Description:

Northwestern University's
Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
is proud to present an ETOPiA production

Grounded
by George Brant

Directed by John Gawlik
Performed by Elizabeth Laidlaw

September 19 – October 12, 2014
Fridays & Saturdays at 8 p.m. / Sundays at 2 p.m.

ITW Classroom, Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center
2133 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL

Admission is free / Reservations are highly recommended

Running time: approximately 70 minutes

Grounded is a play about the unexpected challenges faced by drone pilots.

The play marks the seventh season of ETOPiA: Engineering Transdisciplinary Outreach Project in the Arts, an outreach initiative that seeks to inspire cross-disciplinary dialogue about the role of science and technology in society.

Grounded chronicles several years in the life of a female American fighter pilot. After being reassigned to pilot drones from a windowless trailer in the Nevada desert, the shallows of workplace existence replace the adrenaline highs and military camaraderie of piloting actual fighter missions. Literally commuting to war, she fights terrorists by day and then returns home to her husband and baby each night.

Grounded features Elizabeth Laidlaw, a Joseph Jefferson Award-winning Chicago actress who has appeared at the Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and many others.

Grounded uses adult themes and language and is recommended for mature theatergoers.

Artist Biography

Elizabeth Laidlaw is the artistic director and founder of Lakeside Shakespeare Theatre in Chicago. She has guest starred on the television dramas Boss, Chicago Code, and Chicago PD.

Chicago theatre credits include The Two Noble Kinsmen, Kabuki Lady Macbeth, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); The Maids (Writer's Theatre); Lucinda's Bed (Chicago Dramatists Workshop) The UN Inspector, Omnium Gatherum, and Son of Celluloid (The Next Theatre); The Rose Tattoo (Goodman Theatre); The Berlin Circle (Steppenwolf Theatre); What Once We Felt, Xena Live!, and The Terrible Girls (About Face Theatre); The Kentucky Cycle, (Pegasus Players, received a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Supporting Actress) and Angels In America (The Journeymen, received five Joseph Jefferson Awards, including best production and ensemble); Island Of the Blue Dolphins, The Left Hand of Darkness, and The Talisman Ring (Lifeline Theatre); and Pope Joan (Bailiwick Repertory).

She also produced the long-running, award-winning late night show The Hick, the Spic, and the Chick. Her voice can be heard on numerous television commercials, audiobooks, and videogames.