THE STORY
Saturday, March 25, 1911. 4:45 P.M. In the Triangle Waist Factory off downtown Manhattan’s Washington Square—where 500 immigrant workers from Poland, Russia and Italy toil fourteen-hour days making lady’s dresses—a cigarette is tossed into a bin of fabric scraps. Despite desperate efforts, flames sweep through the eighth, ninth and tenth floors. Panic-stricken workers run in all directions. On the ninth floor, some make it to the fire escape, only to have it collapse beneath their weight. Others run to the exit door but find it locked—many, including the soon-to-be-married Margaret Schwartz, die with their hands on the doorknob. Dozens leap from the windows to their deaths, shocking the crowd of onlookers gathered below. And some through bravery or sheer luck make it out alive. In the space of twenty-eight minutes, the fire is under control, but 146 people, mainly young immigrant girls, have died. The Triangle Factory Fire Project uses eyewitness accounts, court transcripts and other archival material to create a dramatic moment-by-moment account of this historic fire and the social upheaval that followed. It culminates in the manslaughter trial of the owners, Isaac Harris and Max Blanck, whose shocking acquittal inspires new outrage across New York and the entire country, the repercussions of which shaped social, political and economic policies for decades to come. By using real words spoken by real people, from Ukrainian seamstresses to millionaire Fifth Avenue socialites, The Triangle Factory Fire Project paints a heartbreakingly clear picture of a disastrous day in American history and explores the human tollsuch a tragedy takes on us all.
PLACE: In and around lower Manhattan
TIME: 1909 - 1911
CAST
Actor A: (Margaret Schwartz, Ida Mittleman). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kayla VanDyke
Actor B: (Rose Freedman, Bertha Schwartz) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelsey Benz
Actor C: (Kate Alterman, Mary Alter) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ciprian Butler
Actor D: (Rose Schneiderman, Yetta Lubitz). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephanie Lamoreaux
Actor E: (Mrs. Belmont, Dinah Lifschitz). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Samantha Schouweiler
Actor F: (Ethel Monick, May Levantini). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gerrica Johnson
Actor 1: (Eddie Markowitz, Max Steuer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Yates
Actor 2: (Charles Bostwick, William Bernstein). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryan Gilson
Actor 3: (William Shepherd, John Moore) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Justin Forcier
Actor 4: (Max Blanck, Chief Edward Croker) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Weston Raberge
Actor 5: (Samuel Bernstein, Herman Hurwitz) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Bishop
Actor 6: ( Samuel Gompers, Frank Sommer,Judge C.T. Crain) . . . . Matt Allen
Actor 7: (Max Schwartz, Office John Meehan). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matt Matuseski
Actor 8: (Issac Harris, Abe Gordon) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joseph Herron
ARTISTIC STAFF
Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thom Hoffman
Scenic Designer/Technical Director. . . . . . . . . . . Nathan Miller
Costume Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sandra Sandberg
Lighting Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bennett Olson
Student Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Travis Johnson
Music Composer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clara Jung
Union Song Music. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Samantha Schouweiler
PRODUCTION STAFF
Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Melissa Markes
Light Board Operator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bennett Olson
Sound Board Operator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meegan Olson
Assistant Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Hamm
Assistant Light Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TJ Koziol
Assistant Sound Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Oberle
Costume Crew. . . . Jennifer Beck, Shelby Gamache, Ashley Wolfgang
Running Crew. . . . . . . . . Ruth Aune, Lucas Brown, Hannah Gaydos,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jerry Hsiao, Greg Mason, Aaron Newman,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Travis Peterson, Claire Sykora, Candace Tangen
SET CONSTRUCTION
Ruth Aune
Lucas Brown
Hannah Gaydos
Peter Hamm
Maddie Howell
Jerry Hsiao
Meegan Johnson
TJ Koziol
Melissa Markes
Greg Mason
Rachel Mullin
Aaron Newman
Nicole Noblet
Robert Oberle
Bennett Olson
Travis Peterson
Katelyn Riddle
Arthur Seifert
Claire Sykora
Candace Tangen
Allie Tooley