By Jax Martin
Unless you’ve been under a proverbial, or perhaps even literal rock, you’ve most likely heard of the latest show that Lancer Productions is putting on--Radium Girls. It's a retelling of one of the darker and overlooked facets of the 1920s--Radium Girls painted watch faces with glow-in-the-dark radium, unaware of the dangers. This play portrays their attempt to get the company to pay for its mistakes. In today’s article, I hope you take you behind the scenes to give you the scoop of what’s been happening over in the Aud, as well as to give you a better appreciation of the play as we move forward to our weekend shows.
Even though this happened over a hundred years ago, this could still happen today, and it’s important to be aware -- Adison Greer
Over the past few weeks, as I’ve been going about my duties as an actor, I’ve been interviewing a few people involved in the production. Production had started over the summer, continuing onward until today, for almost three months now. Everyone involved has worked so hard to make this production possible.
Adison Greer
A few days ago, I interviewed Adison Greer, the lead actress, who plays Grace Fryer, one of the Radium Girls. In our interview, Adison spoke a lot about the cast and crew--over 40 people combined worked together to make this production possible--saying, “I think the cast and crew are both so talented, and I have been really glad to get to know everyone better while doing the show. I think it is just the perfect group of people for this show.” As Adison is a senior, this is her last straight show, but also her first time leading a straight show. She spoke about some of the challenges, telling me, “I think that this role is a big part of the show and I think that is such a challenging part, making sure you’re not only knowing what you have to do, but also that your representing the character properly, because Grace Fryer was a real person, and I think that is super important.” That was a big sentiment she spoke about, that the character she was playing was a person, a real person. When asked about what she hoped that the audience would take away from the show, she said, “The most important thing that people should take out of the show is the modern implications of it. Even though this happened over a hundred years ago now, this could still happen today, and it’s just something important to be aware of, and just make sure that you’re doing your part and taking note when things are not going how they should.”
Collin Meinert
Next, I spoke to Collin Meinert. Collin plays Tom, a Reporter, Knef, and a Venecine salesman. Collin plays a number of different roles, a trait shared by every cast member, apart from the two leads. That hasn’t been easy, as Collin told me, “For me, this has been a very new kind of experience, so it’s been a bit difficult trying to figure out what I’m doing and how to embody this character, and especially so many different characters, but it has gotten easier as time has gone on. It’s been a lot of fun.” He also told me about every relatable problem, all of the quick changes. “More recently, there's been a lot of quick changes i’ve had to start doing, so that’s been hard.” I get it, Collin. As the humble performer of four quick changes in Act two, I feel your pain. While Collin is a senior, like me, this is his 3rd show, having started performing during Junior year, so this has been new for him. “It’s been a lot of fun, and I wouldn’t be doing any of this if it wasn’t fun for me. It gives me a lot of experience. I’ve been in plays and musicals before, but never in such a serious role, or such a serious show. It’s challenged me a bit and it has made me a lot better.” When asked what he wants viewers to take away from this show, he echoed a similar sentiment to Adison, “This is a show about real people, real events. It’s something real that happened to people. The characters in this show who fought for change fought really hard for a really long time, but after a long time it happened. It came true.”
Charlotte Madden
Next, taking a break from the actors, I spoke to Charlotte Madden. Charlotte is the one of the hair designers for this show. Despite being out of the spotlight, Charlotte and her fellow techies work just as hard as we do to make the show come together. Charlotte spoke to me about one of her challenges: “all of the girls have longer and thicker hair, and this time period is very much short bobs with lots of crimps. It’s been challenging to work around their hair and my hair designs.” Charlotte, a junior, as hair designer, not only does hair, but also designs hairdos for every one in the show, as well as teaching her costume crew how to do hair. Most of the time, Charlotte is out on the stage, but this time she is in the crew, a new experience for her. She told me, “I think my favorite part has been getting to do the crew side. I’ve never been on a crew, I’ve usually been on stage, so I’m actually excited to work behind the scenes and kinda see what all the crew puts into a production. It’s super fun, because I love doing hair, and I love getting to do all their hair styles.” Like so many others in the cast, Charlotte makes her passion known, always being a beacon of positivity throughout the play. Charlotte also serves as my dresser, helping me out during my numerous quick changes, so personally, it has been a joy to work with her. Charlotte too spoke about what she wants audience members to take away, saying, “I think the biggest think to take away from this is how important th[e] movement was for the girls, who just could’ve been another girl, but they decided to stand up for themselves, and I think that’s just such a big message for anybody out there to hear.”
Keegan Panther
Finally, I spoke to our male lead, Keegan Panther, who plays Arthur Roeder, the President of the US Radium Corporation. Keegan, a senior, is playing his first leading role at Lancer Productions, and it certainly has been hard. Keegan has worked to convey his character to the audience; he told me, “The most challenging part for me was definitely learning the character and all the things that he had gone through to put [the] girls in order to force the girls to do what they had to do, so the hardest part for me was trying to convey that demeanor to the audience.” That’s not to say that it hasn't been bad, however. Keegan told me about how much he has enjoyed telling the story and character of Roeder. He told me about his development, or rather his descent, saying, “The best part of this role to me, I would say, would be the development [you] can see him go through. In the beginning, he’s very uptight, a very strict businessman, but as the show goes on and we get more into act two, [you] can kinda see the breakdown of him.” One of the most important things to him would definitely be telling the stories of the girls. “It's something that happened, and I think everyone should know that.” Finally, like the others I interviewed, he spoke about what went into portraying a real person, stating, “I definitely researched who he was as an actual person because I think we have to remember that these are real people. And yes, while it is more dramatic, and these events didn’t technically happen as they are written, we still have to remember that this did happen, and this was a real life event.” He ended it off on a perfect note: “I just want them to know how it happened.”
Buy Your Tickets!
I think that is truly what every single one of us at Lancer Productions want you to know: how it happened. Shows Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 2pm. You can buy tickets here, to view me, the author, Jax Martin, but also all the other talented individuals who have worked hard to bring this story to you.
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