Silent Sky by Laura Gunderson
Directed by Celia Couture
Audition Dates: Monday & Tuesday, December 17-18, 7:00 pm; Callbacks Wednesday December 19, 7:00 pm. By appointment in half-hour slots 7:00 – 9:30 pm – 4 auditions per slot. For an audition slot, visit SignUpGenius HERE
Please contact the producers with any questions: cjcardoni@gmail.com or mellynsine@gmail.com
Auditions: Will consist of readings from the script. Please be familiar with the script
Rehearsals will all take place at Beatrice Herford’s Vokes Theatre and will begin on or about the 3rd week in March.
Production Dates: May 2-18, 2019 – Thursday-Saturday 8:00 pm; Saturday May 11 & 18 2:00 pm
About The Play:
Time: The 1900’s
Synopsis: When Henrietta Leavitt begins work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she isn’t allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women “computers,” charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculates projects in “girl hours” and has no time for the women’s probing theories. As Henrietta, in her free time, attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love. The true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women’s ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them. Social progress, like scientific progress, can be hard to see when one is trapped among earthly complications; Henrietta Leavitt and her female peers believe in both, and their dedication changed the way we understand both the heavens and Earth.
Roles:
Henrietta Leavitt, Female, 30-39: Brilliant, determined, a dreamer, has never much cared for the “status quo.”
Margaret Leavitt, Female, 25-35: A homebody, genuine, sweet-natured, ability to sing.
Annie Cannon, Female, 40-49: A leader, tough, sure, grows into a firebrand for the suffrage movement.
Williamina Fleming, Female, 45-59: Scottish, Intelligent, witty, warm and outgoing, the first of her kind.
Peter Shaw, Male, 30-39: Reserved, his views have never really been challenged prior to the events of this play, unassuming but confident.
