The fall play has been announced and this year the Fossil Ridge High School theatre troupe is putting on Radium Girls, which is a different play than past Fossil performances. It depicts the problems of women who worked in factories during World War 1. The women were creating a glow in the dark watch, using a chemical called Radium that causes radiation poisoning. To keep the lines sharp on the watches, they had to lick the paintbrushes, and because they were consuming the radium, their bodies started to slowly deteriorate. The women then create a court case against the company.

Claire Paquette, a sophomore, is very excited to be apart of the play because of her large passion for theatre. “I love working with my peers and teachers to make the best performance possible.” Paquette is just auditioning for fun, but she will most likely work on the tech side of Radium Girls, being apart of makeup or set crew.  There are a lot more significant female roles which is different from last fall’s production of Frankenstein.

Grant Deluca, a senior, hopes for any part he could get his hands on and believes that since the play is so cool, any part is going to be fun. Deluca believes that Radium Girls is a unique play and he is excited to see how the play goes. “The main thing that differs is the central theme of the play, it’s much more grounded in reality then our last one, Frankenstein. Both grapple with very real and pressing issues, but in different ways.” Since Radium Girls isn’t like anything Fossil has really seen, he thinks that, “this play is really gonna highlight our female talent.”

Sarabeth Riddell, a sophomore, is enthusiastic for the play since, “Fossil theatre truly prides itself on excellence and putting on an amazing performance for our audience.” Just like Deluca and Paquette, Riddell believes that Radium Girls is going to show the female talent at Fossil. “It’s been a good break from shows with a majority of female leads and it will be exciting to experience that this year with our female talent.”

Megan Bean, also a junior, is thrilled for Radium Girls because, “We’ll finally get to showcase a bunch of our talented actresses!” Bean is ready to work on a different kind of play; one that tells a story of a female experience and have female stars rather than the male norm. “Another thing that makes it unique from past Fossil productions is that it’s based on the true stories of the women who worked in factories where they were exposed to radium.” She isn’t auditioning for a certain part and doesn’t mind acting or being on tech crew; Bean just hopes to a part of the wonderful experience that comes with doing shows at Fossil.

The cold reading auditions take place on September sixth and seventh in the Black Box. If you want to sign up to audition or work on tech for Radium Girls, you can find sign up forms in the music hall.