The School of Theater will present its next Stage II production, Silent Sky, this week.
Silent Sky will be performed at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday in Black Box Theater in Wanda L. Bass Music Center.
Silent Sky is about the life of Henrietta Leavitt, an early-20th century astronomer at Harvard College Observatory. During her career, Leavitt made many key discoveries, despite facing discrimination as a female scientist.
Onnika Hanson, acting senior, plays “Henrietta” and said the play is a chance to showcase an often untold side of history. Hanson also said the scientific aspect of the play is interesting to work with.
“It’s a cool show where the science supports the show, but it’s really the humanity that leads the whole thing,” she said.
Addison Pollard, theater and performance junior, plays Henrietta’s sister “Margaret Leavitt.” She said the play has feminist themes.
“It’s very feminist, but it’s not in your face,” Pollard said. “It’s a very graceful play.”
Pollard said it is fun balancing the show’s informative nature with its universal concepts.
“Even though it’s a very smart play, it has very simple themes and it’s very down-to-earth,” Pollard said.
The show is directed by Guest Director Lindsay Rae Taylor. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with honors in theater from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. She has performed at venues across the world in places such as Poland, Germany, Hungary, and Greece.
Taylor said Playright Lauren Gunderson makes Silent Sky’s subject matter universal for the viewer.
“Lauren Gunderson refracts Henrietta’s story through a theatrical lens, allowing those of us who are unaware of her work to learn something about her while also contemplating our own place in the universe,” she said. “At its core, it is a play about perspective.”
Hanson said she appreciates the different perspectives Taylor brings from outside the School of Theater.
“It’s nice working with her because, being in the acting school all the time, I’ve worked with every acting professor. So, having someone outside of OCU come in with a slightly different perspective on how to work a rehearsal room, how to work a monologue and how to build a show is nice to see, and it’s not as repetitive,” Hanson said.
Tickets may be purchased for $5 at the Performing Arts Ticket Office in Edith Kinney Gaylord Center or at okcu.edu/tickets.
Editor’s note: Nicole Waltman, editor-in-chief, is cast in Silent Sky. She did not participate in the writing or editing of this story.
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