A Poison Squad of Whispering Women by Kelly McBurnette-Andronicos

[Undergoing workshop development through 2020] FULL LENGTH - In 1924, an unlikely union of women lead a righteous whisper campaign against the Grand Dragon of the Indiana Klan, exacting a bitter reckoning that ends in the brutal murder of one of their own.
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A Poison Squad of Whispering Women

Recommended by

  • Rachel Bublitz:
    22 Sep. 2018
    “ The depth of character and use of language in A POISON SQUAD OF WHISPERING WOMEN really knocked me off my feet. It's a historical play, that feels immediate and on the pulse of what's happening in our country right now. It's no surprise that this was a finalist for Playwright Foundation's festival this year, I hope that it finds more development and production opportunities. Really well done. ”
  • Jessie Salsbury:
    8 Feb. 2018
    “ The language of this work is poetic and perfectly reflective of the time in which its set. It is completely and beautifully symbolic that the white women through their lot in with the Klan to their ruin. Impactful and expertly created. ”
  • Robert Lynn:
    14 Nov. 2017
    “ Great roles for women and a detailed view of a subculture from another time are what you'll encounter in this play. That she's able to make KKK members sympathetic speaks to the brilliance of the pen of McBurnette-Andronicos. A powerful reminder that you don't mess with a determined group of women. ”
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SYLVIA OTIS – Professor, researcher and recent divorcee from Chicago. Focused and stoic, she is driven to complete her non-fiction book on the model American town. She probably drinks and smokes too much. White, female, 30s.

OPAL HIGHTOWER – College student and flapper. Educated, flirtatious, and high-spirited, she prefers to be called ‘Liberty.’ Both affectionate and mocking with her aunt. White, female, early 20s.

PEARLENE HIGHTOWER – Opal’s verbose aunt, owner of the boarding house, and a still politically active former Suffragette. She walks with a noticeable limp. White, female, 50s.

DELL GUFFEY – Live-in housekeeper and low-level civic official. She is Midwestern friendly but also hard, rustic, ambitious, and entitled by her religion. White, female, 40s.

EULA ROMAN – A mole masquerading as a transitory stranger. She speaks with an indiscernible Eastern European accent. Mixed race/non-white, female, 20s.

ADOLPHUS BECK – Charismatic, suave, and attractive congressional candidate with a penchant for women and an obsession for ‘Liberty’ Hightower. White, male, 40s.

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Something Something Theatre Company
    ,
    2019
  • Reading
    ,
    Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette
    ,
    2017

Production History

  • Workshop
    ,
    Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette
    ,
    2020

Awards

Individual Artists Grant
,
Indiana Arts Commission
,
2020
Semi-Finalist
,
2020 Plays in Progress
,
Athena Project
,
2019
Winner
,
World Premiere Staged Reading of a New Play
,
Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette
,
2017