Silent Sky

By by Lauren Gunderson with Music by Jenny Giering

Produced by special arrangements with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

Creative Team

Director:

Corinne Johnson

Dramaturg:

Aristotle Taylor

Technical Director:

Matthew Lamers

Scenic Designer:

Elyssa Munch

Properties Coordinator:

Lisa Scott

Costume/Makeup Designer:

Caitlin Quinn

Lighting Designer:

Jacob Steen

Sound Designer: 

Ethan Hollinger

Stage Manager:

Jordyn Rodriguez

Assistant. Stage Manager:

Kian Arnold

Accent Coach:

Lauren Roth

Cast  

HENRIETTA LEAVITT:

Isabelle Hopewell

MARGARET LEAVITT:

Kate Warmka

PETER SHAW:

Luke Pfluger

ANNIE CANNON:

Irie Unity

WILLIAMINA FLEMING:

Gracie Schad

Time: 1900-1902

Scene Breakdown:

Act I

     Scene 1     Star field and outside church- Wisconsin

     Scene 2     Harvard Observatory 2nd floor offices

     Scene 3      Harvard Observatory 2nd floor offices

     Scene 4      Harvard Observatory 2nd floor offices

     Scene 5      Leavitt Home- Wisconsin

10 minute intermission 

Act II

     Scene 1      Ocean liner and Harvard Observatory 2nd floor offices

     Scene 2    Ocean liner and Boston Harbor

     Scene 3     Harvard Observatory hallway

     Scene 4     Henrietta’s home in Cambridge

     Scene 5     Star field

Cast & Creative Team

Director's Note

Silent Sky is inspired by the real-life story of Henrietta Swan Leavitt, a Harvard “computer” from 1898-1921.  Through her work at Harvard, Leavitt made significant discoveries about Cepheid stars. While Leavitt’s name might not be readily recognized, her dogged research and groundbreaking discoveries have paved the way for much of our contemporary understanding of the universe.

2011 Nobel Prize Recipient, Adam Riess, used Leavitt’s tool while at Harvard researching cosmology in the early 21st Century, almost a hundred years after her discovery.

“By discovering a relationship for stars between how bright they appear and how fast they blink, Henrietta Leavitt gave us a tool to gauge the size and expansion rate of the universe. That tool remains, to this day, one of our very best for studying the universe.”

Riess, The Harvard Gazette

Silent Sky playwright Lauren Gunderson stumbled upon the story of real-life Astronomer, Henrietta Leavitt by accident.

“I’ve always been drawn to tell stories of science. My earliest plays were about Isaac Newton and Leonardo Da Vinci as young men. But then I saw the inherent drama of women in science, who have it twice as hard (which means twice the drama). I found Henrietta’s story by chance while perusing the stalls of used books in New York. There isn’t that much known of her, but what is known is that in 1912 this unassuming but meticulous and curious woman gave the flagging field of astronomy the ingredient it needed to leap into the future. Without her finding a pattern in Cepheid stars, great astronomers like Shapley and Hubble wouldn’t have shown us how huge and fast-moving our universe is.”

Gunderson, Theatreworks Interview

Gunderson provides credit and long overdue celebration for the discoveries made by Leavitt and her fellow female “computers”.  But Silent Sky goes far beyond a simple historical account.  This play explores issues that are as prevalent today as they were during Leavitt’s time. Just as we do today, Gunderson’s character grapple with changing mores, work/life balance, belief systems, political advocacy, breaking boundaries and equity.

 John and Mary Gonska Cultural Residency

Post-Performance Events

Tuesday March 14: Please join members of the Silent Sky Cast, Creative Team, and staff of the Alworth Planetarium for a post-show discussion.  A telescope viewing will be held at the end of the discussion.

Wednesday March 15 -- Saturday March 18: Please join staff from the Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium outside the lobby in the Ordean Court for telescope viewing (weather permitting) immediately after evening performances of Silent Sky. 

And, if you want even more Astronomy fun, check out the Planetarium for public shows on Fridays and Saturdays. The current show schedule can be found on their website (d.umn.edu/planet), on Facebook (UMDPlanetarium), or Instagram (umd_planetarium). Bring your ticket stub from this performance to the Alworth Planetarium for 50% off admission. The discount is valid throughout March and April. Planetarium tickets must be bought in person.

