SHELBURNE FALLS — Author, interfaith minister and women’s leadership activist Sarah Pirtle will ask people to consider the women in their lives who have lifted them up and helped them become who they are in her new one-woman show, “Growing Up Girl of Hope.”
Pirtle will launch her show with a free house concert at the Water Street Barn, 31 Water St., on Sunday, Aug. 9, at 3 p.m. Pirtle said the show will include approximately 45 minutes of songs and stories, and a brief period for attendees to discuss and reflect on the women in their lives. The program will end with a few more songs about the “visionary women” who have inspired Pirtle in her own life.
“I’m hoping that the people who come will think about the people in their lives who expanded them,” Pirtle said.
Pirtle said she has been inspired by the supportive nature of the women’s movement for decades, noting that she had joined the Cleveland Women’s Liberation Group when she was 19 and she was moved by how encouraging its members were.
Throughout the program, Pirtle will tell tales of different women, such as Anita Pickett, the founder of Rowe Camp, who inspired her.
Pirtle said she never met Pickett personally, but hearing stories about her while she was a girl attending the camp encouraged her to pursue her passions.
“Just hearing about her … she opened up the world for me,” Pirtle said. “There were no women ministers in the 1960s, and she was one of the first. I already knew I wanted to become a minister, but she really inspired me.”
“I find Sarah’s program important, timely and very thought-provoking. I’m delighted we’ll be launching it here,” Ann McCormack, director of Water Street Barn, said in a statement. “She sparks appreciation of the women in our own lives and makes you want to learn more about the inspiring women she presents.”
The one-woman show is something Pirtle said she has been wanting to do for decades, and includes songs she’s written from the ages of 24 to 74.
Following the performance at the Water Street Barn, Pirtle hopes to offer the program to libraries and places of worship, and schedule additional performances.
“I’m so excited it’s finally coming together,” Pirtle said. “It’s been my life’s mission to make people feel they can share their gifts with the world.”
