Debbie Dimitre, a Pacific Northwest storyteller known for her one-woman shows about women and young girls in American history, will step into the role of Eleanor Roosevelt in an afternoon show at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Vashon Presbyterian Church.
In the one-woman show, “No Ordinary Warrior,” Dimitre will share the life and times of the First Lady in a collage of stories centering on her role as a peaceful warrior for human rights.
The one-woman show is one of many in Dimitre’s remarkable repertoire.
She has previously appeared on Vashon as Alice Paul, a suffragist and co-author of the 1923 Equal Rights Amendment and also presented one-woman shows about Emily Dickinson and Grandma Moses.
According to Dimitre’s website, she was inspired to create her far-ranging series of shows after realizing, 30 years ago, that her children’s school books were practically devoid of information about the contributions, courage and bravery of mothers and daughters in American history.
Carving out her niche as a working performer dependent only on her own carefully researched writing and a trunkful of costumes, Dimitre has performed at schools, community colleges, churches, libraries, bookstores and history museums, as well as more traditional venues including the Seattle Folklife Festival.
Dimitre’s Oct. 18 presentation is a fundraiser by one of two Vashon chapters of P.E.O., a philanthropic educational organization.
The organization, founded in 1869, is an international women’s nonprofit that helps girls and women achieve their educational goals through scholarships, grants, and loan programs, as well as in its own institution of higher learning, Cottey College.
To date, these programs have helped assist well over 100,000 women with more than $344 million in funds for educational assistance.
The Vashon members of the organization also give out their own scholarships to island girls via the Vashon Community Scholarship Foundation.
Tickets to the show, $20, can be purchased at the door on the day of the show. For more information about Dimitre, visit debbiedimitre.com.
Disclosure: Reporter Elizabeth Shepherd is a member of P.E.O. Chapter GW, on Vashon.
