PLAY GUIDE
The Drowning Girls
October 21 - November 13, 2016
by Beth Graham, Charlie Tomlinson, and Daniela Vlaskalic
directed by Mallory Metoxen
IN THIS GUIDE
INTRODUCTION
THE DROWNING GIRLS
Bessie, Alice, and Margaret break the surface of
the water gasping for breath. Speaking as old
friends, the three women join together telling
similar tales... lonely spinsters falling in love,
quickly marrying, bequeathing their fortunes, and
drowning mysteriously in a bathtub.
1
INTRODUCTION AND
OUTLINE
2
WILL THE REAL
GEORGE JOSEPH
SMITH PLEASE STAND
UP?
3
IN PERSPECTIVE:
ENGLISH LIFE IN THE
EARLY 20TH CENTURY
4
THE DROWNING GIRLS’
SPOOKY STAGING
5
SPOTLIGHT:
CREATING
CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN STAGE AND
CLASSROOM
6
7
COMMUNICATION
PORTFOLIO AND
DISCUSSION
QUESTIONS
ADVOCACY AND
OUTREACH
RESOURCES
The sensational “Brides in the Bath” murder trial of
serial killer George Joseph Smith, an early triumph
of forensic science, shocked Britain over a century
ago. Embodied by the women themselves, the
families, friends, and even the erstwhile husband
and murderer appear as the ghostly figures revisit
their marriages and untimely deaths.
Bessie, Alice, and Margaret posthumously search
for their identity in a complex socity, navigate
the expectations of their gender, and hope to
ultimately find love.
This guide will examine three of THE
DROWNING GIRLS’ core themes:
IDENTITY
How is identity created? How much do our
family and society shape who we are? How
much are those influences unconsiously
absorbed?
GENDER
What role does gender play in shaping our
identity? Do women and men today still occupy
roles defined by gender, and how have those
roles shifted since the early 20th century?
LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS
Do the three women have healthy relationships
with their families? With their prospective
husband? How do those relationships shape
their understanding and expectations of love?
IN PERSPECTIVE: ENGLISH LIFE IN THE EARLY 20TH
CENTURY
Women navigating a man’s world
Although women had been campaigning for the vote, better education, and employment
opportunities for women for decades in the 1800s, at the turn of the 20th century they
still had very few rights. Women’s progress in British society was haunted by the words of
Queen Victoria, “Let women be what God intended, a helpmate for man, but with totally
different duties and vocations.” Coming from the most famous woman in the world at the
time, men in power used these words to hinder the advances of women politically, fiscally,
and socially.
At the start of the century, women were still constrained by traditional roles in British
society; young women were expected to get married and stay home to look after the
children. If a woman was single or not yet married, she often worked in service; over 1.5
million women were employed as domestic servants in England in 1900.
Being a single, working woman was not considered viable as a long-term choice for women;
they might work while unmarried, but were expected to eventually find a husband and run
a home. Moreover, the wages women earned (cents on the dollar compared to men) were
often not enough to support them. Women who remained unmarried were “spinsters,” a
term that carried stigma and derision, as an unmarried woman continued to be a financial
burden on her aging parents or her siblings. Finding a husband was important to women
not only for romantic reasons, but also to fulfill powerful social expectations, obtain
financial security, and relieve her beloved family of financial strain.
Before marriage, a woman’s father controlled her
finances and her freedom. If a woman’s father
was unsympathetic, she might additionally see
marriage as a chance at freedom; she might
choose to marry a man who she believed would
allow her more independence. Conversely, a
woman might marry a man who turned out to
be abusive and would be effectively trapped in
her marriage by the same forces that restricted
her beforehand. Because nearly all women were
reliant on their husbands for a source of money,
many women lived in miserable and abusive
marriages.
The circumstances that women of the early 20th
century lived in can be difficult for us to imagine
today.
Marriage to George Joseph Smith (right) appeared
to his wives as a pathway to greater personal
freedom, financial stability, and happiness.
3
WILL THE REAL GEORGE JOSEPH
SMITH PLEASE STAND UP?
Or, the birth of forensic pathology.
