The Progress
The theatre students at Virgin Valley High School returned to the stage for their first play of the year which ran from December 9-11 and a special sneak peek performance for youth groups on Wednesday Dec. 8.
The historical drama, “Radium Girls” by D.W. Gregory, was performed at 6:30 each night with the exception of a matinee performance at 3 pm on Saturday.
“It was more like art, painting those dials. We were artists.” said factory worker Grace Fryer (played by Maddison Marshall and Lydia Wakefield) as she recalls her days of painting luminous watch dials in the U.S. Radium plant. The play portrays for the audience a briskly paced cinematic experience elaborating the struggles of working-class women between 1918 and 1928.
The play follows the initial excitement and patriotism of the women workers in contributing to the boys during the war. But it takes a twist when the girls in the factory begin falling deadly ill.
The high school actors were very expressive in their roles, leaving the audience rooting for justice to be served for the working women and those who were against them.
Wakefield, who played the lead role on Wednesday and Saturday, said, “This has been super fun with the cast, and I always have a great time with all these different plays. This one is bittersweet, though, because it really made it feel like I was a senior and I’m super sad about that!”
Marshall (who played the lead part on Thursday and Friday) said “I’m going to miss playing the character so much but it’s kind of a relief to be done. The hardest part was definitely showing up and being all-in during rehearsals.”
Kiera Davis played the role of Irene, a factory worker, and Miss Wiley, an advocate for the factory workers. “It was really cool that we could all come together from different backgrounds to perform a play that has so much history and relevance to our times,” she said. “It came together really well and we’re all super thankful for everybody who came out to support us!”
This was Josh Matthews’s first production. He played Arthur Order, the president of the U.S. Radium Corporation. “Something I really loved about the play was just being able to hang out with everyone,” Matthews said. “It was really fun to come in after school to come together, have fun, learn our lines, and stuff like that. That was just one of the main things I loved.”
Travis Terry, who had several roles, said “The show days are kind of stressful, but I really enjoyed this play and being part of this cast. It was different from other shows I’ve been in, so it was hard adjusting to a more serious concept, but I think it’s a really good story that needs to be told.”
After the final night, Theater Coach and Teacher Kelly Zarndt said “There’s always sadness because we spend so much time together. But the kids did such a fantastic job and I’m so very proud of them. They worked so hard and then it’s done in three nights. I’m just very proud of the work they’ve done.”
