The Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts’ production of “Decision Height” will take off on Sept. 25 for the first of eight performances. Patricia Raun, professor of performance and voice, will direct.

Winner of the 2013 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, the play, written by Meredith Dayna Levy, explores the complex, though essential role of women in wartime and the particular relationships among members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II.

The play follows Virginia Hascall, a young woman who has left her home and fiancé to become a WASP and do her part to help defeat the Axis powers. Through triumph and tragedy, she and her sisters in flight suits learn as much about themselves as they do about airplanes.

Faced with a shortage of pilots during the war, the WASP, a civilian volunteer organization, was formed in 1942, allowing men to be assigned for overseas duty. Although the program was cancelled after only two years, in 2009 President Obama signed a bill awarding the WASP the Congressional Gold Medal the following year.

“What I would like the audience to take away from the show is that it isn’t just a work of historical fiction; it’s a story that many people have lived through or could relate to,” said cast member Morgan Blackwell, a double major in theatre and criminology. “It’s a story of inequality, independence, duty, courage, and loyalty. Most of all, ‘Decision Height’ is a story about perseverance.”

With a full female cast, “Decision Height” offers a look into an under-recognized subset of American heroes and reveals an important part of the national story.

Performances of “Decision Height” are Sept. 25–28 at 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Oct. 1–2 at 7:30 p.m.

All performances are in Squires Studio Theatre, located in the Squires Student Center at 290 College Ave. on the Virginia Tech campus.

Learn more about the WASP in “Women on the Wing,” a tribute in honor of the first women to fly United States military aircraft and “Female WWII Pilots: The Original Fly Girls.”

Tickets and Parking

Reserved seat tickets are $12 for general admission and $10 for seniors and students and may be purchased online. Tickets may also be purchased at the Squires Centers and Activities Ticket Office on the first floor of Squires Student Center or by calling 540-231-5615. Tickets will be available at the Squires ticket office beginning one hour prior to the performance.

Free parking is available on weekends and after 5 p.m. weekdays in the Squires Lot, located at the corner of College Avenue and Otey Street, in the Architecture Annex Lot on Otey Street, and the Perry Street/Prices Fork lots. Find more parking information online or call 540-231-3200. Alternative parking is available in the Kent Squires parking garage and the Farmers Market metered parking lot, both located on Draper Road. Additional downtown Blacksburg parking information is available online.

“Decision Height” is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please email Susan Sanders or call 540-231-5200 during regular business hours at least eight days prior to the event.

The 2018–2019 School of Performing Arts Mainstage Theatre series will present “Angels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches” by Tony Kushner Nov. 7-14; the comedy “The Foreigner” by Larry Shue on Feb. 26-Mar. 5; and William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” on Apr. 23–30. Tickets for all performances are now on sale.

Written by Susan Sanders