a co-production of Pier One Theatre and Homer Council on the Arts

February First Friday: a gallery exhibit celebrating the work of women in science

February 14 & 15: Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson

February 28 & March 1: The Half-Life of Marie Curie by Lauren Gunderson

The gallery exhibit and Performances are at Homer Council on the Arts: 355 West Pioneer Ave. Homer, Alaska 99603

Directed by Val Sheppard

Cast: Regi Johanos, Carolyn Norton, Jenna Gerrety, Deb Rowzee, Curtis Jackson

When Henrietta Leavitt begins work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she isn't allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women "computers," charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculates projects in "girl hours" and has no time for the women's probing theories. As Henrietta, in her free time, attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love. The true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt explores a woman's place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women's ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them. Social progress, like scientific progress, can be hard to see when one is trapped among earthly complications; Henrietta Leavitt and her female peers believe in both, and their dedication changed the way we understand both the heavens and Earth.

February 14 & 15 at Homer Council on the Arts

"SILENT SKY is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing. LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)"

Directed by Jennifer Norton

Cast: Christine Kulcheski, Katherine Brennan

In 1911, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the elements radium and polonium. By 1912, she was the object of ruthless gossip over an alleged affair with the married Frenchman Paul Langevin, all but erasing her achievements from public memory. Weakened and demoralized by the press lambasting her as a “foreign” Jewish temptress and a homewrecking traitor, Marie agrees to join her friend and colleague Hertha Ayrton, an electromechanical engineer and suffragette, at her summer home in England. THE HALF-LIFE OF MARIE CURIE revels in the power of female friendship as it explores the relationship between these two brilliant women, both of whom are mothers, widows, and fearless champions of scientific inquiry.

February 28 & March 1 at Homer Council on the Arts

"THE HALF-LIFE OF MARIE CURIE is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing. LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)"