Auditions for Silent Sky
By Laruen Gunderson
Director: Robert MacPherson and Assistant Director: Jennifer MacPherson
Announcing auditions for Windham Theatre Guild’s upcoming production of Silent Sky!
Auditions will be held at the First Congregational Church (199 Valley Street, Willimantic, CT) on:
Monday, July 13th at 7:00 PM
Tuesday, July 14th at 7:00 PM
Enter behind the building. Parking available at the church or the lot next to O.L. Willard Company.
Auditions will consist of readings from the script. Readings will be provided at the audition, and can be downloaded to view in advance here.
Performance dates for Silent Sky are:
September 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26 & 27, 2026
About the Play:
Silent Sky is a play that tells the true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt. The play explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scientific and heart-bound discoveries. Henrietta has the opportunity to work at Harvard University as a human computer, one of Dr. Edward Pickering’s “harem,” mapping the stars but receiving no scientific credit. With music and math bursting forth onstage, Henrietta and her female peers change the way we understand both the heavens and Earth.
Auditions shall be cold reads, provided at the time. Be prepared to read multiple times throughout the evening in a variety of groups.
Headshots and resumes are not required, but you may provide them if you have them.
A note on the time and setting
The play takes place over a period of approximately 20 years, from 1900-1920. Sides will be across this time period, and the time of the side will be noted. Actors should consider how the characters age over the piece.
Henrietta and her sister are from Wisconsin, but the majority of the play takes place in and around Harvard and Cambridge, MA.
Character Breakdown
THE CHARACTERS:
The Windham Theatre Guild welcomes and encourages performers of all ages, ethnicities, body types, and genders to audition. Please feel free to audition regardless of the age and gender listed for each character.
Henrietta Leavitt (LEH-vit), (F) Raised in Wisconsin, the daughter of a minister, and hired as a Harvard College Observatory “computer,” Henrietta is a non-traditional early 1900s woman. She aspires to work as an astronomer. She is passionate about her work and feels compelled to find answers to her questions about the universe. Brilliant, meticulous, excited. Wears a period hearing aid.
Margaret Leavitt: (F), Henrietta’s sister, homebody, sweet, creative, plays piano. Henrietta’s younger sister and a gifted musician. She stays at home and is a traditional early 1900s woman. She marries and has a child. She is concerned about Henrietta’s ambition, as it goes against the traditional norms for women at the time; however, she is supportive of her sister and celebrates her accomplishments.
Peter Shaw: (M), 30s, the head astronomer’s apprentice and supervisor of the women at the observatory. In contrast to Henrietta, he is not passionate about astronomy, although he enjoys the work. He wanted to be an actor. He falls in love with Henrietta.
Annie Cannon: (F), 40s, Henrietta’s co-worker, she has made important scientific discoveries of her own and is a suffragette. A leader of the group of women, terse and sure of herself, a firebrand
Williamina Fleming: (F), 50s, Scottish, smart as a whip and fun. A former housekeeper for Dr. Pickering, head of the Harvard College Observatory, she was hired because Dr. Pickering felt she would do better than the men he had working for him. She is smart and quick-witted.