July 11-21 at the Dairy Arts Center
About the Play
A fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force is grounded after an unplanned pregnancy and is assigned to the “chair force” in a bunker outside Las Vegas. There, she and other pilots sit at computers and operate drones in bombing raids thousands of miles away.
Denver actress Anne Penner stars in this New York Times ‘Critic’s Pick’ play, soon to debut as a new opera at New York’s MET.
(This event is not part of the BETC 2024-2025 Season Subscription.)
Program Notes
As the pandemic closed in on all of us and our lives became smaller and more uncertain, I knew I had to delve into an acting project or I’d go stir crazy. For over five years I’d wanted to work on the one-woman show Grounded about a female Air Force fighter pilot. When I first read it, I was startled by how visceral the language was, and how Brant creates an astonishingly well-defined, vivid character.
In March 2020 I invited my colleague, Rick Barbour, to direct me, since he has always been a mentor and I admire how he works as a teacher and director. I realize now that the confining circumstances of the pandemic set us up for a simplified, satisfying experience together. We allowed the play and storytelling to develop slowly over more than a year of rehearsals and performances. We began outdoor rehearsals in June 2020, and I performed the piece twice, first in May 2021 in a church and again in November 2021 at DU.
The play and the Pilot have taught me many things. When you don’t have a scene partner, you’re responsible for creating every single image, idea, and focus of attention your character experiences. You must listen to the audience’s reactions to the story and respond to them. I strive to let one thought or one line interact spontaneously with whatever comes just before or after, so that the monologue is more a series of dialogues the Pilot has with herself, the other characters, and, most important, with her audience. The Pilot herself is an inspiring combination of self-confidence, self-possession, and power mixed with vulnerability, an increasingly complex sense of morality, and the love she finds in her relationships with her husband and daughter.
In May 2022 the New York Times published “The Unseen Trauma of America’s Drone Pilots,” along with an accompanying episode on The Daily podcast. The reporting focuses on the devastating psychological effects pilots suffer when killing targets thousands of miles away. Grounded captures so many details of the real pilots’ experiences that many friends who saw the show in 2021 contacted me after reading or listening to the reporting to say that the play helped them make sense of these real people’s experiences. I hope Grounded resonates with you as well. Thanks so much for being here.
– Anne Penner
Performance Details
Venue
Carsen Theater, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder
Schedule
Thursday, Jul. 11, 7:30 pm (Preview)
Friday, Jul. 12, 7:30 pm (Opening)
Saturday, Jul. 13, 2:00 pm
Saturday, Jul. 13, 7:30 pm
Sunday, Jul. 14, 2:00 pm
Thursday, Jul. 18, 7:30 pm
Friday, Jul. 19, 7:30 pm
Saturday, Jul. 20, 2:00 pm
Saturday, Jul. 20, 7:30 pm
Sunday, Jul. 21, 2:00pm
The People of “Grounded”
Cast
Pilot: Anne Penner
Artistic and Production Team
Stage Manager: Adara Baltazar
Director: Rick Barbour
Sound Designer: Jason Ducat
Scenic Painter: Naila Martinez
Lighting Designer: Shannon McKinney
Lighting Interns: Cooper Atchison, Aspen McCart
BETC partners with the DU Theatre Tech Intern Project for lighting and scenery support on its shows.
The Theatre Technical Internship Program provides DU students with paid opportunities to work with professional companies and designers in a supportive setting that prepares them for work in the entertainment industry. During the build process, students are engaged in the construction shop with working professionals, and then experience the challenges of moving the show elements to a professional venue, working with the theatre company’s team to install and present the show.
Projects with BETC include Enemy of the People, Holly, Alaska!, Coal Country, The Children and two seasons of the Summer Theatre Truck. In the last twelve months, TTIP has built 19 shows, including fourteen plays, two musicals, opera, and a comedy special with Paul Reiser. Companies include DU Theatre, Phamaly, Parker Arts, Curious Theatre Company, Local, and Lamont Opera Theatre.
Tickets & Discounts
Season Subscriptions
Become a BETC season subscriber today, and you’ll get everything BETC offers at sharply discounted prices. “Grounded” is not part of the 2024-2025 Season Subscription, but subscribers will receive a 10% discount to this special production.
Single Tickets
Single tickets are available through the Dairy Arts Center:
Arts and Cultural Industries
Are you a member of a not-for-profit arts and cultural organization? Sign up for our mailing list to get exclusive discounts for arts and cultural workers. Not available for opening nights or closing weeks.
Group Sales
Looking to purchase tickets to a show for a group of 10 or more? BETC offers generous discounts for groups of 10+. If you are seeking special group arrangements, please call us at 303-351-2382.
