{"id":79601,"date":"2026-09-23T08:14:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T12:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=79601"},"modified":"2026-09-23T08:14:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T12:14:27","slug":"utc-theatre-co-presents-the-revolutionists-oct-6-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-theatre-co-presents-the-revolutionists-oct-6-10\/","title":{"rendered":"UTC Theatre Co. presents \u201cThe Revolutionists\u201d Oct. 6-10"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Four

The cast of the UTC Theatre Co.\u2019s \u201cThe Revolutionists\u201d includes (clockwise from top left) Mahogany Sales as Marianne Angelle, Gracie Headrick as Marie Antoinette, Cameron Schulz as Charlotte Corday, and Lily Phillips as Olympe de Gouges. Photo courtesy of UTC Theatre Co.<\/p><\/div>\n

When the world is falling apart, what can\u2014and should\u2014an artist do?<\/p>\n

That question drives \u201cThe Revolutionists,\u201d Lauren Gunderson\u2019s irreverent comedy about four women who find themselves at the center of the French Revolution\u2019s Reign of Terror. The UTC Theatre Co. will present the production at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6-10, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Oct. 10, in the Dorothy Hackett Ward Theatre in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Fine Arts Center.<\/p>\n

Tickets can be purchased online by clicking here<\/strong><\/a> and through the UTC Fine Arts Center Box Office, either in person or by phone at 423-425-4269. Tickets are $20 for general admission, plus service fees, and $15 for students (with a valid student ID) and seniors.<\/p>\n

The Fine Arts Center is located on the UTC campus at the intersection of Dr. Roland Carter Street (formerly known as Vine Street) and Palmetto Street. Parking is available in the adjacent Lupton Hall Parking Garage (700 Vine St.).<\/p>\n

Set in 1793, Gunderson\u2019s play brings together playwright and activist Olympe de Gouges; Charlotte Corday, who assassinated revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat; former French queen Marie Antoinette; and Marianne Angelle, a fictional Haitian revolutionary fighting against slavery.<\/p>\n

As Olympe tries to write a play about the Revolution, the women press her to decide what action she is willing to take. The comedy uses contemporary language, satire and present-day references to explore political violence, friendship, feminism, artistic responsibility and the stories history chooses to remember.<\/p>\n

Associate Professor Anne Swedberg, coordinator of UTC\u2019s acting concentration, directs the production.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe four characters in the play are lifting their voices against the Reign of Terror to the best of their abilities,\u201d Swedberg said. \u201cIn their revolt and their protest against a dangerously bloodthirsty and oppressive regime, they generate the kind of energetic push-back that I associate with feminist punk.\u201d<\/p>\n

That punk influence shapes the production\u2019s visual and musical approach. Swedberg said the cast wears French Revolution-era wigs and costumes \u201cwith an added punk rock flair,\u201d while theatre design students and faculty developed the concept.<\/p>\n

Swedberg said working with the cast, crew and musicians has been \u201ca joy,\u201d particularly during a shortened rehearsal period this fall.<\/p>\n

The four-person cast includes UTC students:<\/p>\n