Mount Carmel Academy brought back the critically-acclaimed play “Silent Sky,” the true story of Henrietta Leavitt, a female astronomer whose calculations became one of the cornerstones of modern astronomical science, on June 15-16, 2018, in the Mount Carmel Academy Performing Arts Center. “Silent Sky” originally debuted to sold-out audiences in October 2017.

Mount Carmel Academy’s theater club, STK ("Shinto Torii Kabuki," which means God's Gateway to the Theatre) was invited to perform “Silent Sky” on the main stage at the International Thespian Festival (ITF) at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln from June 25-30, 2018. Mount Carmel was one of 11 schools selected by screening teams sent across the United States and Canada, and the only school from Louisiana in the history of the ITF to receive this highly-coveted invitation. This honor signals achievement of superior work in theatre according to the Educational Theatre Association’s Director of Educational Programs, Nancy Brown. "These thespian troupes have earned a slot among those honored few," she explained.

Henrietta Leavitt (1868-1921) transcended her job as a Harvard "computer" (data entry clerk) to make significant, groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of space. History nearly forgot this influential female astronomer, whose calculations on measuring a star's distance from the earth led to the discovery of galaxies beyond the Milky Way.

Mount Carmel Academy Fine Arts Department Chair and STK Director Kristi Jacobs-Stanley directed the drama written by playwright Lauren Gunderson. “I was amazed,” said Jacobs-Stanley, “at how relevant this story of a woman in the early 1900s is to the young women I’m educating today. We’ve come so far and yet have so far to go toward women’s equality, specifically in the workplace. My hope is to bring awareness to the importance of women in the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) movement and to leave the audience pondering where they fit in our vast universe.”

The International Thespian Festival, which is produced by the Educational Theatre Association, is the nation’s leading high school theatre festival. The event, in its 55th year, brings together more than 4,000 high school drama students and their teachers for a weeklong immersion in workshops; interaction with colleges, industry leaders, and Broadway professionals; and opportunities to be inspired by the best high school theatre in the nation.