Hartford Stage to Co-Produce Reading of These Shining Lives 8/1
By: Gabrielle Sierra
Hartford Stage is co-producing a free reading of Melanie Marnich's play These Shining Lives in collaboration with the American Clock and Watch Museum, located in Bristol, CT, on Monday, August 1. Maxwell Williams directs. The reading takes place in conjunction with the museum's exhibit, "The Role of Women in the Clock Industry: From Small Scale Painting to Large Scale Production." A reading of the play was first produced at Hartford Stage's Brand:NEW Festival of New Work in 2006. Support for the reading is provided by a Neighborhood Arts & Heritage grant from the Greater Hartford Arts Council, the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce, and from the New England Spring & Metalstamping Association (NESMA).
These Shining Lives tells the true story of four of the "radium girls," young women in the 1920's and '30's who hand-painted numbers on the faces of clocks and watches with radium paint, subsequently becoming terminally ill and losing their jobs when they could no longer work. Theirs is a story of survival and transcendence, as they refuse to allow the company that stole their health to kill their spirits or endanger the lives of those who come after them.When: Monday, August 1, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.Where: American Clock and Watch Museum, 100 Maple Street, Bristol, CTHow: Free and open to the public on a first come, first served basis; reservations suggested. For reservations call the museum 860-583-6070 or email info@clockmuseum.org . For additional information about the museum, visit the website www.clockandwatchmuseum.org.Videos