Sheltered Women:  A Fruitful Journey

There was joy among “Sheltered Women” cast members, director, other supporters and, yes, me, the playwright, when Gene Irby, co-chairman of the 2015 New Mexico AACTFest, announced that our play would be one of two to represent the state at Region VI competitions.  It was a fruitful end to a long journey.  Added celebration came with announcement that we were honored also for Best Costumes and three of our players – Lisa Cisneros, Justina Rivas, and Sandra Nepstad – were named to the all-star cast.

When I first wrote the play in 2011, it was an act of love, trying to keep alive the stories of Iraqi women suffering under the heavy hand of radical Islamic rule.  In the end it will always be their story and those of us involved in the play are simply the tools for telling that story.

As one adjudicator said when giving us our comments, when she read the script she thought, this could be either really good or really bad.  It will take some incredible actresses to pull this off.

“You did it,” she said, and she was right.

The cast, crew, and director of “Sheltered Women” became a family during the process of bringing an important story to life.  It is a family I will always value.

By Kayt C. Peck, Playwright and actor