Born in 1872, George Joseph Smith was a romantic con man; he
married multiple women in different towns, travelling between
them by claiming to sell antiques. In total, Smith entered into
seven bigamous marriages between 1908 and 1914. In most of
these cases, Smith would eventually empty out his wives’ bank
accounts and sell their possessions before he disappeared.
Duplicate Deaths
In January 1915, Detective Inspector Arthur Neil received a letter.
Included with the letter were two newspaper clippings: one was
dated before Christmas, 1914, about the death of Margaret
Lloyd (née Lofty), who died in her lodgings in Highgate, London.
She was found in her bathtub by her husband, John Lloyd, and
their landlady. The other clipping was dated 13 December 1913.
It was about a woman named Alice Smith (née Burnham), who
died suddenly in a boarding house while in her bathtub. She was
found by her husband George Smith.
Detective Neil went to the lodgings in Highgate, where Mr. and
Mrs. Lloyd had stayed. He found it hard to believe that an adult
like Mrs. Lloyd could have drowned in such a small tub. He
interviewed the coroner, Dr. Bates, who confirmed that there
were no signs of violence except for a tiny bruise above the Mrs.
Lloyd’s left elbow. Detective Neil learned that a will had been
made on December 18th, three hours before Margaret Lloyd died,
and the sole beneficiary was her husband. In addition, she had
withdrawn all her savings on that same day.
On January 12th, Dr. Bates called Detective Neil. He had had an
inquiry from the Yorkshire Insurance Company regarding the
death of Margaret Lloyd. Three days before she was married she
had taken out a life insurance policy for £700, with her husband
John Lloyd as sole beneficiary. Detective Neil requested more
information on the Smith case from the Blackpool Police and
discovered that the late Mrs. Smith had earlier taken out a life
insurance policy and made a will in her husband’s favor. Neil asked
the coroner to issue a favorable report to the insurance company.
He was counting on the suspect to get in touch with his lawyer,
and the office was watched day and night. On February 1st, a
man fitting Lloyd/Smith’s description appeared. Neil introduced
himself and asked him whether he was John Lloyd. After Lloyd
answered in the affirmative, Neil then asked him whether he was
also George Smith. The man denied it vehemently, but finally
admitted that he was indeed George Smith, and was
arrested for bigamy.
4
Top to bottom: Bessie Mundy (died 1912), Alice
Burnham (died 1913), and Margaret Lofty (died 1914).
The Case Continues
After the arrest, pathologist Bernard Spilsbury was asked to determine how the
women died. His first task was to confirm drowning as the cause of death; and if so
whether by accident or by force. Examining Mrs. Lloyd’s corpse, he found no signs
of heart or circulatory disease, but the evidence suggested that death was almost
instantaneous, as if by a stroke. Newspaper reports about the two “Brides in the
Baths” began to appear. On February 8th, the chief police officer of Herne Bay sent
Neil a report of another death which was strikingly similar to the other two.
The Third Act
A year before Burnham’s death in Blackpool, one Henry Williams had rented a house
in Herne Bay for himself and his wife Beatrice “Bessie” Williams (née Mundy). He
then took his wife to a local doctor, Frank French, insisting she’d had an epileptic
fit. On July 12th, 1912, Williams called and woke Dr. French, saying that his wife was
having another fit. The doctor was surprised the following morning when he was
informed Mrs. Williams had died of drowning. French found Bessie Williams in the
tub, her head underwater, her legs stretched out straight, and her feet protruding
out of the tub. There was no trace of violence. The inquest jury awarded Williams the
amount of £2,579, as stipulated in Mrs Williams’ will, made up five days before her
death. Detective Neil sent photographs of Smith to Herne Bay for identification, and
received confirmation: “Henry Williams” was also “John Lloyd” and “George Smith”.
Finale
Spilsbury spent weeks in London examining the bathtubs involved in each case and
the victims’ measurements. Considering Bessie Williams’ height and the length of
the tub, an epileptic fit would have pushed her torso up above the level of the water.
Using French’s description of the scene - head underwater, legs stretched out, and
feet protruding out of the water - Spilsbury reasoned that Smith must have seized his
victims by the feet and suddenly pulled them up toward himself, sliding the upper
part of the body underwater. The sudden flood of water into her nose and throat
might cause shock and sudden loss of consciousness, explaining the absence of
injuries and minimal signs of drowning.
