Dec 7: We Were Here

We Were Here: An Enhanced Performance

Arranged and written by Betsy Bard and Micaela León Perdomo, We Were Here is a play exploring the history of immigrant workers at the Blake & Knowles Foundry in East Cambridge by Youth Underground from Central Square Theater.

For too long, the stories of the twenty-five Polish women who worked at the Blake & Knowles Foundry in the early 1900s have been omitted from history. They performed harsh, grueling labor, forging the steam water pumps vital to protecting U.S. soldiers during World War I, their strength and resilience remaining largely unrecognized.

We Were Here brings these forgotten workers out of the shadows. Drawing from dedicated research, the performance explores what these women might have felt and shared as they toiled side-by-side amidst the extreme heat and noise of the foundry. Through their imagined words, we remember and honor that they were here.

Admission to this powerful enhanced reading is free and open to all, offering a unique opportunity to witness this history. This performance takes place at The Foundry, the very site in Cambridge where this history unfolded in 1911. Experience the story in the place where the women of Blake & Knowles once worked. This is an enhanced reading performance; actors will have scripts in hand, directed by Kim Holliday.

Production History

This powerful work was first performed by participants in the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, who originally researched this history with guidance from History Cambridge and the Cambridge Historical Commission. It is now performed by Youth Underground from Central Square Theater.