The Making of Warriors
by Sharon Pollock

Published by Playwrights Canada Press Toronto

"Sharon Pollock: Collected Works Volume 3" orders@playwrightscanada.com
PDF Manuscript copy available on request HC_Pollock@shaw.ca

 Number of Acts: 1
 Length: 45 mins
 Total actors required: Dependent on production
 Women: 3
 Chorus: Minimum of 2

 Synopsis:
The Making of Warriors” weaves together fact, fiction, objective reporting, subjective dramatization and story-telling, in a theatrical unfolding of the lives of three women. Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, a M’kmaq from Nova Scotia was a key figure in the Wounded Knee stand-off between the FBI and American Indian Movement in 1973. Her murder in 1975 remained an unsolved mystery until 2004. Ultimate responsibility for her death may lie with the FBI who leaked her name as an informer to force her to give perjured evidence against leaders of AIM. Sarah Moore Grimke, the daughter of a South Carolina judge and slave owner, fought against the institution of slavery and was one of the first to speak for women’s rights in the 1800’s. Silenced by self-doubt in middle age, Grimke re-emerged in old age to continue the struggle for women’s vote and equality. The third of these women, an unknown woman, cannot rid herself of a seemingly innocent yet ominous scene she viewed at the site of Aquash’s death. A Chorus of story- tellers and role players accompany the women on their journey from simple observers to active participants and warriors. Gender, ethnicity (with the exception of Annie who is Indigenous) and number of Chorus members are a production choice.