Neil hired several experienced female divers of the same size and build as the
victims. He tried to push them underwater by force but there would be inevitable
signs of struggle. Neil then unexpectedly pulled the feet of one of the divers, and her
head glided underwater before she knew what happened. Suddenly Neil saw that the
woman was no longer moving. He quickly pulled her out of the tub and it took him
and a doctor over half an hour to revive her. When she came to, she related that the
only thing she remembered was the rush of water before she lost consciousness.
Trial and Legal Legacy
On June 22nd, the trial began. Although Smith could only be tried for the murder
of Bessie Williams in accordance with English law, the prosecution used the
deaths of the other two to establish the pattern of Smith’s crimes. The case was
significant in the history of forensic pathology and detection, and is still referenced
in textbooks today. It was also one of the first cases in which similarities between
connected crimes were used to prove deliberation, a technique used in subsequent
prosecutions. It took the jury about 20 minutes to find Smith guilty; he was
then sentenced to death.
5
SPOOKY STAGING
The world of THE DROWNING GIRLS
Renaissance Theaterworks Artistic Director Suzan
Fete has wanted to produce THE DROWNING
GIRLS for quite a while. “I was captivated by
THE DROWNING GIRLS the first time I saw the
ethereal production images online,” she said.
“The images were beautiful, fascinating, and
disturbing - and I was dying to bring them to the
RTW stage.”
The three characters; Alice, Margaret, & Bessie,
emerge as ghosts to retell the stories of their lives,
and deaths. Setting the
scene with lights and
texture was essential.
“I love ghost stories, especially at Halloween, and
especially Victorian ghost stories,” said Fete.
“Victorians delighted in the supernatural, in
legends of strange spirits and demons, and
in gothic yarns of reanimated corpses and
vampires – these are right up my alley!”
What does it take to bring the play to life
onstage? For starters, it requires bathtubs,
working showers, and water that stays hot
for 90 minutes. Plus, some days there are two
performances, so the costumes had to dry quickly
in order to be ready for
another performance.
Despite these challenges, Jeff award-winning
scenic designer Sarah E. Ross worked together
with Technical Director Tony Lyons to create
fucntioning, always-warm baths. Costume
designer Kristina Sneshkoff built costumes that
dry quickly and keep the actors comfortable
onstage.
What other elements do you notice helping
to create a spooky scene? Lighting, sound,
and atmospheric effects all combine in THE
DROWNING GIRLS to make one play that just
might take your breath away.
6
SPOTLIGHT: CREATING CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN STAGE & CLASSROOM
The following ideas are intended as a jumping-off point for classroom exercises. By
exploring theater as an active & engaged mode of learning, students strengthen their
creative problem solving & critical thinking skills.
JOURNAL ENTRY
INTERACTIVE
In The Drowning Girls, the women tell their
stories of meeting a man and suddenly
falling in love. Although each woman has
a distinct, individual personality, their
accounts overlap and echo each other.
What similarities do the women share?
What differences? How do their experiences
compare? Imagine that you are another
woman who met George Joseph Smith.
Write a journal entry right before your
wedding day. How did you meet him, and
how did it make you feel? How would you
describe him? Does your family approve
of your marriage? How will your life be
different after marriage from living at home?
The three actors in The Drowning Girls
play more characters than just the three
murdered women. What did you notice
while watching them perform other
characters - a doctor, an inspector, their
husband? How did they change their body
movement and voices? Pick 3 people close
to you - a parent, friend, or aquaintance and visualize how they move and sound.
Try to embody that person with nonverbal
expression - don’t rely on words to explain
who you are!
ADVOCATE
Not all abuse is physical. Abuse can be
perpetrated sexually, mentally, and even
emotionally. Abuse can include humiliation,
controlling what the victim can and can’t
do, isolating the victim from friends and
family, stalking, and undermining the
victim’s confidence and sense of self-worth.
Psychological and emotional abuse have
been experienced fairly equally by both
women and men. Make a plan for how
you can become an advocate in your own
community for victims of abuse. You might
begin by researching signs of trauma in
young people. Write an article for your
school newspaper, post flyers announcing
resources, or create a safe space in your
school for victims to receive help.
