There’s something about time inside. For me, the 2020 quarantine gave me the chance to work on a lot of creative projects that I had neglected. One of them is my play, The Wash, which is inspired by the Atlanta Washerwomen’s Strike of 1881. I first learned about the strike in 2017 during a trip to the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C. I was so inspired and I knew a play was the best way to tell this story.
Hush Harbor Lab and Essential Theatre are partnering to offer a developmental reading of The Wash on August 18. I will spend the week leading up to the reading making edits to the script alongside professional actors, directors, and a dramaturg. The final reading is at the West End Performing Arts Center in Atlanta. I am so thankful for this opportunity and for the inspiration to tell this story.
Here’s a synopsis of the play:
Anna, Jeanie, Tommie, Jewel, and Charity work in a laundry co-op barely making 40 cents a week. When ends won’t meet and everyone has something to lose, they decide to go on strike. Based on true events, The Wash is the intimate and often funny tale of women who went from workers to fighters, and won.
