Work Exchange for Oven Events

By Susan Woodworth

Recent articles in What She Wants have addressed the functioning of communities and the importance of the availability of goods and services for their health and survival. Within the Cleveland women's community, Oven Productions produces cultural events to strengthen our bonds with each other and hopefully to inspire and entertain us.

Since 1975 Oven has depended solely on admissions to events and loans from the women's community to do its work. The cost of production work has almost doubled since 1975, and ticket prices have risen accordingly. Our ticket prices are based on a budget for each event which hopefully will just cover our expenses. Those expenses include a fee to Oven for our own maintenance (office, phone, equipment, etc.) and fees for sound and light technicians and a child-care person when possible. Many of our expenses are largely non-negotiable-performers' fees, hall rentals, postage, etc. No Oven staff person is paid for her work at this time, unless a special situation warrants it, such as the Variety Show Toordinator job. Ticket prices are determined by the size of the budget and the number of seats in the hall.

From the audience standpoint it may seem that a lot of money is changing hands at big events and that Oven Productions must make money in the process. We can meet that observation with one of our own: women will support the events that meet their standards and willingly pay the price, whether Oven makes any money in the long run or not. In the face of a depressed economy, we also realize that support for women's services from funding sources is getting more precarious all the time. Most women's organizations do fundraising within the women's community by direct appeal or by holding fundraising events. To support everything one would like to support can be pretty expensive. We encourage our audience to support our pursuit of quality and diversity in women's culture, and to take advantage of a way to make it less expensive to attend Oven events. The concept is work exchange-doing work in exchange for reduced or free admission to an event. Oven can use help in producing events in very specific ways:

1) If you live or work in an area where you don't sec or hear publicity for our cvents, help us get the word out if you think people in that area would be receptive. You can help by posting flyers in offices, schools, libraries, stores, bars, at meetings, in newsletters, sports events, etc.

2) On the day of the event we often need help in several areas. One job is to help move sound and lighting equipment from a storage area to another hall and back again after the event. We also need women with vans or covered pick-ups to haul equipment.

3) Help by selling tickets at the door, handing out programs, doing security, parking, etc., at the site of the event.

4) Help by tending bar, selling tickets, or doing security at an Oven-sponsored party.

5) Help with childcare. This job is not normally handled with work exchange because it usually means missing an entire event. This is a paying job.

6) Write reviews or take photos. We need reviews of our events for WSH and black/white photos too. These are some of the ways we have handled work exchange in the past, but we are willing to talk about

(continued on page 14)

International WOMEN'S DAY

Women's History Week

The history of International Women's Day dates back to 1856, when on March 8th, women textile and garment workers marched from their sweatshops on New York's Lower East Side, protesting unsafe and oppressive working conditions. As they headed toward wealthier neighborhoods uptown, they were beaten and dispersed by police. But they continued to fight. Three years later they formed their own union. On this date in 1908, women workers again marched in the streets of New York City, still demanding an end to sweatshops and child labor and also demanding the right to vote. This time too they were beaten and dispersed by police. In 1910, the International Socialist Congress held in Denmark passed a resolution declaring March 8th International Women's Day, a celebration of working class women. The day was observed in the 1920's and 1930's and has been revived over the past 9 years in many cities in the United States.

Nationally, the commemoration has been extended to a full week of events which comprise Women's History Week. The following calendar of local events was compiled by the Greater Cleveland National Women's History Week Committee, made up of individuals from CWRU, the Cleveland City Schools, the Cleveland HeightsUniversity Heights City Schools, The Street Law Program of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University, the Shaker Heights Schools, the Lakewood Schools, WomenSpace, the Women Historians of Greater Cleveland and the Lake Erie Girl Scout Council.

Sunday, March 6

WGAR, 7 a.m.-Non-Traditional Careers, sponsored by CSU's Women's Comprehensive Program WJMO, 2 p.m.-Why Study Women's History?, sponsored by CSU Women's Comprehensive Program

Monday, March 7

Women in Cleveland History, sponsored by WomenSpace and the Women Historians of Greater Cleveland. Stories of the lives of Hanna Huntington, early settler; Rebecca Rouse, active in temperance, poor relief and orphan care; Flora Stone Mather, founder of Flora Stone Mather College for Women, one of the forerunners of Western Reserve College; Jane Hunter, founder of the Phyllis Wheatley Association for the education of black women; Adella Prentiss Hughes, manager of the Musical Arts Association, parent organization of the Cleveland Orchestra; and Florence Allen, suffragist and lawyer, first woman judge of the Federal Court of Appeals. 8 p.m., The Civic, free and open to the public.

Tuesday, March 8-International Women's Day

Tanya Griffith Portrays Susan B. Anthony, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Brecksville Old Town Hall, Public Square, Brecksville. Co-sponsored by WomenSpace and the Brecksville Department of Human Relations. Tickets $3 at the door.

Also performed 7:30-8:30 p.m., Grace Presbyterian Church, 1659 Rosewood Avenue, Lakewood. Tickets $3 at the door. Sponsored by WomenSpace.

Thursday, March 10

George, as in Sand, one-act one-woman play written by Lee Bollinger-Longo. Sponsored by the CSU Women's Comprehensive Program. 8 p.m. at Mather Mansion. Admission $3 at the door.

Friday, March 11

The Role of Women in the Western Reserve, photographic display loaned by the Cleveland Heritage Project. Sponsored by the Greater Cleveland National Women's History Week Committee. The Old Arcade.

Echoes of Her Image, The History of International Women's Day. Slide show created by Gamma Vision, distributed by Washington State Shelter Network. Sponsored by the Greater Cleveland National Women's History Week Committee. On view all day at The Old Arcade.

The Role of Women and the Family in the 19th Century as Expressed on Tombstones, Dr. Ruth Butler, art historian. Co-sponsored by the CSU Art Department and the Women's Comprehensive Program. Noon, Art Department gallery, free and open to the public.

Women's History Week Celebration at Cuyahoga Community College (Western Campus), 11000 Pleasant Valley Rd., Parma, Rooms G04A and G04B. 6:30 p.m. wine and cheese social followed by dinner; 8:00 Tanya Griffith portrays Eleanor Roosevelt. $10 for entire evening, $2 for performance only. Women's Work in the Western Reserve, photographic display loaned by the Western Reserve Historical Society, will be on display throughout the evening. Sponsored by the Greater Cleveland National Women's History Week Committee. For more information, call 845-4000, Ext. 5503.

International Women's Day Celebration, sponsored by the International Socialist Organization. Potluck dinner 6:30 p.m.; What Can You Do With a Nickel?, a film about Black and Hispanic domestic workers in the Bronx fighting for a union, and speakers Natividad Pagan (activist, Hispanic Parents Union) and Anna Palmer, Cincinnati ISO, beginning at 7:30. The Civic, 3130 Mayfield Road, Cleveland Heights. Donation $2. For more information, call 371-7648 or 371-2370.

Page 2/What She Wants/March, 1983