SECRET SOLDIERS: Heroines in disguise by wendy lement

Ran March 2023

SECRET SOLDIERS: HEROINES IN DISGUISE – The secret history of women who fought as men in the civil war is revealed in this engrossing production. Several stories are uncovered in an interlocking set of true tales of battlefront women, and an escaped enslaved person, with a focus on soldier Private Lyons Wakeman (a.k.a Sarah Wakeman) whose letters were discovered by her nephew in an attic years after her death.

In this unique production, the audience is enlisted to be medical officers who will decide the fate of Lyons Wakeman: whether the medical record will reflect this individual’s birth gender (and thus be denied a pension), or keep history hidden and receive all the benefits of military service.

Written by Wendy Lement, this play tells the true stories of women who fought in the Civil War as men.

First produced by Theatre Espresso in Boston, Massachusetts.

Photography by Christy Francis

CAST

Actor Track A – Joseph O. Cassell       Roderick Garr             

                                    Understudy      Talon Powell          

Actor Track B – Dr. William Hire        Charles McGregor       

                                    Understudy      Clara Tan                    

Actor Track C – Sarah Wakeman       Hanna Lipkind

                                    Understudy      Kaylie Horowitz         

Actor Track D                                      Avye Alexandres        

                                    Understudy      Emory Redfearn             

Actor Track E                                      Anika Pace                  

                                    Understudy      Dijae Bradley              

Actor Track F                                      Rosa Fernandez          

                                    Understudy      Jessie Miller                

Actor Track G                                      Lucas Colon               

                                    Understudy      Matthew Mogenson

Actor Track H                                      Andrew J. Brown        

                                    Understudy      Sean Taylor

CREATIVE TEAM

Director… Megan Callahan
Stage Manager…Brittany Wysocki
Dramaturg… Melissa Chernowetz
Costume Designer… Jenna Damberger
Set Designer… Donnie Woodard
Light Designer… Brian Cavanagh
Props Artisan… Diane Almeter Jones
Props Assistant… Gillian Cavanaugh
Sound Design… Brian Wantuch
Stage Construction…. Gabe Gutierrez, Aaron Koscielniak