Elora Community Theatre’s RADIUM GIRLS took the stage Feb 2024 at the Fergus Grand Theatre.
We told a true story of the Radium Girls in the 1920’s that died while painting with radium laced paint and then sued the Radium Corporation, winning workers rights. They were called “ghost girls” because of the radium glow that came off their dresses when they went dancing.
I produced, photographed, Publicized and made Props for this production.
It’s 1926, radium is a cure all and luminous watches are all the rage- until the girls that paint them begin falling ill with a mysterious disease. Inspired by a true story, Radium Girls traces the effort of Grace Fryer, a dying dial painter who fights against the Radium Corporation as her friends turn to ghosts around her.
Made in collaboration with Elora’s DANCE + heart adding an element of movement and music to help process the most difficult moments of the story. Choreographed by the fabulous Norah Wardell who also runs Dance and Heart and Catherine Johnston, our Director who added projection and digital elements to the play using documentary style epic theatre.
The Factory Trays: I built these painting trays with pine wood and painted them with glowing paint. The white bottles have tea lights in them for extra glow and are meant to represent the white power they used to mix the paint.
Glowing Factory Trays
Wallpaper sample props painted by hand on mulberry tissue paper.
This was one of my favourite props to make! Grace becomes a member of the Marie Curie Radium Club, which was a real club in the 1920’s! Marie Curie was the first women to win a Nobel Peace Prize for isolating Radium and became somewhat of a celebrity in her time.
Our main character, the lovely Grace Fryer played by the amazing Rachel Estok.
The more Grace became sick, the more people wrote to her from all over the world. There were many paper props in this play and I especially loved making all the letters! The note with the “W” was left from her advocate in the play a Mrs. Wiley.
The clock: Our Factory Girl Irene played by the amazing Kate with a giant working clock. I designed the clock in Illustrator and had it cut by a CNC machine before one of our cast members lacquered the clock hands to glow in the dark!
I made the newspaper props with real headlines and photos used by the real radium girls! And was printed on a thicker paper to last all 8 shows.
The Factory Trays and Tables: The mixture in the paint bottles is tonic water (which glows under UV light) lemonade and food colouring, since the director wanted the girls to put the brushes in their mouths like they did in real life.
Ghost Girls
We acquired many vintage cameras and other bits for our props!
Mrs. MacNeil, the factory supervisor, with her vintage clipboard sourced by a local antiques dealer Sarah Clark!
Nightmare Tray: Grace slowly declines through out the play and in one scene has a nightmare which we had fun designing. I built this affectionately labelled “crazy tray” and put dried flowers around it to represent her withering life force.
Go to Our Instagram @RadiumGirlsElora to learn more about us and our story.
All Images and Content © 2010 - 2024 Laura Faber. All rights reserved.