From Director Shalee Coleman:
“In September 1922, the peculiar infection that had plagued Mollie Maggia for less than a year spread to the tissues of her throat. The disease “Slowly ate its way through her jugular vein.” On September 12…her mouth was flooded with blood as she hemorrhaged so fast…Her mouth, empty of teeth, empty of jawbone, empty of words, filled with blood, instead until it spilled over her lips and down her stricken, shaken face. … She died, her sister Quinta said a “painful and terrible death.” She was just twenty-four years old.” Page 39 of The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
Hello, thank you for attending today’s performance of These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich. By this time you have paid for your ticket, gotten this program, said hello to people you may recognize around you and are settling in for a moment of solitude as you look at the bios of this talented cast and crew. But wait a minute, you may begin to notice some other familiar faces around you sitting or mingling with the audience, those of Lauren Schulke, Maggie Mae Sulentic, and Ashe Jaafaru. Then you just may happen to look over to your left and see Karina Hunt or Alison Knauss in the booth gearing up to call the show.
If you hadn’t noticed, I am drawing your attention to them now because it can be very easy as an audience member to get caught up in the lights, sound and beautiful performances of a play. Easy to retreat behind the fourth wall engaging in the ritual of taking your seat and respectfully watching the show. All waiting for that moment when the final blackout occurs so that you can respond to the material you just saw however you see fit as the cast takes their bows and leaves the stage. I am drawing your attention to the cast sitting with you in the audience because I want you to see these actors how I saw them on the first day of rehearsal: They are a group of young women, all with distinctly different personalities and styles, day jobs and families: lives. A group of women who work like you and I work. They are all in their early to mid-twenties, just like me. Just like you are, were, or will be. So after reading Kate Moore’s book in preparation to direct this show I sat at our first rehearsal with this amazing cast, and couldn’t help but look at these actors and myself and think how lucky are we to not have suffered an early tragic death like Mollie Maggia. How lucky are we to be living in 2017 and not in 1921.
But I have to stop myself and you from lingering on that thought.
Because while that might be true, that doesn’t mean this story, about a group of ordinary women taking on a gigantic corporate machine and winning isn’t relevant to right now. White women still make 78 cents to every white man’s dollar, while black women and latinas make 64 and 54 cents. The United States is still one only 3 countries on the planet that does not offer paid maternity or paternity leave. There are men, mostly latino, in California’s trucking industry who are working in indentured servitude taking home paychecks of 75 cents. Companies are still protected by law to discriminate against black women’s natural hair styles. CTUL is out in the lobby combatting wage theft. There are fights across the country for a $15 minimum wage and paid sick leave. We have many battles left to fight. And the only way we have ever won was with the involvement of ordinary people like the Radium Girls; ordinary people like Maggie, Lauren, Ashe, Ashley, Alison, Karina, like Brandon Holscher and Ryan Lee ,also in the audience, like me, like you.
That is why for the duration of this production you will see these actors assume their roles in contemporary clothing amongst period furniture, accessories, and props. To remind us at every moment that even though this story took place decades ago, we can still see ourselves in these ordinary but brave people; to give us courage to fight like they fought.
So please, enjoy These Shining Lives by Melanie Marich, and learn from Catherine. Then join us in the fight. There are a couple of amazing organizations in the lobby who have some ideas on where to start.
