In Atlanta in 1881, nearly 3,000 women joined a strike for better wages — and won.
The Atlanta Washerwomen Strike was an interracial labor action that secured a guaranteed wage for workers. But what struck director Tasia A. Jones was not just that the strike was so successful, but that she had never heard of it.
Front Porch Arts Collective launches its 10th anniversary season with “The Wash,” a play by Kelundra Smith inspired by the determined women behind the effort. Jones directs the production in the Roberts Studio Theatre at the Calderwood Pavilion, Oct. 31-Nov. 22.
“It’s important people know that Black women have always been at the forefront of movements,” Jones says. “Kelundra Smith tells a powerful story through the eyes of distinctly different women who were a part of it. It has a sense of community, sisterhood, and history.”
“The Wash” unfolds in the kitchen work area of a washing service co-op in Atlanta run by Anna and Jeanie, two women determined to help each other and other women earn enough money to survive and provide for their families. The story flows around the long days, hard work, and camaraderie fostered by Anna and Jeanie, despite the different ages, experience, and motivations among these women who work in the co-op, all of whom see the work as a stepping stone to something bigger.
“Anna and Jeanie have a mission,” Jones says. “They are shepherding young women through a job that allows them to feel safe and empowered, and then move on.”
The chemistry among the ensemble was critical, says Jones, pointing out that “it’s rare to have a multi-generational play.” She says she felt lucky to have such a rich talent pool of Boston actors to cast from. “It was important that each member of the company understand how to portray what the characters bring to the table. Each of these women has dreams for themselves, their children, and their future.”
Anna (Lindsey McWhorter) has business and entrepreneurial skills; Jeanie (MaConnia Chesser) is saving to go visit her new grandbaby; Jewel (Kiera Prusmack), is hoping to go to college; Charity (Jada Saintlouis) is a newlywed hoping to start a family; Thomasine (MarHadoo Effeh) is juggling four children; and Mozelle (Eliza Fichter) is a white woman who recognizes the potential of joining forces to help support her mother and daughters.
The ability to celebrate local talent while presenting more stories and new perspectives has been at the core of Front Porch Arts Collective’s mission since its launch, says cofounder and producing artistic director Maurice Emmanuel Parent.
“I remember [cofounder Dawn Simmons] and I at the Lyric Stage’s production of ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning,’ in 2015, where we saw a diverse group of artists and audiences together. We thought: Wouldn’t it be great to gather this crowd all year round? To add another voice to the mix?”
In an effort to add to the work being produced, Front Porch spent its early years collaborating with other theater companies, including Central Square Theater, Lyric Stage, and Greater Boston Stage Company. For three years the company had a residency within the Huntington Theatre.
“The opportunity to work in community with other companies bolstered our work and allowed us to focus on meeting our goals of paying artists industry standards,” Parent says. “We also got invaluable advice from folks whose footsteps we were walking in, including Debra Wise [former artistic director at Central Square], Catherine Carr Kelly [executive director at Central Square], and Michael Maso [former managing director at the Huntington].”
With several award-winning co-productions under its belt, Front Porch has stepped out on its own, with last season’s “From the Mountaintop,” and now “The Wash,” while collaborating with Central Square Theater for the musical “Working,” (April 1-25). After that, they’ll be heading to the Modern Theatre for the two-hander “Waterfall” (May 15-June 6), which Front Porch’s associate artistic director Pascale Florestal will direct.
“We are eager to choose plays that speak to the diversity within the Black community in Boston,” Parent says. “Black culture is an invitation to a whole spectrum of experiences and stories and we find the tendrils of one lead to other connections. The theme of ‘The Wash’ is African American history, while ‘Waterfall’ is based on the Haitian-American experience. We are committed to producing one Haitian-themed play each year for the next three years. What we look for are stories that resonate with conversations we are having today. Everything Front Porch does is about adding to the community that has meant so much to us.”
More than a century after the Atlanta Washerwomen Strike, the idea of diverse individuals banding together to make a change for the better still resonates, says Jones.
“Anna and Jeanie are the women the others look up to,” says Jones. “What is beautiful about the script is that it is intergenerational. Of course, it takes place just 20 years after slavery ended, so for the older women, making it to the age of 40 or 50 meant you survived a lot to get there.”
A reading earlier this year allowed Front Porch fans to get a peek at the play, which included choreographed movement.
“The playwright is clear about the importance of the sense of rhythm in the story,” she says. “Even in the reading, we wanted to reflect the way the women work together and move together, whether they are taking care of the wash or working on the strike.”
Jones also says Smith’s focus on the individual women reflects the joy and beauty these women found in their labor.
“Black women don’t wallow,” she says. “They laugh and are playful. They dare to be joyous in the face of hardship.”
That resilience, combined with their faith and emphasis on counting their blessings, allows them to “do what we need to do to keep moving forward.”
THE WASH
Play by Kelundra Smith, directed by Tasia A. Jones. Front Porch Arts Collective, Roberts Theater in the Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont St. Oct. 31-Nov. 22. Tickets: $10-$60. 617-933-8600, www.bostontheatrescene.com/shows-and-events/the-wash/