by Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Ren Berthel
February 27- March 1, 2020
Stage Floor Design by Raven Wynd
Lighting/Set Design by Lanny Potts
Costumes by Lori Sands
Assistant Scenic Design- Angela Mammel
Audience Reviews of Silent Sky:
“One of the most beautiful shows I have seen in years.”
ACTF Respondent, Mark Hoffland of Albion College
On January 30, 2020 some of the production staff of Silent Sky visited the Audiology Department of Western Michigan University to learn about antique hearing aids. The tour was lead by Laura De Thorne, Chair and Professor of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences at WMU, and audiology expert and WMU professor emeritus, Hal Bate.
The main character of Silent Sky, famous astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, was hard of hearing in real life. The actress playing Henrietta (Aly Homminga ’20) will be wearing a period accurate hearing aid in the show.
Hearing aid and audiology expert, Hal Bate, showed the team turn of the century hearing devices, ranging from ear trumpets to a hearing aid concealed in a string of pearls. The team did a lot of reflecting on the stigmas around hearing impaired individuals and whether or not the thoughts surrounding hearing impairments have changed.
The hearing aid Henrietta will be wearing on stage will consist of a receiver on her chest what would receive and magnify the sound to an ear piece in her right ear. During the course of her life, the real Henrietta Leavitt experienced many health issues, including gradual hearing loss throughout her life. Thankfully, her hearing loss did not hinder the important discoveries and accomplishments she made throughout her life.
Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson is running
February 27-Mar 1 in The Playhouse.
Thurs-Sat @ 7:30PM and Sun @ 2:00PM
Directed by Ren Berthel. Silent Sky tells the story of Henrietta Leavitt, a gifted astronomer, is relegated to the role of “computer” at the Harvard Observatory while her male colleagues take credit for her celestial discoveries. Silent Sky pays homage to Henrietta Leavitt’s mind, discoveries, and struggle to be recognized.
January 7-12, 2020, 8 students and 4 faculty members attended the American College Theatre Festival in Madison, WI.
All the students participated in a variety of workshops and competitions including Musical Theatre Intensive, Design Storm, Irene Ryan Competition, knife fighting- stage combat, improvisation, playwrighting, and MORE!
We had two students win awards this year!
Aly Homminga ’20 won a scholarship to attend a theatre intensive at California State University’s Summer Arts Program in Fresno, CA. The intensive will focus on collaboration through devised theatre and becoming a fuller theatre artist.
Milan Levy ’23 won the Golden Collaborator Award for her work on the festival’s Devised Theatre Workshop.
To learn more about our experiences at ACTF and how you can be involved next year, check out our KCACTF webpage.
By Frank Alley and James Valq. Directed by Visiting Professor “C” Heaps
November 7-10, 2019
2019-2020 Season- HERstory: Forgotten Female Figures
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Ren Berthel. Assistant Directed by Aly Homminga ’20
2018-2019 Season of Assumption and Confusion
Student Body by Frank Winters
Directed by Bianca Washington
February 21-24, 2019. The Playhouse
Synopsis: A camera is found that contains a video of a sexual assault. 10 college students meet in an empty theatre to decide whether or not to bring the footage to the police. The more they discuss the issue, the more complicated it gets.
Written by Tony Taccone and Bennet Cohen
Directed by Marissa Harrington
November 1-4, 2018. The Playhouse
