Tomorrow I get to put yet another proverbial hat on my head. Once again, I have the privilege of being a co-director of this year's high school play! We are doing something a little more on the serious side this time around, something the students can really sharpen their acting skills on:
Radium Girls by D.W. Gregory. When Marie Curie discovered radium, it was deemed a miracle element that could shrink tumors, restore vitality, and provide a valuable asset to the commercial market. Gregory's drama follows the story of the young women who worked in a factory painting the faces of watches with paint mixed with radium. The radium made the paint glow, creating the first "Indiglo" watch-faces. Unfortunately, the women were told to swirl the paintbrush in between their lips to make it have a nice, sharp point which resulted in the radium poisoning of numerous workers.
Complete with glow-in-the dark paint, rotting jaws, lawsuits, and media fervor, this production is something I am truly excited about! We've got a great group of female actors who are really going to relish having a script to sink their teeth into, but I'm concerned about what we'll do if we don't get enough guys to try out as this has been a concern in the past.
As for me, my schedule just got a lot fuller, but I just love being involved. It's so great to be back in the theater. Performances are the second weekend in May, so mark your calendars now (if you're in our area, that is).
