photo by Peterson Creative Photography & Design
Take it from our Patrons…
Ollie Lepper & her daughter Sawyer recently attended the play Silent Sky together. I was curious about their experience. Here is a little bit about what they thought about this show.
Ollie, what was your impression of this show?
It was visually stunning, extremely informative about an amazing piece of history that I knew nothing about, and it was also quite funny!
What was your favorite part of this play?
I actually really loved the sequences that were effectively showing the passage of time! The women working round the clock in the lab interspersed with the “letters” home to Henrietta’s sister. The dedication these women had to their career was unbelievable.
Did you have a favorite character?
Henrietta was such a modern woman! She knew what she wanted to do with her life and she made it happen. The measures she took to attain that life were extremely radical for the time period. I really loved all the women in the lab and thought the play did a great job of letting us grasp what they were up against in this time period but also let us see them as not just these serious, incredibly smart people. They were fun and funny too!
Now, Sawyer, you went to this play with your mom, so what about you, who was your favorite character?
Henrietta, because she’s funny and really smart and spoke out about what she wanted to do, which was not sit in a stuffy room and work for men!
This was your first time at the theatre, right? What did you think about going to a show there?
I was kind of nervous, but it’s a really cool place!
What part of the play did you like the best?
I liked the parts where they communicated in letters! It was really interesting but kinda funny at the same time!
What would you tell other kids your age about this play or about the theatre?
I actually did this! I told my friend Jentrey about the play and the theatre, and we made a plan for me and my dad to go with her and her dad to see Silent Sky!
Ollie, did any part of this play hit you in particular?
I am continually amazed by people who are obsessed with space. I personally find it overwhelming and kind of terrifying, haha! These women had a quest to discover and understand these stars that are an impossible distance away and they gave years of dedicated study, it’s just, WOW.
Why did you want to bring your daughter to this play?
I thought it would be a great history lesson about a piece of history that we previously knew nothing about! I wasn’t expecting it to also be so funny and tender. The light show with the stars was truly a special treat! We loved it!
What do you hope she got out of it?
I think it is hard for kids to grasp life before any real technology existed. I hope she picked up on the dedication these women had to what amounts to truly monotonous and tedious work. Nothing about Henrietta’s discovery was easy! I also think it is important for us to keep our daughters informed about how far women have come. I think it’s confusing for them to understand that women were actually NOT ALLOWED to use a telescope?! To vote?! These things seem insane today but it really wasn’t that long ago.
Would you recommend this play to other parents with their kids?
Yes! It is a great history lesson with enough laughs and light show effects to keep kids attention.
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