Celebrating Women’s History Month with “These Shining Lives”
Margaret Morris
“But we’re just girls who wanted to work, Ordinary girls. . . For that moment, while time turned its face, we were all there, And we were shining.” Melanie Marnich, “These Shining Lives”
In conjunction with National Women’s History Month in March, the Plaza Alliance for the Performing Arts (PAPA) presents the Melanie Marnich play, “These Shining Lives,” at The Plaza Arts Center in Eatonton on March 3-5.
Marnich, who writes and produces television shows like Showtime’s The Big C and the upcoming Amazon series The Expatriates, based “These Shining Lives” on the true story of The Radium Girls. The Radium Girls is a nickname for those women who worked for the Radium Dial Company in Illinois as well as the United States Radium Corporation in New Jersey in the 1920s and 30s. The Radium Girls painted a radium-based compound on the dials of clocks and watches to create a glow-in-the-dark effect. A “lip, dip, paint” approach required the women to put the brush to their mouth during the painting process. This led to serious illnesses and deaths that the company failed to attribute to radium. Ultimately, the radium permeated the women’s bodies and caused a radioactive glow or “shining” of their skin. (It is noted that during the turn of the 20th century, radium, a newly discovered chemical, was touted as a cure-all for a multitude of ailments and as a beauty aid when used in cosmetics. This radioactive chemical was even put in toothpaste.)
“These Shining Lives” looks at the lives of four of those women who worked for The Radium Dial Company in Illinois: Catherine, Frances, Pearl, and Charlotte. These are women who dared. These are women who really lived. Set in a time when they have the right to vote and are faced with the opportunity to work and earn wages, the women dared to work. Although “These Shining Lives” tells a serious story, the play reflects a humor and camaraderie among the women as they seek their place in the workplace while finding a balance with their families. They make us laugh and cry. Their story rings true.
The Radium Girls dared to persevere. When Catherine is fired because of her illness, she is persuaded to demand accountability from the less-than-forthcoming company. The other women bear witness and stand in support of her efforts.
They dared to seek justice. The Radium Girls took their employer to court and received judgments. These historic judgments have had an impact on present day industrial safety and regulation as well as on occupational diseases. Interestingly, the Manhattan Project, the project that developed the atomic bomb, used the information from The Radium Girls’ trial decision to initiate the development of protective clothing as well as creating an environment safe for workers in contact with radioactive materials.
It is appropriate that The Radium Girls’ story, “These Shining Lives,” is told through actors on the Plaza stage during National Women’s History Month. This history-based show is a tribute to the courage of the women who stood together to have an impact on workers’ lives and safety.
Tickets and performance times for PAPA’s “These Shining Lives” are available online at www.plazacenter.org. “These Shining Lives” is presented through special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. For more information on other arts related events in the area, please visit the Lake Country Arts Alliance website at www.lakecountryarts.org.