A note from the director, Craig Norman

I’m thrilled to introduce the cast for this play telling the story of the Mercury 13, who in the early 1960s passed a series of gruelling NASA astronaut selection tests, but were denied the chance to fly in space. Jerrie Cobb took the fight all the way to the US Congress, but was unsuccessful in overcoming the gender attitudes of the time.

…we…had a great turnout for auditions. There was so much talent in the room, we could have cast the play several times over! Thank you to everyone who came along to read: I’m sorry we couldn’t cast you all. I hope to see you in another SLT show soon!

Between the auditions and callbacks, we were all saddened to learn of the death of Mary Wallace (“Wally”) Funk. Wally was the last surviving member of the Mercury 13. We hope to honour them all by sharing their story.

The cast have all told me they can’t wait to start working on this amazing play, and Assistant Director Kelly Q and I can’t wait either!

The cast:

 Jerrie Cobb – Flora Blissett

Jackie Cochran – Caroline R Doyle

Dr Lovelace – Randy Brown

Harvey/Circus Bob/Congressman Waggoner – Andy Barrett

Helena – Alison Ryan

Jack Ford/John Glenn – Joe Dominic

Mayor/Reporter/Congressman Anfuso – Ian Cuthbert

Mrs White/Young Woman/Female Reporter – Jemima Dunn (new to SLT)

They Promised Her the Moon plays at the South London Theatre, T Fire Station 3 – 7 November 2026. Tickets on sale soon.

Had to share this letter I received – touched my heart [emphasis added below]:

Good morning!  I’m a high school educator currently producingThey Promised Her the Moon for UIL One-Act Play competition in Texas. I also happen to live an hour and a half from the WASP museum in Sweetwater. I’m writing to thank you for your beautiful script. It may seem goofy to write a fan letter to a prestigious playwright, but I’m a big believer in telling people who’ve made a difference that they’ve done so. So here we go:

 

Thank you for this beautiful script. It has illuminated and enlivened history for my students in a way they’ll never forget.

For research, we took our students to the WASP museum in Sweetwater where they were able to see planes that were the same models mentioned in the script, see the personal belongings of the WASP (including Jackie Cochran’s cosmetics!!), and learn a great deal about Jackie and her cohorts. It was life-changing for some of them to realize the sacrifices women made to do this difficult job against the wishes of an extremely misogynistic society, and to realize what they were capable of. Students from small-town, rural Texas need female role models who had big dreams and overcame obstacles to achieve them, and that is what you gave them.

We also have a young pilot (soloed for the first time a month ago) in the cast, playing “Pilot” and “John Glenn,” and he is loving teaching us about how the planes work, what’s realistic and what isn’t, etc.

My students — especially the two playing Jerrie and Jackie — are newly inspired and are telling the story with so much love and passion. They won Best Performer awards last night (out of roughly 80 students present!), and we placed first in our contest.

We hold you, Jerrie, and Jackie personally responsible. I’m attaching a few photos in case you’re interested.

A Few of the Posters for
They Promised Here the Moon Across the County

Rainbow Zebra Productions will present its its new “Rainbow Zebra/Magic Theatre Reading Extravaganza!”, a 6-month series of new play readings taking place at Magic Theatre. “I want to highlight the work of some playwrights I admire by presenting new works by them in readings done by our brilliant crew of local actors,” said producer/director Andrea Gordon. “It should be a real treat for the audience- and it is FREE!”

RESERVE YOUR SEAT HERE!

Laurel Ollstein‘s Pandora

Directed by Andrea Gordon
Sunday, July 21, 2024
7:00 p.m.

Pandora retells the myth of Pandora’s Box from the feminist perspective. What if a woman was suddenly created and dropped into the middle of the world now? Someone with no preconceived notions of anything – like beauty, love or violence? And what if the rest of humanity and the gods could suddenly see the world through those clear eyes.  Ignorance killed the cat. Curiosity was framed!

——————

About Laurel Ollstein

Laurel Ollstein is an award-winning playwright, director and educator whose plays most recently have been produced at The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego and TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. She is currently working on her musical In Tillamook, and her full-length memoir, Bullet. Pandora was a commission from the Getty Villa. @laurelollstein.com