By Abigale Paterniti, Editor-in-Chief
Gory and heart-knotting, blood capsules and glow-in-the-dark paint, Radium Girls, River Hill’s Fall Play, will light up the stage from November 6th to 9th.
The true story of young factory women in the 1920s, depicted as meek and mild, with passion building to a climax on the issue of women’s and workers’ rights.
“The RHHS community can definitely expect drama and suspense, and a strong cast of characters. Without spoiling too much, you can expect to see SFX makeup, interesting lighting, and really impressive and convincing acting,” said senior Elise Marcus, who plays the female lead of Radium Girls, Grace Fryer.
With thirty five roles and only around sixteen actors, many students play multiple characters.
“We always talk about how theater is not a competition for parts, but it’s more like a puzzle. Trying to fit where the strengths are for the actors as well as the performance as a whole,” said River Hill Theater Director Mrs. Meghan Meyer.
Auditions began Labor Day, and ever since, actors and actresses have been busy practicing lines in and outside the classroom.
“As tech week approaches, I’m definitely feeling the stress, especially since I’ve had to memorize probably 3 times as many lines as I have for any other show,” said Elise.
Similar to the play Trap, Radium Girls is in a documentary style; however, it differs as a completely non-fiction story and is more dramatic than Six.
“Everyone seems really excited to bring the fight of these girls to life on stage. And really, that’s kind of the point of doing this to tell stories that do not get heard otherwise,” said Mrs. Meyer.
The River Hill Community should be most excited to see students in a different light. Through tech week and learning lines, students get the chance to bond with one another and develop their performance quality, to tell the story of these young women with drama. Throughout the process, there are notable standout moments among the cast and crew.
“When you’re learning a piece of the dance and you’re like, wait, this is really clicking for me, or you’re seeing somebody else do their lines and you’re like, wow, they’re just perfect for this role,” said Senior Leyly Rezaei, who plays Irene Rudolph and Catherine Wylie.
As a woman-centric story with a female lead, Radium Girls sends a strong message.
“I think it’s really important today that we’re fighting for workers’ rights and empowering women,” said Mrs. Meyer. “These topics are coming back around to be more important these days than they were even a few years ago.”