Defy Gravity

Did anyone else out there want to be an astronaut when she grew up?

I did.

Perhaps I had that dream because I grew up with NASA's Space Shuttle Program. When I was little, NASA began recruiting more women into the program. There was an astronaut Barbie doll flying off store shelves in 1985. The media and public became fascinated with a wonderful new idea: a teacher in space.

I remember the Challenger.

When I was in the 3rd grade, there was a national contest to name the newest addition to the shuttle fleet. I can't remember what I submitted, but the winner was "Endeavor." What a marvelous name.

In college, I became a theatre major. At a college play festival, I saw a beautiful production of a play that perfectly blended my childhood longing to explore and the reality of the Challenger disaster. The play was Defying Gravity , by Jane Anderson. 

A year or so later, I was at a forensics  (speech, not science) competition not far from the Johnson Space Center (aka Mission Control), when news of a shuttle reentry disaster broke. A student at the contest had brought a dramatic interpretation of Defying Gravity. Understandably, this student wasn't sure if presenting the piece was still appropriate. I can't remember a person there who didn't say performing that piece was more important now than ever.

I remember the Columbia.

My interest in all things NASA, the space program, shuttle missions, etc. collided with my passion for the arts the first time I saw Defying Gravity. After the Columbia disaster, my interest in the play became a sort of need to someday work on a production. I even attended graduate school in the hometown of Columbia's final pilot, William "Willie" McCool. Reminders of the shuttle program, my love of space, my need to explore through art, my childhood wish to fly above the earth seem to follow me.

I feel blessed to have the tremendous opportunity to direct a production of Defying Gravity  that will open in January: 30 years after the Challenger disaster. I have had the good fortune to have time to do a bit of traveling this summer. I have taken in any museum within driving distance that has a scientific or air & space emphasis. I can't seem to see or read enough about the space programs, and what drives us all in our own crazy ways to explore, to see beyond the everyday, to do what the play's title states: to defy gravity.

My next several posts will likely focus on the beginnings of my journey with this play. I had to begin by musing about my own love and memories of the space program.

When I was five years old, I wanted to be an astronaut.

Did you?

A part of me never outgrew that dream, and it's taking me on a wonderful artistic journey as an adult. I hope my readers still have childhood dreams driving a part of them to defy gravity in their own ways as well.

Until next time...
Ro Huizinga