Nora Douglass decided to get personal when she started working on her master’s thesis in playwriting at the University of Washington. Rather than writing a fictional story, she drew inspiration for her play, Edmonds Stories, from her family’s history of immigrating to the United States from Sweden in the early 1890s.
“The script is loosely based on my great-grandparents’ experience moving to Minnesota, then Seattle and finally Edmonds, Washington, sometime around 1892,” Douglass says. “My great-grandmother had five daughters, four of whom worshipped her and one of whom left town to live in Canada. Although this breach was not directly discussed, as a young child hiding behind the stove, I overheard my aunts discussing it and could tell that something major had occurred. Edmonds Stories explores mother-daughter conflicts and the difficulties faced by immigrant families.”
Douglass recently received the opportunity to revisit Edmonds Stories, which she first wrote more than 30 years ago in graduate school, thanks to her longtime friend and artistic director of the Theater Company of Lafayette (TCL), Madge Montgomery. They met as undergrads at the University of Puget Sound and, according to Douglass, were each other’s support systems while pursuing graduate degrees at the University of Washington.
Together, the duo produced the original workshop of the show at the university in 1988, which led to a mainstage production the following year. In 1990, Edmonds Stories participated in the ACTF Regional Festival at Western Washington University and was performed by the Driftwood Players in Edmonds as part of the City of Edmonds Centennial celebration.
“It is a dream come true to be working with Madge again on a play I thought had been put to bed,” Douglass says. “Edmonds Stories was the first play I wrote in graduate school, and Madge directed that play in two different venues with two different casts. In many ways, I feel like I have returned home with this production at the Theater Company of Lafayette.”
‘A human story’
Edmonds Stories will make its Colorado debut on July 21 at Lafayette’s Mary Miller Theatre, running through Aug. 5. Set in Edmonds in 1900, the award-winning play examines the Medin family’s pursuit of the American dream. It also touches on the importance of honoring one’s heritage and questions how much immigrants are expected to sacrifice in order to assimilate.
“Immigration has become a hot-button topic,” says Montgomery, who is directing Edmonds Stories at TLC. “But unless you are Indigenous, you have immigrant stories in your family. Nora’s play is not overtly political; instead, it tells the story of ordinary people who happen to be immigrants adjusting to a new environment.”
Although the play contains weighty, introspective moments, the creative team says the production is full of heart. “While the subject is serious, there is a lot of humor,” Montgomery says. “It’s not a slog; there are a lot of dimensions to show the full experience of immigrants. The play manages to be both deeply human and intensely personal while also being complex and layered. Edmonds Stories had been on my list of projects to direct again for a while because I thought the story would resonate with the community and work well in our theater.”
TLC’s intimate 75-seat theater allows audience members to easily connect with the family’s struggles; however, it also presents Montgomery with some directorial challenges.
“Our theater is a little unusual; it is a small space, but this is a big play,” she says. “As a director, it has been challenging adapting a piece that was written for a large space to our theater. We use the aisles and every inch of the space; there are 10 characters in the play, so that is a lot of actors on a little stage. Ultimately, I think the intimacy of our theater is a benefit for the production; this is a lovely human story, and I think people will feel emotionally close to it because they are physically close to the actors.”
The multicultural cast of Edmonds Stories at TLC, including two performers who immigrated to the U.S. from Brazil and the Philippines, highlights the universality of the immigrant experience and how, despite our differences, our stories are ultimately similar.
“I hope the audience understands the family’s struggles and triumphs to make America their home,” Douglass says. “I would like people to think about the larger societal implications of this personal story and remember to have empathy for people who are different and struggling to find their place in this country. We live in such a divisive era, but treating immigrants as a problem is not the answer; America is, and has always been, better off because of immigrants.”
ON STAGE: ‘Edmonds Stories’ by Theater Company of Lafayette. Various Times, July 21–Aug. 5. Mary Miller Theater, 300 E. Simpson St., Lafayette. Tickets here.
