Dramatic STEM: North Central stages ‘Silent Sky’ about astronomer Henrietta Leavitt

North Central High School theater teacher Sydney Baird Childers says she knows she stepped into “huge shoes” when longtime drama teacher Tom Armitage retired.

But the Spokane native has aptly handled the reins, and with the production of “Silent Sky,” she’s poised to take the drama department to a place it’s never been before – the world of STEM.

“This is our first STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) on Stage production,” said Childers. “I don’t believe science and art are mutually exclusive.”

“Silent Sky” by Lauren Gunderson, tells the story of Henrietta Leavitt who worked at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s. During her career, Leavitt discovered more than 2,400 variable stars, about half of the known total in her day.

Leavitt also developed a standard of photographic measurements that was accepted by the International Committee on Photographic Magnitudes in 1913, and called the Harvard Standard.

“It’s a beautiful show,” said Childers.

And it almost wasn’t.

Originally, Childers thought they’d simply do a reader’s theater version of the play, but her students clamored for a fully staged production – especially costumer Isabella Harris.

“I’ve done costumes for every single show since freshman year,” Harris, a senior, said. “The early 1900s are one of my favorite eras to costume, and this will probably be my favorite play.”

With just five weeks from start to stage, the group scrambled. The small cast of just four women and one man made it doable.

Katie Hawkinson, 16, plays Leavitt.

She said she auditioned because the play brought together her two favorite things – art and science.

“Henrietta is this unsung hero of astronomy,” said Hawkinson. “She wasn’t allowed to research because she didn’t have a degree. She and the other women were called ‘computers.’ They simply wrote down the data that the men collected.”

But Leavitt found a way to conduct her own research, and giving her a voice by shedding light on her contributions to astronomy, thrills Hawkinson.

Gabe Nichols, 17, is the lone man in the cast, and plays Leavitt’s love interest, Peter Shaw.

He shrugged of the teasing he gets from his female counterparts.

“There’s a lot of henpecking, but it helps me get into character,” he said, adding the opportunity to be part of NC’s first Stem on Stage play, prompted his audition.

Childers said the idea of STEM on Stage is to create a bridge between art and science.

“In high school electives we live and die by the numbers,” she said. “But we don’t have to be in competition with each other. I want us as a school to embrace this collaboration.”

That’s why she was delighted when NC physics teacher Brian Connelly created a mini astronomy lesson for the cast and crew.

“It shows that it’s not just us expanding ourselves to science, but that they are reaching back across the aisle,” Childers said. “It really makes this a partnership.”

A partnership she hopes will be longstanding, as she plans to bring more STEM on Stage shows to the high school.

For now, she’s pleased they’re able to present “Silent Sky.”

“This story really celebrates women in STEM,” Childers said. “It’s hopeful, optimistic and very empowering for young women.”