Two years ago, in 2023, I was presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity: the chance to portray my favorite childhood book heroine in a play and help adapt the script. Little Women is my all-time favorite book and has been since I was in the fourth grade. Jo March instantly became my favorite character ever. I felt that she was exactly like me, even though I was only nine or ten-years-old. As I grew up and reread the book, watching the various movie adaptations, I saw myself more and more in Jo March. I was an aspiring writer. In high school I wrote and directed a play, just like Jo did with her sisters. All of this is to say that when I was cast as Jo March in an original theater production with a local theater company, I was ecstatic. I had done plays with this theater company before and they knew I had experience with writing a play, so they also asked me to help finish the adapting of the script. It was a dream come true.

I worked with the three original adaptors. The scenes I worked mostly on had to do with Jo when she was in New York, and I reworked a lot of the scenes that centered on Beth March. Beth is also a special character to me. She reminds me of a childhood friend of mine who passed away from cancer in high school. My friend was not shy like Beth, but she cared for others like Beth did. I wanted Beth to shine in our script and I wanted her (spoiler) death scene to be an impactful moment that slowed down the pacing of the show. The biggest lesson I learned when adapting that scene was that sometimes you have to stray away from the source material. In the book, Beth’s death scene involves just Beth and Jo, but I wanted the scene to have more characters involved. I gave a significant role to Marmee in that scene to better portray a mother losing her daughter. Personally, I think that scene is some of my best work. 

Working on the script helped me understand the nuances of the book so much better and I felt so much more connected to the script than I had with any other production I had worked on as an actress. We started the show when the characters were older and Jo was already in New York trying to sell her stories. We continued through act one with the older versions of the characters until we reached Beth’s death scene. We then diverted from the book again and didn’t have Jo write “My Beth.” Instead, we had her start writing Little Women itself. This is something that a lot of versions of Little Women do. As Jo, I started reciting and pretending to write the descriptions of the four sisters from the first chapter of the book, and as each sister’s name was called, they appeared onstage as their younger self. When the description about Jo was being read (via voice over at that point), I swung off the robe I was wearing and flew down the attic stairs and became younger Jo. I can’t describe in enough detail how cool that moment felt. 

The rest of the second act continued with the younger versions of the characters until we met back up to where act one started. The rest of the second act consisted of Jo publishing Little Women and the show ended with a sweet moment between Marmee, Jo, Meg, and Amy (with a nod to Beth). It was a long and grueling process to feel like I was doing Jo March justice, but I think the final product was perfect. I remember I had a lot of bruises from rehearsals because I was constantly running around and falling as the energetic, clumsy, and tomboyish younger Jo. I also stayed late at the theater painting the set and acting as the “assistant to the assistant director.” I had done shows with that theater company before, but I really felt like they had become a second family to me that year. I left my heart on that stage and in that script. I think that remains my greatest accomplishment yet.

All of this to say is that I hope whoever is reading this becomes inspired to achieve their outlandish dreams. Never in a million year did I think I would have the opportunity to do this as a girl from a small rural community, and yet I did. I also hope this inspires whoever is reading this to embrace their hobbies even if they don’t align with their career goals. I’m a nursing major, which has absolutely nothing to do with playwriting or acting! Don’t let yourself be put into a box. We can all have passions in life that are not our main careers. As for me, I have taken a slight break from theater to focus on school, but I did get to reprise my stint as Jo for two scenes for the Christmas Variety Show that theater company put on last year. I also hope to return to the stage in a bigger way soon!

Shoutout to the wonderful cast and crew of Little Women 2023 with Passion for Acting Theatre Company!