Factory Girls

Last month, we caught up with alumni Creighton Irons and Sean Mahoney about the development of their 2009 Festival show, Factory Girls, and their upcoming reading and concert in NYC.
In 1843 in the new industrial city of Lowell, Massachusetts, best friends Sarah Bagley and Harriet Farley are using their published writing to prove to the world that “factory girls” are virtuous and intelligent and have accepted their positions as laborers voluntarily.  But when a fellow spinner is worked to death, Sarah decides to use her pen to lash out against the corporation, jeopardizing their friendship and shaping the fate of the American worker.
 
Factory Girls was very well-received at the Festival but it was at a very early stage of development.  What did you learn about the show from being in the Festival? 
We loved being a part of the Festival in 2009. The show itself was still being written by just the two of us (Sean and Creighton), and while we had a wonderful experience working with [director] Vicky Bussert and an amazing cast, we knew the songs were much stronger than the book at that time. Our NAMT consultants have been such incredible supporters of us and of the show as we’ve sought to improve the book in various workshops since then.

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