Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Next up at the Kitchen Theatre Company is Grounded by George Brant, a story that examines family, technology, war, and moral responsibility from a uniquely feminine perspective. Performances of Grounded begin at the Kitchen Theatre Company in the Percy Browning Performance Space on April 21st and run through May 5th. Opening night is Thursday, April 25th.

An unexpected pregnancy ends an ace fighter pilot's career in the sky. Reassigned to operate military drones from a windowless trailer outside Las Vegas, she hunts terrorists by day and returns to her family each night. As the pressure to track a high-profile target mounts, the boundaries begin to blur between the desert in which she lives and the one she patrols half a world away.

Returning to the Kitchen to take audiences on this wild ride is Kate MacCluggage. Last season MacCluggage amazed KTC audiences with her performance in Ironbound. "Grounded has a lot of really intimate, tender moments," she says. "This story is about a singular woman who is making tough choices that other people on her team are not going to make." The Pilot, a character whose personal dips and dives MacCluggage expertly maneuvers, is, in the actor's words, "electric, open-hearted, and smart."

Producing Artistic Director M. Bevin O'Gara will direct Grounded. She says The Pilot may be an unexpected character for KTC audiences. "Here at KTC, we love getting to zoom in on characters we don't often see, the people who don't often get the chance to speak. And The Pilot at the center of this play is unlike any character I have ever encountered. But while her life may look very different from yours or mine, the experience is universal. She is torn between loves, torn between passions, torn between lives."

This Homeric play beautifully and tragically explores the upending psychological impact of drone warfare through the eyes of a pilot as her life careens off course. Playwright George Brant became interested in drone warfare in 2011 when he learned how heavily President Obama relied on unmanned aircraft to fight foreign wars-far surpassing his predecessor's use of the technology.

Winner of the National New Play Network's 2012 Smith Prize for plays focused on American politics, Grounded was described as "Top Notch - a chilling portrait of future war..." by New York Magazine and the play was named a Top 10 London Play of 2013 by The London Evening Standard. The Guardian describes Grounded as "A searing piece of writing," and The New York Times calls the play "Gripping."

Rounding out the creative team are Scenic and Lighting Designer David L. Arsenault, Sound Designer Lesley Lisa Greene, and Projections Designer Ari Herzig.

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