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When

Occurs on Sunday May 16 2021

Approximate running time: 2 hours

Venue

Virtual Events - Warner Theatre
68 Main Street
Torrington CT 06790

Event Notes

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SILENT SKY by Lauren Gunderson

One night only! The Warner Theatre will present a live-streamed staged reading of SILENT SKY by Lauren Gunderson on . This streaming event is free to all, but please consider making a donation when you register. Gifts of any amount are appreciated.

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.

The cast features Rebekah Derrick, Martha Irving, Eric Lindblom, Lyn Nagel and Ingrid Smith.  The reading is directed by Sharon W. Houk.

About the Playwright:

Lauren Gunderson is the most produced living playwright in America, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award, a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and John Gassner Award for Playwriting, and a recipient of the Mellon Foundation’s 3-Year Residency with Marin Theatre Co. She studied Southern Literature and Drama at Emory University, and Dramatic Writing at NYU’s Tisch School where she was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. Her work has been commissioned, produced and developed at companies across the US including the Denver Center (THE BOOK OF WILL), South Coast Rep (EMILIE, SILENT SKY), The Kennedy Center (THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF DR. WONDERFUL AND HER DOG!), the O’Neill Theatre Center, Berkeley Rep, Shotgun Players, TheatreWorks, Crowded Fire, San Francisco Playhouse, Marin Theatre, Synchronicity, Olney Theatre, Geva, and more. Her work is published by Dramatists Play Service (SILENT SKY, BAUER), Playscripts (I AND YOU; EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR; and TOIL AND TROUBLE), and Samuel French (EMILIE). She is a Playwright in Residence at The Playwrights Foundation, and a proud Dramatists Guild member. She is from Atlanta, GA, and lives in San Francisco. LaurenGunderson.com and @LalaTellsAStory.

Warner Theatre Staged Readings are sponsored by Thomaston Savings Bank. Warner Theatre virtual programming is made possible by The Marine Family and the Connecticut Office of the Arts. The Warner Stage Company’s presenting sponsor is Charlotte Hungerford Hospital.

SILENT SKY by Lauren Gunderson is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service and Lauren Gunderson.


Event Sponsors

Sponsored by the Marine Family
Sponsored by DECD
Sponsored by Thomaston Savings Bank
Sponsored by Charlotte Hungerford Hospital



©2021. This Video recording was produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service and Lauren Gunderson. All rights reserved. This performance is authorized for non-commercial use only. By accepting this license, you agree not to authorize or permit the Video to be recorded, copied, distributed, broadcast, telecast or otherwise exploited, in whole or in part, in any media now known or hereafter developed. 

WARNING: Federal law provides severe civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorized reproduction, distribution or exhibition of copyrighted motion pictures, Audio & Videotapes or Audio & Videodiscs. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and may constitute a felony with a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and/or a $250,000.00 fine. 

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