ABOUT Now to Ashes
Now to Ashes is a play focusing on four exceptional abolitionist women: Sarah Grimke (Sally) and her sister Angelina Grimke (Nina), two Southern heiresses who left their life of privilege to work toward racial justice in Philadelphia; and Sarah Douglass and Margaretta Forten, two black leaders of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. The play is narrated by the Grimkes’ niece, Angelina Weld Grimke, a queer black poet of her time. It reflects on an extremely polarized and fraught time in American history and pulls parallels from the past to the present in order to provide guidance for confronting our current conflicted times. Each woman’s story gives the audience a varying perspective on how to respond to injustice, while introducing the audience to a fraught time period in American history: the 1830’s during the presidency of Andrew Jackson and the birth of the abolitionist and feminist movements.
The play challenges the audience to question how to individually and collectively fight against systematic racial injustice and gender injustice; how white allies can effectively fight for racial equity; why historically the abolitionists and the feminists separated after working side by side; and how this separation has perpetuated the unequal and flawed systems that we still have in place today. Now to Ashes is a critical analysis of past policies and actions, and a call to action and collectivism for future activists and co-conspirators. We believe it is extremely timely during our present moment, when each of us is asking what we can do to make a difference in the world around us.
This play is co-written by Renae Erichsen and Sarah Pultz, alongside the edits and input of sensitivity reader Renee Harleston. The play’s themes focus strongly on community and equity, and with that in mind, any production of this play must hire local artists, circulate money back to the local community, and work alongside local anti-racist and abolitionist groups fighting for racial justice, as described in the preface of the play. Overall, the playwrights fell in love with each of the women they studied and wrote about over the course of creating the script, and look forward to sharing their stories with a wider audience.
The play challenges the audience to question how to individually and collectively fight against systematic racial injustice and gender injustice; how white allies can effectively fight for racial equity; why historically the abolitionists and the feminists separated after working side by side; and how this separation has perpetuated the unequal and flawed systems that we still have in place today. Now to Ashes is a critical analysis of past policies and actions, and a call to action and collectivism for future activists and co-conspirators. We believe it is extremely timely during our present moment, when each of us is asking what we can do to make a difference in the world around us.
This play is co-written by Renae Erichsen and Sarah Pultz, alongside the edits and input of sensitivity reader Renee Harleston. The play’s themes focus strongly on community and equity, and with that in mind, any production of this play must hire local artists, circulate money back to the local community, and work alongside local anti-racist and abolitionist groups fighting for racial justice, as described in the preface of the play. Overall, the playwrights fell in love with each of the women they studied and wrote about over the course of creating the script, and look forward to sharing their stories with a wider audience.
About the Playwrights
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Renae Erichsen-Teal (co-writer) is a professional writer, actor, and singer based in the D.C. Metro area. Selected credits include the 2025 District Fringe Festival’s staged reading of Now to Ashes (playwright), the Kennedy Center 2019 Page-To-Stage Festival’s workshop of Now To Ashes (playwright), Story District's He Said, She Said, They Said (writer, storyteller), and Theatre Prometheus' Abortion Road Trip (actor) at the Capital Fringe Festival, where it was the winner of the Best Comedy Award. Renae is also a seasoned member of the Washington Chorus (singer). She received her training and education at Christopher Newport University (vocal performance, acting), Story District (storytelling/writing), and Studio Theater Conservatory (acting). (renaeerichsen.com)
Sarah Pultz (co-writer) is a Playwright and Freelance Dramaturg living in the Washington, DC area. Her main skill sets include script editing, research, and assistant directing. She has worked with multiple up-and-coming playwrights and has helped produce plays at the D.C. Fringe Festival as well as other small, local theatre companies. Sarah attended The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama where she received her M.A in Theatre Criticism and Dramaturgy. Since then, she has focused her career on facilitating new art and helping new artists discover and develop their voices. (sarahpultz.com) |
