“The Joy” a play about Mary Dyer

Renowned actor-playwright, Jeanmarie (Simpson) Bishop performs her Houston debut of “The Joy”, a play about pre-First Amendment martyr, Mary Dyer.
– The performance is Pay-What-You-Can, plus bring toiletries for us to make toiltetry packets for Health Care for the Homeless.
– The performance will be followed by a discussion and pot luck dinner.

The author-performer says of her subject, “The American First Amendment had everything to do with Mary Dyer being hanged more than a century before it was drafted. Speaking very personally, her life – the choices she made, the way she kept going – has helped me find the ambition to get up many a morning when all I wanted was to crawl under the covers and stay there. M…y insight, more a revelation, is that choices make us whole. We are powerful when we choose things, as opposed to having them thrust upon us and being forced to accept them. Even hard things, even being executed, when it’s our choice, is a liberation. I think about that every day now, and it’s a gift Mary gave to me.”

Known for her performance portraits of fierce, historical women, Bishop has distinguished herself among her peers in the entertainment industry.

The late, great Leonard Nimoy simply called her “brilliant.” Actor Judd Nelson said, “Ultimately, I believe Jeanmarie to be one of humanity’s invaluable resources.” Humorist Dylan Brody said, “She is a terrific writer, a riveting performer and an artistic activist of the sort all too rarely seen in America today,” and superstar Joni Mitchell called her “a dedicated artist and remarkable woman.”

http://marybarrettdyer.blogspot.com/2011/12/top-10-things-you-may-not-know-about.html