The date is March 20, 1845, and Miss Fuller is back in town from Manhattan. She reminisces about her growing up days in Cambridgeport and Boston; her literary achievements, and adventures within the Transcendentalist group including Brook Farm residents; as well as her present employment as first female literary critic for the New York Daily Tribune. A recognized leader of local Conversations, Margaret will engage the audience with characteristic verve and candor, relating episodes about her circle of friends, philosophy, and travel pursuits. The portrayal runs approximately 30 minutes in length, with an informal Q&A to follow.

Piaia uses drama to reveal the accomplishments, struggles, and contributions of women to American history. Clad in period attire, she is acclaimed for “recreating history in the fullest sense,” and for using “solid research and compelling writing” in her artistry. She performs at educational institutions, museums, libraries, social and cultural organizations throughout New England. An eleven-site Massachusetts tour of Susan B. Anthony in Spring 1994 was supported by a grant from the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities; and a mini-grant was awarded in Fall 1997 for the program, “From Suffragist to Citizen: A Conversation with Susan B. Anthony and Eleanor Roosevelt” for three sites across the state, with Piaia (as Anthony) and Elena Dodd (as Roosevelt).

Ms. Piaia studied performance at London’s Oval House Theatre, and graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She works at Harvard University. Research for this program was conducted through conversations and at local archives. The program was presented for the 199^th birthday of Margaret Fuller’s Bicentennial Celebration committee; at Cambridge Discovery Days at Longfellow House Garden; and at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education.