| Newspaper Articles |
| Westborough Public Library January 2008. |
Sylvia Tremblay looks at a hat worn by
actress Rita Parisi after her "Teas in Time"
performance at the Middleton Senior Center.
Heather Mancini/Staff Photo
actress Rita Parisi after her "Teas in Time"
performance at the Middleton Senior Center.
Heather Mancini/Staff Photo
| Rita Parisi as Mrs. Gordon explaining about life in Edwardian Times Nesmith Library, Windham NH |
excerpted from July 7, 2006 article by Michelle Curran
A group of ladies gather at the Newburyport Public Library. One of
them, sitting front and center in a lavender, empire waist dress sips
daintily on a cup of tea. She talks excitedly about a recent day trip to
Boston she took with her husband, who was in the city on business.
She paid 25 cents and saw her first moving picture show, "Moscow
Clad in Snow". She visited Jordan Marsh and Filene's, where she
perused a selection of scenery spectacles and traded in her India ink
for a new product called mascara. Mrs. Gordon also tells her rapt
audience about the upcoming introduction of the Model T and female
gymnasts in the Olympics, the way women can give their hair a
permanent wave if they have 12 hours to spare at the beauty parlor
and how she witnesses some women bashfully purchasing a new thing
from Paris called lingerie. "They asked to have it wrapped up in brown
paper to take it away," Mrs. Gordon told her laughing guests. "But
they came back for more," she said smiling mischievously. And if it
sounds like you've stepped back in time, you have-sort of. Mrs.
Gordon is actually actress, Rita Parisi, who for the last year, has been
making her rounds as a Edwardian-era woman-and informing people
about the trends, technology and people of 1908. "For some reason, I
was smitten by the Edwardian time period, " said Parisi. "I've always
loved history. History and acting go hand in hand." She created "Teas
in Time"-a one-woman interactive, historical narrative that turns
audience members in Mrs. Gordon's guests at an afternoon tea
party-and started performing her show in 2005. "It was basically a way
to use my creativity.", said Parisi. Over two dozen women attended
Parisi's performance, some dressing the part, donning wide-brimmed
hats and coming armed with questions about the time period in which
Mrs. Gordon lived. "I think I attract people who like history. The
response has been overwhelmingly positive,", she said "you can't ask
for better audiences." Parisi has appeared in a number of area plays
and she said she feels most comfortable performing in intimate
settings. This is obvious during her library show as she converses
with her guests and answers their questions about a time she has
learned about through thorough research. "I get my information from
everywhere," she said. Books, magazines, the internet-you name it,
she reads it. Parisi also studies dress books in order to make her own
costumes. "I pride myself on being authentic."
Rita demonstrating the
effect of the S-Curve
corset on a lady's figure.
effect of the S-Curve
corset on a lady's figure.
| Time Traveling at the Library excerpted from the North Andover Citizen September 2, 2005 article by Sally Applegate If you close your eyes while listening to the gentle murmuring sound of women laughing in the Stevens Memorial Library, you can imagine them all in fancy Victorian dresses and hats. A group of North Andover women is enjoying the Victorian Tea being held by historic reenactor, Rita Parisi at the "brand New" library on Main Street in North Andover. The date is August 25, 1908 and the new library was just completed last year in 1907. The genteel lady facing us is dressed in a sweet white empire gown and most engaging hat topped with pink feathers. She has invited us to share afternoon tea and hear about her adventures on her recent trip to Boston. She and her husband took the Boston and Maine railroad to North Station and then a hackney carriage to downtown Boston. Parisi stands up to show off her empire dress, exclaiming how it has saved women from the dreaded S-curve corset. That demonic device forced women's abdomen backwards forcing them to walk leaning forward, exclaims the indignant Parisi. Its heavy bones and unrealistically narrow waist caused "a lot of shallow breathing. Its why women fainted at times." says Parisi. |
| "Some of those corsets were laced so tightly one needed to walk with the support of a cane, an umbrella, or a man's arm. On her recent trip to Boston with her husband, says Parisi, she was startled and annoyed at all the traffic on Commonwealth Avenue. She registers her outrage at the collection of those new-fangled automobiles all over the street. "There are Model A Fords, Stanley Steamers, and Cadillacs,"says Parisi."Did you know those Cadillacs cost $2500-$3000 each? Most people don't make that much in three years." "And those new Model T Fords cost $850 and come in any color you like, as long as its black," says Parisi. She visited the BFK Theater on Tremont Street to view the latest moving pictures on Thomas Edison's Vitagraph Machine. There are also "risqué" films being shown on Nickelodeons in storefronts for five cents each to see them on"dirty, worn-out screens,"says Parisi. She also shares some tidbits from a 1908 Ladies home Journal she has brought with her. Charming and animated, Parisi brings her audience into the quaint often humorous world of 1908. |
Stevens Memorial Library,
North Andover MA 2005
North Andover MA 2005
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Edwardian Tea Transports Nesmith Audience Back in Time by Lynne Ober Windham’s Nesmith Library went back in time to the Belle Epoque (1900 - 1914), when the Afternoon Tea was the social forum for ladies, who would often engage in lively discussions about the latest fashions and social concerns. “It’s May 7, 1908,” began Rita Parisi, dressed in a period costume. “My husband owns a hardware store.” Parisi drew a verbal picture of life in 1908. She talked about traveling to Boston from Amesbury on the Boston and Maine Railroad. “It took about one and a half hours to get to Boston’s North Station from Amesbury. Once there my husband would go about his business and I would explore the city on my own.” Parisi was a charming and animated storyteller who skillfully drew her audience back in time. On her recent trip to Boston with her husband, says Parisi, she was startled and annoyed at all the traffic on Commonwealth Avenue. She registered her outrage at the collection of those new-fangled automobiles all over the street. "There are Model A Fords, Stanley Steamers, and Cadillacs," stated Parisi. "Did you know those Cadillacs cost $2,500 - $3,000 each? Most people don't make that much in three years. And those new Model T Fords cost $850 and come in any color you like, as long as its black," she commented. Parisi, elegant, middle-aged fashionista from the period, led her tea guests in a lively conversation, encouraging questions, and comments as the afternoon’s tea progresses. Showing her audience the “latest” 1908 Ladies Home Journal, she comments on fashion and shares tips from for women from the journal. “It was an entertaining afternoon with glimpses into the lives of our grandmothers,” said Judy. |