WHERE WE’RE FROM
Use this exercise to learn more about how
your classmates’ family and gender can
impact their plans for the future. Divide the
classroom in half, each half representing
a yes or no answer to the statement. The
teacher can read out a series of statements
as students travel to the side of the room
that best matches their answer.
• My family has both parents living
together at home.
• I have a job and my own money to spend.
• My family is strict about who I spend time
with.
• In the future, having a career is most
important to me.
• In the future, having a family is most
important to me.
Allow time between statements to turn to
a neighbor and share why you’re standing
where you are. What did you learn about
yourself, and about your classmates?
Did you notice any patterns?
7
ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH RESOURCES
ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH RESOURCES, CONTINUED
24-hour Help Lines
Shelters
Counselling and Advocacy
Just for Youth
NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE
DAYSTAR
THE HEALING CENTER
PATHFINDERS
Daystar, Inc. is a safe and caring long-term
transitional home that provides women with the
support, tools and resources to build a life free from
domestic abuse.
Offers sexual abuse survivors and their loved ones
opportunities for healing by providing support,
advocacy and community education.
Services for youth victims including emergency
youth shelter, LGBTQ youth supportive housing
program, drop-in center for basic needs, and handin-hand therapy services for youth sexual abuse
survivors.
Confidential, one-on-one support to each caller,
offering crisis intervention and direct connection to
sources for immediate safety. Exellent source for
friends, family, and others seeking to help someone
they know.
1 (800) 799-SAFE (7233)
SOJOURNER FAMILY PEACE CENTER
24/7 Confidential Domestic Violence Hotline.
(414) 933-2722
THE WOMEN’S CENTER OF WAUKESHA
Confidential Hotline staffed to answer questions and
offer support 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
(262) 542-3828
Health Resources
OUTREACH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS
Outreach Community Health Centers, formerly
Health Care for the Homeless of Milwaukee, serves
patients of all ages and income levels.
(414) 385-0334
MILWAUKEE WOMEN’S CENTER REFUGE
the Milwaukee Women’s Center’s Emergency Shelter
is dedicated to providing around-the-clock shelter
and supportive services to women and children
fleeing abusive relationships.
(414) 671-6140
SOJOURNER TRUTH HOUSE
An emergency shelter offers a safe respite for
battered women, sexual assault victims, and
children. Provides food, transportation, clothing,
security, support, counseling, advocacy, and
children’s programming.
(414) 933-2722
(414) 374-2400
Legal Assistance
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF WISCONSIN
DISTRICT ATTOURNEY’S OFFICE
Sensitive Crimes Unit: (414) 278-5019
Domestic Violence Unit: (414) 278-4792
Planned Parenthood believes that you have a right
to quality, affordable, and confidential health care.
The 1-800 number below will connect you to the
nearest health center.
1-800-230-PLAN (7526)
PROGRESSIVE COMMUNITY HEALTH
CENTERS
Progressive Community Health Centers provides
comprehensive health care and social services to
patients of all ages and incomes for residents of
the inner-city neighborhoods on Milwaukee’s North
Side.
(414) 935-8000
SIXTEENTH STREET COMMUNITY HEALTH
CENTERS
Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers,
serves patients of all ages and income levels with
comprehensive health services.
(414) 672-1353
8
LEGAL ACTION OF WISCONSIN
Low income legal services
(262) 278-7722
LEGAL AID SOCIETY
Low income legal services
(414) 727-5300
CENTRO LEGAL POR DERECHOS HUMANOS
Sliding Scale Legal Services and Family Law and
Criminal Misdemeanor.
(414) 384-7900
SOJOURNER FAMILY PEACE CENTER
Restraining Order and Legal Advocacy: (414) 2785079
Family Advocacy and Support Services: (414) 2761911
(414) 671-HEAL (4235)
LATINA RESOURCE CENTER
Offers advocacy and victim services to adults, youth,
and children impacted by domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault and/or human trafficking,
including bilingual intervention and advocacy,
transitional housing, hand-in-hand youth sexual
assault groups, adult sexual assault and domestic
violence survivors groups, and more.
(414) 389-6500
MILWAUKEE WOMEN’S CENTER
The Milwaukee Women’s Center provides
comprehensive services and treatment for women,
men, and children whose lives have been affected
by domestic violence, addiction, mental health
issues, and poverty.
