Study Guide
Pontine Theatre's study guide for DEARLY EARNED contains an overview of the content of the play followed by a short description of each scene. These are accompanied by excerpts from the script to illustrate the various historical sources used in crafting the play; glossaries and background explanations are provided as necessary. Interspersed between the scene descriptions are historical photos of factories and factory workers, maps, illustrations of textile machinery, an explanation of the technology involved in weaving cloth in a 19th century factory, suggestions for follow-up activities, and a bibliography.

Workshop Description/Curriculum Framework
Pontine Theatre has developed three classroom workshops which can be used to deepen the impact of seeing DEARLY EARNED. These workshops, lead by the performers, involve students in creative activites that connect them to the individual, human experience of 19th century factory work. Also provided is a summary of how these workshops support the History & Social Studies and English Language Arts Curriculum Frameworks of New Hampshire and Massachussetts.

The Script
The text for DEARLY EARNED is drawn entirely from historical sources: diaries, letters and newspaper articles and editorials. The result of extensive research, this script contains material from a number of
unpublished sources. It offers educators a variety of unique, first person accounts of the rise and fall of the New England Cotton Mills, as seen by mill workers, mill owners and journalists.