"If one woman were to tell the truth about her life, the world would split open."
-Muriel Rukeyser
These Shining Lives takes as a lens the strength and determination of women considered expendable in their day, exploring their true story and its continued resonance. Theirs is a story of survival in its most transcendent sense, as they reufse to allow the company that stole their health to kill their spirits- or endanger the lives of those who come after them. When one of the women voices their fears, that "Nothing will fix this," Catherine agrees, "No. But someone has to let people know it's broken." So, knowing their fates are sealed, they launch an uphill battle to hold companies responsible for employee safety. It's a story that's far too timely and has a lasting legacy.
When choosing a production for this year, I wanted to look for something with contemporary relevance, but also with historical content. Bertolt Brecht believed that theatre had a responsibility to its audience- we should not just be moved, we should be educated. When I first read the play, I became fascinated with the story of the Radium Girls. A story of the Gilded Age, jazz, feminism and the rights of workers, and a story that very few people know about. A monument was erected in their honor in 2011 in Ottawa, Illinois. 50 years after their deaths, their remains were still highly radioactive.
We hope the presentation of this play keeps the spirit of these "Radium Girls" alive. Catherine Donahue, Charlotte Purcell, Frances O'Connell, and Pearl Payne were living women, and theirs is a true story- the students and I hope that we've honored their memories by sharing this heartbreaking and yet ultimately uplifting story about the resiliency of the human spirit.
-Andrea Galeno, Director
