About the Play:

Defying Gravity has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female Monologues.

Defying Gravity is a full-length dramatic comedy by Jane Anderson. A clever and uplifting play about the outer limits of human possibility that weaves together the stories of the bystanders touched by the 1986 Challenger disaster. Defying Gravity is a haunting and poignant work that celebrates the vision, inspiration, regret, and grief that descended upon a generation of Americans that dared to touch the stars. It remains relevant as modern society contemplates commercial space travel and sending people to Mars. Especially recommended for school and contest use.

Defying Gravity explores the events surrounding the explosion of the Challenger Space Shuttle in 1986 through two main characters: Teacher (a character clearly based on educator and amateur astronaut Christa McAuliffe but never identified as such), selected to be the first civilian astronaut, and her daughter Elizabeth (a character suggested by McAuliffe's daughter). Playgoers witness the effect on the lives of participants and bystanders who witnessed the tragedy over a 20-year span, drawing parallels to the French impressionist painter Claude Monet's artistic quest and the zest of Teacher who died with six others as they hurtled into space. The monologue-driven story is told through the voice of Elizabeth, the grieving daughter; Ed and Betty, two retired tourists who drive their Winnebago to Florida to watch the space shot and who dream of hotels in space; C.B., a mechanic on the NASA ground crew; and his girlfriend, Donna, who tends the bar where NASA employees often hang out, who (ironically) has a fear of heights. Defying Gravity is a play for everyone exploring our need to reach beyond the boundaries of normal thinking, dare the universe, and "defy gravity."

Defying Gravity was first presented in 1997 at The American Place Theater Off-Boadway in New York City and was a Finalist for the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, awarded to plays written by women for the English-speaking theatre. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and has been performed in regional, fringe festival, high school, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 3 female, 4 male

What people say:

"Flies high in its attempt to describe man's fascination with space and its conquest.... You will certainly not be bored." — New York Post

"[A] clever and uplifting fantasy ... [with] ear catching musings about art, religion and the outer limits of human possibility." — The New York Times

"A lovely piece... It floats gracefully in the big blue yonder of the imagination... letting Anderson's delicate, tender and human attitude toward her characters come through... One by one they rise out of their earthbound selves... to look down on the world from a new perspective." — New York Daily News

About the Playwright:

Jane Anderson is an American actress turned award-winning playwright, screenwriter and director. Her plays have been produced Off-Broadway and in theatres around the US, including Actors Theater of Louisville, Arena Stage, Williamstown, The McCarter Theater, Long Wharf, and The Pasadena Playhouse. She is an Emmy Award-, PEN Award- and Writers Guild Award-winning TV writer, who has also been nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series for her work on the television series Mad Men.