CSM Theater Explores Revolution, Feminism And Voice In “The Revolutionists”

LA PLATA, Md. — The College of Southern Maryland is inviting audiences onto the stage — literally — for its latest production at the Hank Willoughby Foundation Center for the Arts, “The Revolutionists,” a contemporary comedy that reimagines four women of the French Revolution in a bold, immersive theatrical experience.

Directed by Tracy Labrie, the play by Lauren Gunderson unfolds in 1793 during France’s Reign of Terror. But while the historical setting remains intact, the language is modern, the pacing is sharp and the themes resonate well beyond the 18th century.

“It’s written by Lauren Gunderson, who is the most produced playwright in America right now,” Labrie said. “It is a look at the French Revolution through the eyes of four women.”

Three of those women are real historical figures: playwright and feminist Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday and former queen Marie Antoinette. The fourth, Marianne Angelle, is inspired by Haitian women who fought for freedom during the revolution and represents Black voices often left out of traditional history.

The play begins as Olympe de Gouges attempts to write a story — one that unfolds before the audience’s eyes. As the characters debate friendship, activism and the promises of revolution, the tone shifts from witty and comedic to urgent and reflective. In the end, audiences learn that the imagined gathering takes place in Olympe’s mind as she walks toward the guillotine.

“The revolution should be for everybody, not just a small part of the population,” Labrie said. “Not just the men — specifically the white men.”

The production explores the tension between the French Revolution’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and women’s exclusion from those rights.

“One of the messages that really drew me to this script is ‘find your voice,’” Labrie said. “No matter who you are and what you believe, find it and know why you believe what you believe, and then stand up for it.”

The subject matter touches on feminism, political extremism and activism. AnnMarie Saunders, associate professor and theater program coordinator at CSM, emphasized that the play raises questions rather than dictating answers.

“Good theater raises questions more than it says, ‘Here’s the thing,’” Saunders said. “Does this apply now? Is this relevant to me? Who are these characters? Can I relate to someone from the 1790s?”

Kate O’Connor, who plays Marie Antoinette, has been performing at CSM since 2019. Originally from New York and now a Southern Maryland resident, O’Connor said much of her research for the play focused on the queen’s final days — a chapter often overshadowed by the spectacle of the guillotine.

“I didn’t know a lot about her time in the Temple prison and then in the Conciergerie,” O’Connor said. “They treated her awfully. They separated her from her children. They tore her wedding ring off. They took the family heirlooms.”

One story that stayed with O’Connor involved the queen’s small dog, who reportedly tried to follow her between prisons.

“He remained at the gates of the Conciergerie,” O’Connor said. “He would leave, go into town to get food, but would always return to the last place that he had seen her.”

For O’Connor, the role reveals a woman thrust into extraordinary circumstances — and judged by history in simplified terms.

“She’s someone who’s kind of thrust into this very high position in society, in a completely different place than she grew up in,” O’Connor said. “There’s a lot about her that you can connect to people today.”

Playing Marianne Angelle, the Haitian revolutionary figure inspired by real women who fought for freedom from bondage, Sunni Lii brings a contemporary lens to the stage. She said her character research revealed the layers of strength and sacrifice that resonate with people today.

“I would say the obvious one — being a Black woman and just surviving day to day,” Lii said. “Not only being a person of color but being a Black woman — it is a difference. There is a lot more that you have to be careful of.”

Lii described the emotional armor required to navigate the world as a Black woman and how that exists today as it did in the 1790s.

“That sense of loneliness and that shield of strength you always have to put on,” Lii said. “You have to be 10 times more to be half of anyone else.”

Lii said the character’s fight for freedom remains urgent.

“Fighting for the basic rights for us and for women in general,” Lii said. “Why is that something that we still have to worry about?”

Together, the two actors said the play challenges audiences to see these historical figures not as distant icons, but as women navigating fear, identity, motherhood and survival — themes that transcend centuries.

“It makes for a more engaged and immersive experience,” Saunders said. “You’re sort of all in it together.”

Audience members will enter through the wings and sit close enough to see fellow patrons’ reactions, creating what Labrie described as an intentionally intimate — almost uncomfortable — closeness that mirrors the emotional stakes of the play.

The immersive staging reflects CSM’s broader mission within the arts. The theater and dance program serves students interested in acting, technical theater or directing, offering foundational training before transferring to four-year institutions or entering the workforce.

David Robinson, dean of the School of Liberal Arts, said the arts remain essential within a community college setting.

“In liberal arts, we keep that focus on our humanities programs — theater, the arts — the things where students learn what some call soft skills,” Robinson said. “I call them human skills — being able to collaborate, communicate and work together.”

Current students are deeply involved behind the scenes of the play, running sound and light boards, building sets and managing projections. For Labrie, who retired from the Army after 34 years before diving into Southern Maryland’s theater scene, bringing this production to CSM holds special meaning.

“I’m a big fan of community colleges,” Labrie said. “It’s accessible to anybody, and there’s so much diversity on this campus. To bring something that’s talking about voice and community and making a difference — this just seems like the perfect place for a play like that.”

Tickets are $10 and available through the CSM Box Office.