multiple versions of stories to learn the full scope of an issue.
• South Carolina Politics Club
  • A nonpartisan organization promoting South Carolinian politics.
• Turning Point USA at the College of Charleston: tpusacofc@gmail.com
  • Since the founding, Turning Point USA has embarked on a mission to build the most organized, active, and powerful conservative grassroots activist network on college campuses across the country. With a presence on over 1,300 college campuses and high schools across the country, Turning Point USA is the largest and fastest-growing youth organization in America.
•  Young Americans for Liberty: calabrocj@g.cofc.edu
  • Young Americans for Liberty is a student, non-profit organization that seeks to educate, train, and mobilize young people to defend the ideas of liberty. Growing from Congressman Ron Paul’s presidential bid in 2008, we promote the ideas of liberty, individualism, and limited government to grow the economy, protect the rights of Americans, and end unjust wars. 

Cicely Hamilton and Christopher St. John’s How The Vote Was Won explores themes of gender roles and the determination of the suffragettes as the women’s suffrage movement implements itself directly into Horace Cole’s life.

This production will be set as written in the late 19th century over an afternoon in a British home. Choosing this time period realistically shows the early suffragette movement and the perception of women by society during this time.

The slightly worn out characteristics of the design will reflect Horace’s financial situation. Horace and Ethel are not described to be poor, but Horace barely has the means to keep his house together and to keep a maid or two, whom Ethel pays for anyway. The state of his home shows that he can not afford to support anyone else. The color palette and general aesthetic of the design will be traditionally masculine. The design will be made up of dark stained wood and dark hunter green. The home will be quite minimalistic in decor. The masculine feel of the home shows that the house is Horace’s and it is a place that he feels that he has control over. Horace is a man that would not want feminine things in his space. As Horace’s relatives continue to come into his home they will bring luggage, coats, hats, and other objects into the space that look quite feminine. Not only are the women forcibly making Horace change his mind about women’s suffrage, they are bringing the women’s suffrage movement directly into his home. They continue to decorate his home and once it has evolved into a differently looking space, he will have realized that he can not beat the women. They have entered his life and he must change so that he can have his life back to how he wants it to be.

Through the masculine feel of the room and its evolution as the women make it their own, the design is able to convey the determination of the suffragettes to coerce the men in their lives to support their right to vote and to realize how ridiculous it is that they have not yet received the vote.