“The mind is sexless. And so is the sky,” Williamina Fleming, a coworker and friend of Silent Sky’s leading lady Henrietta Leavitt, said in the presence of an almost full house, performed by the Ohio University School of Theater Tuesday night in Forum Theatre.
The show follows the life and times of real-life renowned astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, who made the findings that laid the foundation of the discovery of multiple galaxies in the universe.
“It's about a female scientist, Henrietta, who lived in the late 1800s,” Shelley Delaney, the show’s director, said. “When she was in her early 20s, she was asked to come be what they called a computer at the Harvard Observatory, these women they hired to basically map the stars.”
Delaney chose the show at the request of Dr. Carey Snyder to direct a production keeping women’s suffrage in mind, because 2020 will mark the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the U.S.
“At a time when everybody thought that the universe but contained really solely our galaxy, she was doing documentation and discovery that led to the idea both that the universe is vast and measurable and expanding,” Delaney said.
Leavitt is a brilliant young scientist, who, in a time when brilliant young scientists weren’t women, happened to be a woman. This is portrayed from the moment the show begins, in every interaction she has. Above all, her most visible characteristic was her absolute desire to explore astronomy.
“Her passion led her to work that she had to do, she was driven to do,“ Delaney said.
The set of Leavitt’s story consists of a beautiful stage featuring a half-circle staircase, the small astronomy office of the female scientists, another small desk and a piano. The blue lighting created the ambiance and feel of the vastness of the universe that Leavitt looks toward.
“There's dozens and dozens of people and they all came in,” Delaney said. “The whole design dynamic between the way the set lights, sound, costumes interact is so beautiful and so purposeful.”
The transitions between scenes were seamless and quick, but the audience had no problem following. With each and every step of Leavitt’s life, the audience leaned in a went with her, laughing with her, some even crying with her.
The audience was introduced to the moments she and her coworkers faced as women in a male-dominated field. A lot of the storytelling emphasized the subtle moments in which Leavitt was being marginalized for her gender, Delaney said. It is also important to note that Leavitt had late-life deafness and wore a period-accurate hearing aid.
“We're reminded that she is not only fighting as a woman, but she is also fighting as a person with a disability who needs support to communicate in a hearing environment,” Delaney said.
The act showed a strong bond of sisterhood among Leavitt, her sister and her coworkers. The feeling of female comradery and support both through characters and the real actresses behind the characters was readily apparent.
There was also the dorky, awkward character of Peter Shaw, who plays a great role in amplifying the gender difference as well as showing the authors flipped gender perspective in the show.
Many audience members were greatly pleased with the performance.
“I thought it was extremely impressive,” Emily Isaacs, a sophomore studying film, said.
Others were delightfully surprised they enjoyed the performance.
“I wasn't expecting to like it,” Autum Meyers, a freshman studying English, said. “Like, I was expecting to come and be like, ‘eh’ but I was pleasantly surprised.”
