The Department of Theatre and Dance at East Tennessee State University will open its 2023-24 season early next month with “These Shining Lives” by Melanie Marnich.


Shows are scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5-7, with a 2 p.m. performance on Oct. 8.


Each of the performances happen at the Bert C. Bach Theatre in the ETSU Martin Center for the Arts.


“When the Radium Dial Company opened in Ottawa, Illinois in the 1920s, the owners of the company already knew that the radium paint used to illuminate its watches was toxic, yet they offered good pay to young women in need of employment to do the job anyway. The women were told the radium they were ingesting was not only safe but was ‘medicinal,’” said Bobby Funk, director and a member of the Theatre and Dance Department. “When women got sick, they were fired and when they died, other things were blamed. Finally, in 1936, a group of women, dying of radium poisoning, fought back, taking the company to court.”


He added: “‘These Shining Lives,’ by Melanie Marnich, tells the true story of Catherine Donohue and her courageous friends as they fight for justice.”


ETSU students appearing in the production are: Tarrin Chambers as Catherine Wolfe Donohue; Ivy Burgess as Frances O’Connell; Talon Shae Mincieli as Charlotte Agnes Nevins Purcell;
Natalie Underwood as Pearl Payne; Eli Wilson as Tom Donohue; Ethan Marsee as Rufus Reed; Seth Buckles as Dr. Rowntree, radio announcer, son and Leonard Grossman; and Ellen Sautters as announcer, company doctor, daughter reporter, doctor, Dalitsch and Judge Marvel.


Funk is the show’s director. The following ETSU faculty and staff make up the production team:
• Natasha Carpenter, stage manager
• Jonathon Taylor, scenic designer
• Beth Skinner, costume designer
• Jessica Richardson, hair/makeup designer
• Melissa Shafer, sound designer
• Zach Olsen, technical director
• Matt Stevens, lighting designer/asst. technical director
• Karen Brewster, producer
• Alice Beattie, assistant stage manager
• Amanda Pulcini, intimacy director
• Ellise Parman, singing coach


The performance is suitable for all ages. For tickets, visit this site.


ETSU is home to a thriving arts community, and the Department of Theatre and Dance is a tremendous source of creative energy and entertainment in the Appalachian Highlands.

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