Bravery. Ambition. Sisterhood. These are all elements of the Drama Club’s performance, Decision Height.
There will be a school time performance at 10 a.m. and an evening show at 7 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, there will be a 2 p.m. matinee performance. Tickets can be purchased on the Hardin County Performing Arts Center’s (PAC) website for $7.
Decision Height, written by Meredith Dayna Levy, details the lives of Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, during World War II. WASPs were in charge of domestic aviation tasks, such as flying planes and towing targets. They went through months of training and were sent to military bases. Some WASPs even instructed men.
However, after the war ended, these women were forgotten. For 30 years, their accomplishments were classified, and it wasn’t until the ‘70s that they could get military benefits. In the 2000s those still around were finally able to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery and received additional honors.
The director of Central’s Drama Club, Sarah Dakin, wanted to shed light on these unsung heroes and inform students of a piece of history they wouldn’t see in class. There were also very few boys in the Drama Club, so having a female-dominated play just made sense. This is the first time Central has put on a play with an all female cast.
“It’s always a struggle to find meaningful roles for a lot of folks who are not guys,” Dakin said.This play was an opportunity for her female actors that she could not pass up.
Decision Height does much more than show the successful careers of each of these women; it also shows the community that is built between them. Sophomore Ellee Smith plays pilot Alice Hawkins. Her character takes on a leadership role, acting as the “mom” of the friend group.
Although this is a play about women, there are guys from Central that are just as involved in this production. Senior Garret Milby has done extensive research on the music of the 1940s as the stage manager. He includes songs by Ella Fitzgerald as well as the hit song “The Lady is a Tramp.” Although it is meant to be funny and uplifting, the song shows how much misogyny permeated popular culture.
Additional research was done by interviewing the granddaughters of WASPs. It was years before these descendants learned just how profound their grandmothers’ accomplishments were, and they recounted that realization with the cast and crew.
It is important, in the minds of Dakin, cast, and crew, that they crystallize the experiences of these women and share their stories.
“Seeing these characters being played out made me feel like I was there, even though I was born way after,” freshman understudy Krusha Patel said. “I think the juniors will have lots of fun seeing these six women and their journey as WASPS, and I think they’ll enjoy the play a lot.”
