BWW Previews: FOUR LOCAL BLAKE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS SHINE ON STAGE IN UNSETTLING DRAMA, CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE at Powerstories Theatre

From a sweet true love story set to music to a harrowing factual drama about girls abandoned to the workhouse laundries in Ireland, four Blake High School students have grown up on Powerstories Theatre's stage.

Sophomore Faith House, juniors Elyse Mulholland, Michelle Chrein, and senior Elena Tarpley began their Powerstories journey cast as a family in theatre founder Fran Powers' biographical musical TWELVE and now are featured as victims of horrific abuse at the hands of the Catholic Church in CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE: THE MAGDALENE LAUNDRIES.

The girls' performances have thoroughly impressed director Fran Powers, transforming from songs and choreography to learning proper Irish dialect and hand-to-hand combat skills.

"All four of the cast from Blake High school who are currently in CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE: MAGDALENE LAUNDRIES, I have had the pleasure of seeing them grow as actors portraying roles in musical theatre and now being cast in very intense dramatic roles. Each one of them is a director's dream to work with."

To celebrate Blake Performing Arts School's hotbed of talent, Blake students with ID can see the drama for just $10 during Blake Theatre Night. If students check Powerstories social media, the date will be announced soon.

Just as Fran has enjoyed watching her actors mature into their roles, the actors are eager to return to auditions at Powerstories because of the welcoming and nurturing atmosphere she has created for artists.

"I returned to Powerstories because I loved the environment created in this theater," explained Faith. "Everyone is so kind to each other, and it's a brilliant place to foster your skills while being supported by an incredible team of people."

A mixture of family and religion, the one-hour CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE: THE MAGDALENE LAUNDRIES opens on April 28 and runs through May 15, providing a genesis of why the laundries destroyed families.

Today, more than ever, Powerstories Theatre is not shying away from confronting the often-shrouded, controversial topic of abuse in the Catholic Church.

Named after Mary Magdalene, the laundries were meant to be places of reform and repentance where women could wash away their sins while scrubbing dirty laundry to benefit the Church financially.

In this premiering play, Rosemary is an unruly sixteen-year-old girl whose stern father fears is soiling the family's good name. She is abandoned at the Irish laundries under the pretense that he is taking her to a "strict" convent school to finish her high-school education. Instead, she finds herself a prisoner, overworked, underfed, and physically and mentally abused by the Magdalene Sisters.

Faith said, "The detail that has made the most impact on me about being in such a powerful and daunting production has been the rawness of the material. The mindset we have to get into as actors have already given us a glimpse of what these women had to endure, so it truly puts it into perspective of how traumatic their experiences were."

CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE: THE MAGDALENE LAUNDRIES is live in the theatre from April 28 through May 15 at Powerstories Theatre, 2105 W Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, and available live-streamed on April 30, May 7, May 14, and May 15. Tickets are $25, $20 for seniors, students, military, groups of 10+, and live-stream. Upcoming Blake Theatre Night, $10 students. Powerstories is proud to be sponsored by Arts Council and Hillsborough County.

Trigger warning: physical abuse shown on stage

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