Roles are cast and rehearsals and under way for Olympic Theatre Arts’ production of “Silent Sky” — a story based on the real life of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt.
OTA director Josh Sutcliffe said Leavitt and her fellow female “computers,” who persisted against the patriarchal scientific community of the early 1900s to make groundbreaking discoveries, have not seen their contributions sufficiently recognized and aims to fix that.
“It helps that the script is so good,” said Sutcliffe. “And I think every one of the cast members is really invested in the story and in the project itself, and in the message.”
“Silent Sky” opens Friday, Nov. 8.
OTA newcomer Ginny Holladay Jesse takes the lead role of Henrietta Leavitt.
“I’m thrilled to be cast in this; it’s a beautifully written play, but just reading it is not enough to realize just how personal it can get with a character,” Jesse said.
“I’ve found a lot in common with her and I’ve found a lot about her that reminds me of other women in my life. It’s fun to portray their perspective, which is very different from my own experience, but that’s the beautiful thing about getting to take on such a role.”
Emma Jane Garcia plays Margaret, Henrietta’s “homebody” sister back in the Midwest.
“Margaret provides this counterpoint example of what Henrietta’s life could have been, or maybe what Henrietta was expected to be,” Garcia said.
Garcia was last seen on OTA’s stage as “Casey,” the lead female role for “First Date.”
“I think if these really impassioned, powerful women — the scientists at Harvard — are influencing in any way the housewife back in Wisconsin, they’re doing something even bigger than the incredible science they are undertaking,” Jesse said.
Tia Stephens, who plays Annie Cannon, Leavitt’s colleague who becomes a real “firebrand,” said, “It’s exciting playing a real person who was so awesome and has such a rich back-story.
Stephens’ last role at OTA was that of director for the comedy Sylvia last Fall. Coincidentally, she planned to major in astronomy before moving on to study theater at Western Washington University.
Another newcomer to OTA’s stage is Matt Forrest, who portrays the only man in the play, the head astronomer’s apprentice Peter Shaw.
“It’s just great to get into acting again,” siad Forrest, who was last on stage in 2014 as part of a high school production.
“I’m very pleased to be part of a play that has a ‘movement’ behind it,” he said.
Also cast is Marissa Wilson as Williamina Fleming, a fellow scientist who is fun, Scottish, and “smart as a whip.”
This is Sutcliffe’s third foray into directing at OTA after “Time Stands Still” and “Bakersfield Mist.”
”Silent Sky” represents a significant raising of the bar toward a more complicated show, OTA officials say.
“I have so much faith and trust in Kelsi Chambers, my stage manager, who has a lot of backstage experience at OTA,” Sutcliffe said.
“It’s really rewarding coming to rehearsal and having ideas and being able to work out the ideas with a receptive group of people who have also come to rehearsal with their own ideas. It feels very collaborative, which is what I really like.”
Added Garcia, “From that first audition phase you could see that Josh really facilitates a container of lightness and fun which I think balances out some of these serious topics that we have to dive into. He’s kind of mastered dipping back and forth between the serious and the light.”
About the show
“Silent Sky” runs Nov. 8-24. Performance times are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. A Pay-What-You-Will show for any and all budgets is Thursday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. Each Sunday show is a “Talkback” show where audiences can stay after the performance and talk with the cast and crew about the production.
Tickets are $18 for the general public, $16 for OTA members and $12 for students with school identification card. Get tickets at the theatre box office from 1-5pm, Monday through Friday, or online at www.OlympicTheatreArts.org.
For further information, call the theatre at 360-683-7326.