Dramaturg's Note

The average person may not know the history of the study of astronomy, but they likely know a few key names, such as Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble, and so on. These men receive recognition for their contributions to our understanding of the universe, but what about the women in the field? Henrietta Leavitt, Annie Jump Cannon, and Williamina Fleming are not just characters in Silent Sky; they were real women whose work laid the foundation for what is still being discovered about our universe and is still referenced today. 

While Edwin Hubble is famous for determining that the universe itself was expanding, his claim would have been impossible without Leavitt’s Law, which provided  the formula upon which his discoveries were based. Published by Henrietta Leavitt in 1908, Leavitt’s Law determines that measuring the blinking of a cepheid star gives its true brightness, thus leading to us being able to calculate its distance.This discovery led to the understanding that our galaxy is one of thousands in the universe. Another foundational tool used by astronomers today is the Harvard Spectral Classification system, which allows stars to be measured by their surface temperature. Using this system, stars are classified with one of the following letters: O, B, A, F, G, K, or M. O being the hottest, M being the coldest. Few people know that Annie Jump Cannon was responsible for the development of this system, and even fewer know she did so based on a previous system created by Williamina Fleming. These are just a few examples of a long history of women’s contributions to science being uncelebrated.

Despite the challenges they faced as women in astronomy during a time where women held very little power or autonomy, early female scientists like Henrietta Leavitt, Annie Jump Cannon, and Williamina Fleming revolutionized the world of Astronomy. In a time where women could not vote, have their own bank account, work fair hours, or even wear pants in some parts of the country, they overcame the strict patriarchal society of their time to change the game. Without the women you will learn about in this play, our universe wouldn’t be nearly as organized or understood as it is today. Silent Sky is a love letter to not only the women in this show, but to any woman whose contributions to science are overlooked. 

-- Aristotle Taylor, Dramaturg

Production Crew

Scene Shop Supervisor: 

Nick Wright

Master Carpenter: 

Cody
Burgoon

Scenic Artist: 

Madison Bunnell

Scenic Design Faculty Advisor:

Curtis Phillips

Dressers: 

Elsa Persson, Laura Theis,

Makeup/Hair: 

Rhea Nair

Costume/Makeup Design Faculty Advisor: 

Caitlin Quinn

Costume Shop Supervisor: 

Laura Piotrowski

Light Board Operator: 

Courtney Schreiber

Sound Board Operator: 

Zawadi Mwabury

Lighting/Sound Faculty Advisor:

Ethan Hollinger

Scenery / Props Construction Crew: 

Ryan Armstrong, Kathryn Boster, Madison Froehle, Zoe Griese, Ryan Hamilton, Devyn Harris, Luke Hiland, Isabelle Hopewell, B Kelly, Elizabeth Kleis, Matthew Lamers*, Gray Paguyo, Regan Peterson*, Lisa Scott*, Jacob Steen, Ai-Rung Wang, Nelson Wennberg*

Stagecraft Practicum Instructor: 

Katie Cornish

Costume Construction Crew:  

Moriah Babinski*, Erin Christoferson, Mary Cruser, Aaron Dumalag, Emmi Dunkin, Ro Feitl*, Sandi Flahn, Kade Gau*, Elizabeth Kleis, Katy Lacy, Kenzie Moe, Madelyn Nave, Luke Pfluger, Izzy Roy, Jenna Simonson, Abby Swanson, Jessica Thanghe, Olivia Zastrow*

Costume Practicum Instructor: 

Alice Shafer

Light & Sound Crew: 

Jesse Bakken, Cody Burgoon, Shea Callaghan, Jager Christenson, Wesley Christianson, Sheridan Cornett, June Haider, Morgan James, Sophia Nelson, Regan Peterson, Jordyn Rodriguez, Courtney Schreiber, Aristotle Taylor, Louis Thiessen, Irie Unity, Nelson Wennberg

* UMD Theatre is proud to acknowledge our paid student staff.