The United Steelworkers (USW) established the Institute for Career Development (ICD) with the vision that workers must play a significant role in the design and development of their training and education and their work environments. ICD and the participating companies set the goal to help every worker attain their full potential, as an employee and as a human being. At one point, they offered a class in poetry. The result was outstanding. Read More.
The poetry eventually made it into print, with Studs Terkel writing the introduction. Next, they provided a playwriting class. Again, the result was beyond expectation. The ICD then decided to produce the plays under the program title, “Steelworkers on Stage.”
In 2004 I was offered the opportunity to teach a play production class and direct the plays written by steelworkers, probably because I came from a steel working family and had worked at US Steel, Gary Works. I happily agreed, with the condition that all the actors and actresses be steelworkers, not professionals. Assistant Director Loraine Masterton coached and guided the game steelworkers and helped them become thespians. The play was called Steel and Roses.
In 2005 Steel and Roses was presented at the Towle Theatre in Hammond, Indiana. The response was overwhelmingly positive. So much so, Harmon Lisnow, Executive Director of ICD, decided to take the show to Manhattan. In 2006 we remounted the show, made some modifications, and took it to New York. This time Denita Linnertz, a superb actress in my theatre company, The Piccolo Theatre, functioned as Assistant Director.
