Human Race Theatre Presents GROUNDED This Month

The Human Race Theatre Company opens the season with a play by Cleveland-based playwright George Brant - Grounded - playing September 8-25, 2022 at the Loft Theatre. This gripping one-woman drama finds a fighter pilot caught between duty to her country and motherhood.

The Pilot, a hot-shot F16 top gun, finds herself grounded when an unexpected pregnancy stalls her flying career. She reups with the Air Force in the hopes of once again flying her "Tiger," but finds herself reassigned to a bunker outside Las Vegas. The Pilot struggles through dreamlike 12-hour shifts hunting terrorists by day and being a wife and mother by night, leading her into a downward spiral. The lines crumble between home and professional worlds, and a mistake on the job might just cost her everything.

This production marks The Human Race Theatre Company directorial debut of new Artistic Director Emily N. Wells. "This piece has been fascinating to me since it premiered in New York nearly a decade ago, and even more so after I became a parent," she comments. "The pilot's struggle to balance her duty to country and motherhood makes a profound internal conflict. Her ability to exercise control hangs in the balance," Wells continues. The team has spent time researching women in the United States Air Force and pilot training with community partners including Sinclair Community College, National Museum of the United State Air Force, and retired officers living in the Dayton area.

The role of The Pilot will be played by extraordinary Cincinnati-based actor and playwright Maggie Lou Rader, who audiences will remember from last season as Marie Antoinette in The Revolutionists. "Maggie brings a grounded empathy for her characters that resonates powerfully on stage.

Joining director Emily Wells on the Grounded creative team is: D. Tristan Cupp and Jeff Heater, Scenic Realizer; John Rensel, Lighting Designer; Lianne Arnold, Projection Designer; Jay Brunner, Sound Designer; Production Stage Manager, Mark Tynan; and Andrew Ian Adams, Production Assistant. The team has spent time researching women in the United States Air Force and pilot training with the support of community partners including Sinclair Community College, National Museum of the United States Air Force, and retired officers living in the Dayton area.

Grounded will play at the Loft Theatre in downtown Dayton, September 8-25, 2022. Tickets are on sale through the Dayton Live box office, 937-228-3630, or online at www.daytonlive.org/events/grounded/. More details about the show can be found at www.humanracetheatre.org.

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