By Songyi Pang and leyla delic | Arts and entertainment | Oct. 17, 2025

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (SCPDA) — For their first play of the 2025–2026 school year, Stanton College Preparatory School’s Drama Club presented D.W. Gregory’s “Radium Girls” from Oct. 2–4. A passionate production from start to end, it told the true story of young women from the early 1900s who unknowingly exposed themselves to radium while painting glowing watch dials in a factory. The play brought the audience through the women’s fight for justice and explored elements of labor laws and regulations. Balancing moments of humor with tragedy, the Drama Club’s performance highlighted the teamwork and dedication each member devoted to making the show run smoothly.

Behind the scenes of every play is the coordination of the stage crew and cast. Bringing “Radium Girls” to the stage was no easy task, especially given the challenge of creating a historically accurate portrayal of the story. A theatre teacher at Stanton, Mr. Jeff Grove serves as a co-sponsor of the Drama Club and was the director of “Radium Girls,” playing a significant part in guiding the production process.

“In any play, the director has to dig into the script and figure out what it means and then guide all [the actors] with different personalities and different acting styles to [bring it] to life,” Mr. Grove said. “The director has to guide without dictating, inspiring [students] to give them an idea where the production all fits together.”

With 37 roles and only 15 on-stage crew members, the process of making “Radium Girls” inevitably brought challenges to Mr. Grove and the rest of the Drama Club. Behind the scenes, speed and precision with makeup, wardrobe changes, and prop management were simultaneously managed by the cast. One of the most demanding tasks was executing timely costume changes for the character.

“Costumes were a huge difficulty for us because we had to change costumes quickly to show we were playing different characters,” junior Kian Orr, who played Edward Markley and Dr. Cecil Drinker, said. “We also had to differentiate our body movement and our voices.”

Throughout the play, all 15 actors and actresses coordinated between multiple outfits to capture the personalities and transformations of their characters. Styles of makeup and special effects shifted with the play’s progression. For instance, the dark circles beneath the protagonist Grace Fryer’s eyes became more prominent as she grew sicker from radium poisoning. Such style choices for both outfits and makeup were a key part of bringing authenticity to “Radium Girls.” For sophomore Archer Karstaedt, who played Grace Fryer, working with these details of the play helped shape her acting abilities.

“[Grace Fryer] was my first main role ever, so it was really a challenge, but a helpful one,” Karstaedt said. “I believe I will become a better actor in the future because of everything I’ve done here on this show.”

From the first day of rehearsals to the last day of the show, collaboration between all roles in the play set up rapport and a rewarding experience. The cast persevered through challenges such as costume changing and coordination as a group, making the process of preparing for “Radium Girls” one that certainly brought them closer together.

“The most meaningful part of preparing for this play was being able to meet so many new people,” sophomore Ella Arceo, who played Nancy Jane Harlan, said. “A lot of the cast here [were] people I had never really met before, but I was able to form a lot of good connections during this play, and I really enjoyed putting on the show.”

The synergy and collaboration of cast members was present throughout all the days building up to their impactful performance. On and off the stage, they worked together to perfect lines and vocal expressions. As Mr. Grove guided the cast through preparing the play, moments of awe and pride were unavoidable.

“I am so incredibly proud of the gut-level way the play connected with the audience,” Mr. Grove said. “There were moments every night [of the play] where you could hear and feel the audience reacting to parts in this serious drama.”

Each cast member dedicated an unwavering effort to bring scenes of the play to life. Along with fleeting romance, close friendships, and family pressure, actors enact everyday human emotions from glee to regret with meticulous precision. With realistic portrayals of human sentiment, “Radium Girls” offered a pathway for the play to resonate deeply with its audience. The actors’ executions of these emotions were recognized through the praise and admiration of attendees.

“The play had a lot of heartfelt emotions filled with it for sure,” senior Annabel Kaye, an audience member at “Radium Girls,” said. “There was a lot of suspense too, like when [Grace Fryer was] going through the trial to see if [she] would get justice.”

As the production came to an end, each moment of the show left both the audience and cast members with lasting impressions. The Stanton Drama Club’s first production for the 2025–2026 school year was an undoubtedly demanding but rewarding process. With passionately performed scenes, subtle humor, and a resonance with the audience, “Radium Girls” proved to be a success.