NOW FUNDING: Radium Girls, An Immersive Dance Play
Dancer Lena Wolfe’s new work aims to take audiences inside a forgotten part of history in NYC
Performer Lena Wolfe has quite the background along multiple tracks in the immersive field. On the performance side she’s been a part of Unwired Dance Theatre’s DISCORDANCE and Alterra Productions’ Thickett. Before that she was an Optical Engineer on the original HoloLens team at Microsoft.
The later of which might play a bit into why she was drawn to the subject matter of her proposed immersive dance theatre work Radium Girls:
Radium Girls, An Immersive Dance Play, centers on an ill-fated collective of women who worked in radium dial painting factories in the U.S. from 1917 to 1926. Staged in a warehouse space reminiscent of one such factory with adjacently-divided spaces, this evening-length performance will guide audiences through stories based on these women as they endure man’s fascination and capitalistic exploitation of radium. Facing ongoing dismissal of their pleas for better safety protocols and workplace conditions, these deceived women worked tirelessly for the future good, paying the ultimate price.
The campaign has reached its halfway mark, and is looking to hit a $7500 goal by the end of April 2024, with an eye towards debuting the show in 2025. We connected with Wolfe to get more details on the planned show.
This is No Proscenium’s NOW FUNDING, a look at immersive experiences & events currently crowdfunding. To learn more about how your event could be considered for the feature check out How To Get Covered By NoPro.
No Proscenium: Tell us a little bit about this planned experience. What’s it about? What makes it immersive?
Lena Wolfe: Radium Girls, an immersive dance play, revolves around early-1900’s America’s infatuation with radium, a newly discovered precious element, through the eyes of women working with its “undark” paint inside watch dial factories in New Jersey and Illinois. Audiences will step into their world and subsequently follow in their glowing footsteps through infatuation, fear, frustration, and resolve to fight for their voices to be heard.
The final work is imagined to take place in a warehouse space, reminiscent of such factories with adjacently-divided spaces for the audience to engage intimately with each of the characters.
For the first phase of the development process, audiences will be invited to public viewings and/or playtests as the project progresses. Each phase will culminate in either a proscenium showcase of choreography, playtest of immersive/interactive elements, or public screening of documentation with an opportunity to engage with new interactive tech experiments (AR/XR/Motion capture/WebXR).
NP: What is the inspiration for your upcoming experience?
LW: In 2018 I stumbled upon a book, The Radium Girls by Kate Moore, at the Queen Anne Book Company, a favorite bookstore in Seattle, WA. The title immediately fascinated me and I was NOT let down by what was between those glowing covers. Since that moment, I got sucked into the world of the radium dial painters — I could not stop thinking about the elegance in which they would lip, dip, and paint — seeing choreography spring up from each page.
As a technologist and performing artist, images of glowing women dancing, paired with new interactive technology as a narrative tool stuck in my head. Chasing this novel combination of disciplines I’m thrilled to work on some proof-of-concept experiments with WebXR, volumetric capture, and/or projection to give new life to these glowing ghosts. I also see this as an opportunity for Women in STEM education outreach and advocacy, hoping audiences feel just as compelled by this story as I do.
NP: What do you think fans of immersive will find most interesting about this upcoming experience?
LW: I think fans of immersive work will enjoy stepping into the world of the radium factory workers, their families, and why the discovery of radium took early 1900’s America by storm. Audiences will be encouraged to flow alongside our female protagonists’ narrative: from their initial infatuation and joy to their shock and distress over radium’s hazardous consequences. This journey led to a decades-long struggle for modern-day workers’ rights and protections and my desire is for audiences to feel this sense of agency throughout this experience.
NP: Have you crowdfunded before? If so, is there anything different about your experience (or expectations) this time?
LW: Yes, I have crowdfunded for various fiscally-sponsored theatrical projects and, since 2017, raised over $20k through my campaigns for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
As the sole creative director spearheading this project, this fundraiser feels deeply personal for its potential to advocate for more women working in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics).
My hope is to develop this project with “funds in the bank” — a departure from past experiences — versus starting the project without a clear plan for paying my collaborators. Personally, I’ve worked as an unpaid artist as well as watched potentially great projects fail due to a lack of upfront funding. While seemingly more difficult to secure in the beginning, having a cash reserve makes a HUGE difference towards producing meaningful artwork and collaborative partnerships.
As of now, with the funds I’ve already secured, I can adequately pay a number of artists for their upcoming contributions, and when I reach my goal will have enough to cover basic developmental process, performances, and public engagements.
NP: What are some of the perks on offer for backers?
LW: At this stage, every person who offers a donation will be acknowledged as a Developmental Supporter, since that’s exactly what this is — funds to develop and support a fresh immersive experience. All supporters will be the first to find out about show updates, opportunities for in-progress showings, upcoming playtests, potential discount ticket offerings, and more!
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Lena Wolfe is a sponsored artist with The Performance Zone Inc (dba The Field), a not-for-profit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization serving the performing arts community. Contributions to The Field earmarked for Lena Wolfe are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. For more information about The Field, or for our national charities registration, contact: The Field, 225 West 34th St, Floor 9, New York, NY 10122, phone: 212–691–6969. A copy of our latest financial report may be obtained from The Field or from the Office of Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
Publishers Note: this is not sponsored content nor does No Proscenium have any fiscal relationship with the production, The Field, or Lena Wolfe.
