Defying Gravity

Dear Editor:Bravo! Bravo! to the "Defying Gravity" cast and directors for their thoughtful, inspired work and performance. Kudos to the artistic and theater crews for their expert staging. Congratulations to the Downey Arts Coalition and to directors Andrew Wahlquist and Lana Joy. Thank you to producers Alistair Hunter and Carol Kearns, and to the community and volunteers. This past weekend, you were all heroes. The play by Jane Anderson at the Columbia Memorial Space Center was about a major event in American history, the 1986 Challenger space tragedy. It explored emotional responses to a national trauma. For Downey, with its aerospace history, it was also a personal tragedy. Those of us privileged to be in the audience shared a collective memory and healed privately by the wisdom we witnessed on stage this weekend. The play is exemplary. It takes us on a journey from post trauma to inspiration. Our human condition continues to reach for the stars and to the arts as a healing medium. Zaida Ramos Downey

********** Published: Sept. 26, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 24