March 5, 1997

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT COMES TO LIFE AT UVM

by Nancy Bercaw

As part of its Women's History Month celebration, the University of Vermont's President's Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) and the Vermont Council on the Humanities is co-hosting an evening with the "First Lady of the World." On Thursday, March 13, Elena Dodd's one-woman performance will bring Eleanor Roosevelt to life in UVM's Memorial Lounge, Waterman Building.

With frankness and humor, "Eleanor" shares milestones of her journey from a controversial First Lady in the '30s and '40s to the fulfillment of a woman who chaired the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. She even pauses between acts to serve tea, just as the First Lady did in the White House. A discussion of the Roosevelts follows the performance.

"Eleanor Roosevelt was an inspiration and role model to millions of American women," said Anne Sheperdson-Price of PCSW. "Elena Dodd's show captures her spirit and history in this unique performance."

Dodd graduated from Wellesley College and earned a master's degree in American Literature at Boston University. She has acted with the People's Theater of Cambridge, CityStage in Boston, Whetstone Theater and B&B Productions in Vermont. She is a member of The Streetfeet Women, a multi-cultural group of writers and performers based in Boston.

The performance is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Ann Sheperdson-Price at 656-0367.