(414) 671-6140
SOJOURNER FAMILY PEACE CENTER
Sojourner Family Peace Center is the largest
nonprofit provider of domestic violence prevention
and intervention services in Wisconsin. Sojourner
provides an array of support aimed at helping
families affected by domestic violence achieve
safety, justice and well-being.
(414) 933-2722
THE WOMEN’S CENTER OF WAUKESHA
The Women’s Center offers emergency shelter for
abused families, transitional living, counseling, legal
advocacy, and employment counseling. They also
provide Hispanic outreach, community education
programs, information and referral services, and a
24-hour hotline.
(262) 547-4600
(414) 964-2565
WALKER’S POINT YOUTH AND FAMILY
CENTER
Offers shelter, counseling, educational and other
services to help young people resolve their
problems and strengthen family relationships.
(414) 964-2565
Other Resources
AGING RESOURCE CENTER
Resources for Older Adults, Caregivers, and
Survivors of Elder Abuse/Neglect.
(414) 289-6874
MILWAUKEE LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER
Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,
and Transgender individuals.
(414) 271-2656
MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA OF WISCONSIN
Mental Health Information and Patient Advocacy.
(414) 276-3122
WISCONSIN VICTIM HELPLINE
Referral, Information, and Advocacy Helpline
1 (800) 446-6564
YWCA SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN
The YWCA works to increase economic opportunities
for women and girls of color, and to improve the
often disproportionately negative health and safety
outcomes for women and girls of color by making
sure they have access to high-quality health and
safety resources and support systems.
(414) 374-1800
MILWAUKEE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Emergency: 911
Non-emergency: (414) 933-4444
Sensitive Crimes Unit: (414) 935-7405
9
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
This play guide is a designed as a complimentary resource
to enhance your experience of THE DROWNING GIRLS.
It offers historical information on the real events that
inspired the play, plus a behind-the-scenes look on bringing
the three women, and the play, to life. Using standardsbased tools, this guide aims to encourage questioning,
insight, and ultimately develop understanding of the play’s
underlying ideas and contemporary relevance. Inside you’ll
find oral discussion and writing prompts designed to help
students foster reflection and build connections from the
ideas onstage to the world around them. Please adapt and
expand this guide to best fit your classroom. You can make
copies or download the guide from our website at www.rt-w.com. We hope this guide can be a valuable resource for
your classroom and enrich your experience at Renaissance
Theaterworks.
THE DROWNING GIRLS AND THIS PLAY GUIDE
ADDRESS SPECIFIC EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES:
158 N. Broadway Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53202
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Suzan Fete
PRODUCING DIRECTOR
Julie Swenson
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Lisa Rasmussen
MARKETING AND PR DIRECTOR
Kat Tow
ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE
Mallory Metoxen
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Izetta Rees
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.2
SEASON SPONSORS
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.3
NATIONAL CORE ARTS
STANDARDS
Write arguments to support claims
in an analysis of substantive topics
or texts using valid reasoning and
relevant and sufficient evidence.
Write informative/explanatory texts
to examine and convey complex
ideas and information clearly and
accurately through the effective
selection, organization, and analysis
of content.
Write narratives to develop real or
imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, well-chosen
details and well-structured event
sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.5
Analyze the structure of texts,
including how specific sentences,
paragraphs, and larger portions
of the text (e.g., a section, chapter,
scene, or stanza) relate to each other
and the whole.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.6
Assess how point of view or purpose
shapes the content and style of a text.
10
Integrate and evaluate content
presented in diverse media and
formats, including visually and
quantitatively, as well as in words.
Integrate and evaluate information
presented in diverse media
and formats, including visually,
quantitatively, and orally.
TH.Re7.1 Perceive and analyze
artistic work.
TH.Re8.1 Interpret intent and
meaning in artistic work.
TH.Re9.1 Apply criteria to evaluate
artistic work.
TH.Cn10.1 Synthesize and relate
knowledge and personal experiences
to make art.
TH.Cn11.1 Relate artistic ideas
and works with societal, cultural
and historical context to deepen
understanding
If you have any questions regarding this
play guide, please contact Kat Tow at
414.273.0800 x201.