Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson

Directed by Chloe Bronzan

Auditions:

For an audition appointment, please email Steve Price, Co-Executive Producer here: 

Friday 6/21/2019 – 7:00-10:00pm @ The First Church of Christ, San Rafael
Sunday 6/23/2019 – 7:30-10:30pm @ The First Church of Christ, San Rafael

– Headshot/Resume

– Be prepared to read from sides.  A monologue is optional.

– List of all conflicts between 12/02/2019 (1st rehearsal) and 1/15/2020 (final dress) on Mon.-Fri. evenings and Sat.-Sun. days and evenings  (please prepare the list ahead of time)

Callbacks:

Saturday 6/29/2019 – 6:00-9:00pm @ RVP

Sides: (Click to download script here)

ANNIE, WILLIAMINA & PETER
Start: p. 29 “Where on earth is she going?”
End: p.30 “Thank you.”

HENRIETTA & MARGARET
Start: p.9, Top of scene.
End: p.12 “Still Wisconsin.”

PETER & HENRIETTA
Start: p.13, Top of scene
End: p.15 “We’d very much like you to stay.”

ANNIE & HENRIETTA
Start: p.31, Top of scene
End: p.32 “That chance.”

All ethnicities encouraged.

Plot Summary: 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.
Director’s Note: Although this play is set in an earlier time period, it need not be acted as such. The phrasing and humor of Lauren Gunderson’s dialogue are contemporary. 

Characters

 

• Henrietta Leavitt (LEH-vit): 30s, brilliant, meticulous, passionate, driven– almost always wearing a period hearing-aid.
• Margaret Leavitt: 30s, homebody, domestic, grounded, creative, sweet, Henrietta’s sister.
• Peter Shaw: 30s, the head astronomer’s apprentice, oversees the work of the ladies, confident, curious, sometimes stubborn, a good-hearted person who is unaware of his privilege.
• Annie Cannon: 40s, the leader, confident, straightforward, unapologetic, intelligent, grows into a firebrand.
• Williamina Fleming: 50s, smart as a whip and fun, started off as the head astronomer’s housekeeper and was eventually promoted to do lab work, Scottish. 

 

Rehearsals (at RVP Barn Theatre):

12/2/2019 – 1/15/2020  (15-20 hours per week)
Sun.-Thurs. evenings 7:00-10:00pm
And, some weekend days, TBA

Tech Rehearsals:

Sat. 1/11/2020 – Sun. 1/12/2020 10:00am-10:00pm

Dress Rehearsals/Previews:

Mon. 1/13/2020-Thurs. 1/16/2020 Call Time 6:00pm

Performances:  

January 17 – February 9, 2020

Thurs. nights – 7:30pm
Fri. and Sat nights – 8:00pm
Sun. matinee – 2:00pm

Strike:

Sun. 2/9/2020, immediately following final performance

Entire Commitment:

12/2/2029 – 2/9/2020

Stipend:

Marin and Sonoma County residents – $100
Any actors crossing a bridge – $250