Edna Pontellier (played by Emily Dussault) goes for a swim. Photo credit: Dan Norman

"Every time I re-read THE AWAKENING, I think, 'Oh I should have included this! This part is brilliant! Oh, this line! This passage! This word!' And the truth is, the book is better than this play, as is always the case, the book is better. But this play is now, and needs to be now. What strikes me over and over upon re-reading the book, upon crafting and watching this production, is that Edna is such a complicated creature. She's such a bitch, a bad mom, an adulterer, a disappointing daughter, a lousy friend, and as Madame Lebrun says of her, she's capricious. But in reality - she's none of those things. Those attributes and judgments are what society teaches us to think about a woman who acts as she does: a woman who refuses to be told what to do, a woman who takes the time she needs to think big thoughts about her own identity, a woman who creates a space for herself, a woman who has desires and acts upon them, a woman who breaks the mold. Edna, gods bless Edna, for breaking through the rigid society and rules which were pressing so hard upon her, she could not breathe. And as she stands with the broken glass of the ceiling all around her, what then? For Edna, she makes the choice she has available to her. But what about us? If Edna broke the ceiling for us back in 1899 when this book was first published - 118 years ago! - what are we doing now? How do we honor the legacy of women like Edna, and push into what must surely be a brighter future for us all? Whither would you soar?" - Laura