Female pirate inspires award-winning screenplay

PULLMAN — The first time Ruth Gregory encountered the famous cross-dressing female pirate Anne Bonny, the 18th-century swashbuckler was about two inches tall and made of plastic.

That’s because Gregory, an associate professor in Washington State University’s Digital Technologies and Culture Program, found an action figure of Bonny at a hobby shop. Intrigued by the idea of a female pirate being immortalized in toy form, she immediately bought it.

“I was like, wait – what? There was a female pirate, and she’s an action figure?” Gregory said. “So, I bought the action figure, and I still have it. Then I started researching her to see if I could find more information.”

Gregory’s interest in Bonny quickly evolved, and eventually, she decided to write a screenplay about the pirate’s life. That screenplay, “Anne Bonny, Pirate,” recently made it to the second round of the Austin Film Festival screenwriting competition, a distinction achieved by only 20% of more than 10,000 submissions. It also won the Best of Competition award for Faculty Narrative Feature Scripting at the 2024 Broadcast Educator’s Award in April.

In Gregory’s screenplay, Bonny’s adventures unfold during the golden age of piracy. She escapes an arranged marriage and joins the crew of the infamous pirate Calico Jack by cross-dressing as a man. Bonny’s story also features a friendship with another female pirate, Mary Read, who identifies as non-binary and goes by Em. The narrative eventually leads to the capture of Bonny, Jack, and Em — culminating in Jack’s execution and Em’s death in prison. Bonny, however, escapes with the help of Jack’s mother, Isabel, who is later revealed as the narrator of the screenplay, telling Bonny’s story to her young daughter, Mary.

Bonny’s character is no stranger to cinema. She has appeared in shows including the 2014 series “Black Sails” and the 2022 series “Our Flag Means Death,” where she was portrayed by Minnie Driver. However, Bonny has never been featured in a leading role in a screenplay, a gap Gregory aimed to fill.

Gregory drew on historical accounts, popular fiction, and her imagination to portray Bonny as a woman who saw life on the high seas as a more exciting alternative to an arranged marriage with an older man. The screenplay’s climax comes when Bonny cheats the hangman’s noose by claiming to be pregnant, a fact supported by historical accounts. However, Bonny’s fate after that is a mystery – one that Gregory takes creative liberty to explore.

“Mary Read has a grave in Jamaica, but Anne Bonny just kind of disappears from history, so it’s fun to imagine what might have happened to her,” Gregory said.

Gregory has an MFA in film and spent years working in filmmaking, though she has mostly focused on the production side of the industry. This is the first screenplay she has submitted to the Austin Film Festival, and the festival organizers were surprised to learn that it was her first submission, given her success in reaching the second round.

Gregory’s goal with her work is to tell stories about marginalized figures, and Anne Bonny’s story is no exception.

“She’s unique in that she was doing things women just weren’t doing at the time – like piracy, cross-dressing, and living on her own terms, free from the typical expectations of marriage and family,” she said. “That’s what drew me to her.”

While she has plans to turn the screenplay into a film, Gregory acknowledged that it’s a challenging project.

“I want to make the biggest budget film possible on the smallest scale – though there are limitations, especially since pirate ships aren’t cheap to come by,” she said.

Gregory’s work at WSU in the Department of Digital Technology and Culture ties into the thematic elements of the screenplay. Her focus on digital cinema, sound, and animation also provides students with unique insights into storytelling. More information about Gregory can be found on her personal website.

“I wrote the screenplay for fun – it wasn’t meant to be a cornerstone of my career,” Gregory said. “But I’m happy to see that it’s gotten this far.”

    Washington State University Associate Professor Ruth Gregory.