Heartwood Regional Theater Company announces open auditions for "Silent Sky," a play by Lauren Gunderson.  Actors are invited to attend on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m., in the Poe Theater at Lincoln Academy. 

 The play provides five roles: Henrietta Leavitt (30s), Margaret Leavitt (30s), Peter Shaw (30s), Annie Cannon (40s) and Williamina Fleming (50s). No roles have been pre-cast. 

Actors auditioning for the first time at Heartwood should contact Griff Braley (braley@lincolnacademy.org) for prep materials. All auditioning actors will read together from the script. Script sides will be provided. Prepared monologues from any script are welcome, as well, but not necessary for actors with previous experience at Heartwood.  

"Silent Sky" is a moving and inspiring play that tells the true story of Henrietta Leavitt, an early 20th-century astronomer whose groundbreaking discoveries revolutionized our understanding of the universe. Set against the backdrop of the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, the play explores Henrietta’s work as a “computer,” meticulously analyzing star measurements in a time when women were not allowed to use telescopes. Through her persistence, Henrietta discovers the Cepheid variable stars, which become the key to measuring distances in space and ultimately prove the universe is expanding.

While focusing on Henrietta's intellectual achievements, "Silent Sky" also delves into her personal sacrifices, relationships, and the societal constraints on women of her era. The play beautifully balances themes of science, family, love, and recognition in the scientific community.

The Chicago Sun-Times praised the play as “a true story of discovery, with all its heartache, heartbreak, and inspiration intact. Gunderson captures the wonder of science and the brilliance of the human spirit."  For more on the play and its roles see: ww.laurengunderson.com/all-plays/silent-sky.