Review Fix chats with Playwright Bronwyn Rucker, who discusses his new production “Radon Daughters,†which is set for a run at this year’s Midtown International Theatre Festival.
For more on this production, click here.

RADON DAUGHTERS by Bronwyn Rucker, directed by Jason Ellis; starring Evelyn Sullivan, Tatiana Gomberg*, Rachel Murdy, Kate Ruby Klenfner, and Anna Foss Wilson*. It’s 1984, and feminist change is in the air- but so are radioactive isotopes. Come back with us, to learn how to survive in the present. (Musical; Abstract Feminist/Futurist) *AEA
Performance Schedule: Mon 8/01, 6:00pm; Thurs 8/04, 8:15pm; Sat 8/06, 1:00pm
Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project?
Bronwyn Rucker: In the 1980s I wrote my first solo show, The Subway Named Desire wherein I played the Stanley, Stella and Blanche sides of myself. This was the beginning of autobiographical performance art. One of the alternative selves in defining myself was a character I called Joan Dark, sort of a Brooklyn biker chic. The character called herself Joan D- A – R- K (and spelled this out in graffiti on the subway wall) as opposed to D’ ARC like in the play and everything….the singing saint of the subway….time goes on…Joan Dark wanted friends hence the Radon Daughters. Radon Daughter is the isotope in U238 that caused cancer. I thought it was a good name for a girls group. So, my next show I wrote for my friends defining the archetypal bohemian modern woman…THE RADON DAUGHTERS
Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?
Rucker: My creative process has always been inspired by physics, the Tuesday science times and the people on the subway, oh yes, and of course myself and my world.
Review Fix: What makes this different or special?
Rucker: My artistic process is unique in that it is my own and it reflects the art and the times in which I live. Curiously so much of today’s politics is relevant to the ’80s and struggle to define the artistic feminist revolution is always relevant.
Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?
Rucker: When the process of writing Radon Daughters began I learned of my similarities to my friends. I also learned that continual advocation and dedication to the process is needed for success.
Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of something like this?
Rucker: I am thrilled that all these years later there are younger artists who find value in words I wrote 30 years ago and I am shocked that I still am living the relevance. And now when we are about to have our first woman president I am even more thrilled. I think that it is time for women, particularly women of my age to be stronger and tougher than we ever were and to take the lead.
Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production and for the future?
Rucker: The goal is that we have a tremendous success and that the work continues. We are doing an abridged version for this festival. The original script is longer and in various iterations, much of the poetry evolved into a song. The music has been documented in the CD The Radon Daughters with music by Woody Regan and myself. I hope this work will have future productions.
Review Fix: What do you think your audiences will enjoy the most?
Rucker: The Director Jason Ellis and the actresses, Tatiana Gromberg, Anna-Foss Wilson, Evelyn Sullivan and Kate Ruby Klenfner are marvelous and the audience will so enjoy their artistry and Jason Ellis’s unique direction.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Rucker: I have written many scripts through the years that address disenfranchised populations: the gangs of east New York, the elderly homeless, the mentally ill and victims of domestic and family violence. I hope to focus on sharing this work with the theatre community. This is my first adventure at having others do my work, that is where I am not an actor or the director of the work.
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