Mercer Players debut "Silent Sky" on Thursday this week, the undergraduate theatre group's first production this year. A cast of five people will document the real-life story of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, a Harvard graduate who was called a “human computer" by her colleagues. Leavitt swam against the tides of discrimination during a time when women were not accepted in science fields.
Karina Nirenberg '29 said Leavitt was ahead of her time and a pioneer for women in astronomy. Nirenberg will play as Leavitt in the show.
“She’s a very joyful person,” Nirenberg said. “I found that so beautiful because she went through so many struggles.”
Nirenberg added that it was inspiring how even the pushback Leavitt faced from the men in her field did not stop her determination or love for astronomy. Nirenberg wants to emphasize the joyfulness of her character and her whimsical nature, even in the face of adversity. She looks forward to giving a voice to her character because Leavitt was little-known, yet influential figure.
“She was so passionate, and that’s what I’m trying to bring to light,” Nirenberg said, calling Leavitt a "meticulous genius."
One of the first things performers rehearsed in preparation was blocking: how and where the performers move around the stage.
Scenic Designer Lu Borgia '28 said that the stage is split into two distinct sections. The realistic 'homestead' is eight inches off of the ground, and the surrealistic Harvard Observatory is 24 inches off of the ground. A set of stairs sits in between, adding an extra level.
“These different levels of elevation add to the storytelling and make the set very versatile,” Borgia wrote to The Cluster in an email.
Borgia said they created an initial model out of foam after reading the script and researching the time period.
“I think the play is all about distance, both in space and in relation to the closeness of character throughout the play, and we can physically exaggerate how different the two settings are by making them very visually different,” Borgia said.
The different levels help to separate the characters during scenes where Henrietta and her sister Margaret are writing letters back and forth from Harvard to the homestead in rural Wisconsin, Nirenberg said.
While the cast only consists of five members, an entire team backs them for production to run smoothly. Future performances will have larger casts and crews, and Nirenberg said she is excited to meet all of the new faces and help them get more involved.
“We had a lot of freshmen this year at auditions. I was flabbergasted,” Nirenberg said.
Like herself, Nirenberg said some of the incoming freshmen are working on the tech side of the production.
“That was me coming in my first show freshman year. It was precast, so I couldn’t even audition,” she said. “I ended up doing sound design. I’d never done sound design, but they taught me everything and it was the best experience.”
Nirenberg said that everyone will work with students to teach them how to do a new job, which is one of the benefits of having a smaller Theater Department.
“There’s a lot of people that I’ve met who did theater in high school, loved it, and they get to college and they think they have to stop. And it’s not true at all,” Nirenberg said. “I feel like so many people are scared by the time commitment. It’s just not the case.”
The first performance of "Silent Sky" will begin Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Tattnall Square Center for the Arts.
