Insignificant
the stories behind the first female astronomers
“a wonder”
“the play reminds us that women have to break all the rules to make history”
It is 1925, and young yet ingenious Cecilia Payne seeks guidance from veteran astronomer Annie Jump Cannon on her doctoral thesis. Sensing Cecilia’s doubts about her unbelievable findings, Annie leads Cecilia through her own struggle as a brilliant female scientist in a male world. She introduces Cecilia to Mina Fleming, Antonia Maury, and Henrietta Leavitt, women whose research and discoveries in science have lived throughout the centuries but whose names have been ignored. Fiercely sarcastic and bittersweet, Insignificant tells the true stories of the women behind the stars and their astounding but uncelebrated triumphs in the field of astronomy. Defiantly unconventional, the play reminds us that women have to break all the rules to make history.
Produced by Infinite Variety Productions
Written by Sean Michael Welch
Subject matter: astronomy, women in STEM, memory
Production History
While working on a theatre festival in Wyoming, playwright Sean Michael Welch and IVP Founder Ashley Adelman started talking about the first female astronomers. This led to IVP commissioning Sean to create, “Insignificant.”
December 2015: premiered at The Kraine Theatre. Directed by Colleen Britt. Featuring Kathleen O’Neill, Deanna McGovern, Laura King Otazo, Ashley Adelman, Alla Illvosa, Andrew Dunn, Jordan Gwiazdowski and Timothy Ellis Riley.
After each performance, there was a talkback with an expert in the field. Participants included Gerceida Jones, New York University, Emily L. Rice, College of Staten Island and Marc Taylor, Hudson Planetarium and Jillian Bellovary of the American Museum of Natural History, leading to a partnership with the group, “The Astronomers on Tap,” in March 2016.
