In the dark, chilly, Multi-Purpose Room (MPR) of Pin Oak Middle School, the Advanced Theater students stepped onto the stage, illuminated with red light. A hush fell over the crowd as the female leads delivered the opening lines of the play To See the Stars, a show about female empowerment in the shirtwaist industry. 

Directed by the theater teacher, Tierra Henry, the play follows Anya Rosen and five other girls in 19th-century New York, struggling through life and desperately trying to make their voices heard. 

Henry dedicated over two months to rehearsals. Throughout October and November, the Advanced Theater group rehearsed every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. In total, they spent over 50 hours practicing to ensure that the show fully captured the intended message. 

Henry wanted to choose a play that not only highlighted her cast’s talents but also shone a spotlight on female empowerment. 

“I would definitely say the female empowerment as well as the immigrant and worker rights [led me to want to do the show],” Henry said. “Whenever I pick a show, I make sure that it’s something that’s current and has some sort of emotional connection to the audience.”  

Reflecting on the performance, Henry shared her pride in her students’ dedication and capability to be able to perform To See the Stars.

“I’m really impressed with my kids, especially because this is really serious content for middle school,” Henry said. “But my kids are very capable, and they showed everybody that even though we are middle schoolers, we can still do really adult content.”  

Ella Bibi, a second-year Advanced Theater actress, was chosen for the role of Anya Rosen, the female lead who is fighting for women’s rights in the shirtwaist industry. 

“It [playing the role] was really cool because I’ve never done something as big as this character has done, and it was just such a good thing to experience,” Bibi said.

In modern-day theater, there has been a rise in female representation and empowerment both on and off the stage with new plays such as Suffs by Shaina Taub and The Color Purple by Marsha Norman. 

“I think there are a lot of shows about women’s rights, about workers rights, and about immigrant rights, those are things that we talk about a lot in theater,” Henry said.

Pin Oak Theater is modeling this movement with their play, To See the Stars. 

“I feel like it’s really current; we are still dealing with a lot of those issues today, and that’s why I picked the show,” Henry said. “These are things that we are still dealing with in 2024, even though this show takes place in 1909.”

For Bibi, acting in this show has aided in increasing her knowledge of the women who went through similar experiences.

“It made me connect more with these women and these characters, and it made me know more about the real world,” Bibi said.