Chicago Sun-Times: Flying high

'Sky Girls'

* Opens Tuesday, to March 9

* North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie

* Tickets, $34-$46

A chapter of American World War II history is unearthed in playwright Jenny Laird's new work, "Sky Girls." Interested in how "history and the culture of our time have informed who we have become," Laird has written a historical drama about five fictional World War II female flyers. The characters may be creations of Laird's imagination, but the world in which they operate is right out of the military archives.

Women ahead of their time have always been pioneers. The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) was one such group of forward- thinking women. Formed in the early 1940s, members were civil service employees assigned to numerous bases throughout the United States. They served in such commands as the Air Transport Command (ferrying), the Third Air Force (towing targets and personal transport), Material Command (developing personnel equipment and flying experimental jets) and the Flying Training Command (bombardier pilot and navigational training).

Women who applied to the program were required to have 35 hours of flying experience, said Laird.

"These were women who had simply fallen in love with flying," said Laird. "They were pioneers even before they joined. I was interested in exploring what kind of woman would get a pilot's license before a driver's license."

Like the women who went to work in factories and the short-lived women's baseball league, the WASPs were filling positions in a society where the majority of men had been sent overseas to military campaigns in Europe or the South Pacific.

Two groups--the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron begun by Nancy Harkness Love and the Women's Flying Training Detachment created by aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran--merged into a single unit in 1943, with Cochran serving as director. Thousands of women applied for WASP training, which took place at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. Over the course of the group's run, 1,830 were accepted, and 1,074 graduated and were assigned to duty at various air bases around the country.

Laird admits she had never heard of the WASPs until researching male pilots for a play she brought to Northlight Theatre's Open Door program, a playwriting and acting series for senior citizens.

"Fred Rochlin was to perform his monologue about his World War II piloting experiences and I wanted to be able to talk to him with some intelligence," recalled Laird. "Instead, I became totally immersed in the story of this amazing group of women."

Laird sets "Sky Girls" in 1944 at Avenger Field, where the final class of trainees struggles to earn its wings under Cochran's command. They battle internal sabotage, media frenzy and misguided public concern. Also looming is the question of whether Congress will vote to militarize the program or disband it altogether (more about this later).

The playwright's fictional "Sky Girls" come from various parts of the United States. "That was part of why this experience was so rich for these women. For many, it was a first-time situation where they became close to so many people from varied backgrounds. It was a great adventure they had never dreamed of taking," said Laird.

There is Bishop (Michele Graff), an ace pilot and the reluctant leader of the group; Breeny (Paula Stevens), a wonder-struck Midwesterner; Mags (Jen Engstrom), a streetwise tomboy from Chicago's South Side; Lil (Julie Ganey), an optimistic "mother hen" from Tennessee; and DeLang (Ana Sferruzza), a poet with unfailing navigational skills. Jackie Cochran is portrayed by Lia Mortensen; BJ Jones directs.

The historical context was important but not the only angle Laird concentrated on while writing the play. "More than that, I wanted to capture the spirit of these women and what changed as a result of their being given this experience," explained Laird.

The WASPs played roulette with gender roles, fought discrimination in the air and on the ground, and made significant inroads toward blasting conceptions of what roles women should play in society.

"I don't think they realized how extraordinary they really were and still are today," said Laird, who recently attended the WASPs 60th reunion. "They were too busy living and doing and serving their country. Today they are very humble and you would never be able to tell by looking at them that they were these sort of 'tough broads' taking steps no one had taken before."

Laird recalls one story she heard while doing research that spoke to the fearless, pioneer psyche of the WASPs. It seems there was some worry among male pilots when the massive B-29 bomber came on the scene. Was the plane safe? Could they fly it?

"The commander in charge came up with the idea of letting the women try it first," said Laird. "They trained in a few days and then flew a B-29 to a base where the top pilots in the Air Force were stationed. When they saw the women step out of the plane, they never complained again."

As with other work women were allowed to break into during the war, the WASP program ended as male pilots began returning home. The program was disbanded on Dec. 20, 1944. Many simply went back to civilian life, some joined the Air Force Reserve but few made military service a career. And as the times dictated, many gave up flying to become homemakers or delve into another "more suitable" career.

But they all had a deep love of flying and were able to pilot planes they otherwise would never have been allowed to fly. For some going back to civilian flying had lost its luster. As one former WASP told Laird: "It would have been like driving a kiddie car after piloting those demanding Army planes."

Despite their dedicated duty to a country at war, the WASPs were never recognized as a military unit during or after World War II. In the mid-'70s, when the Air Force announced a plan to begin training women military pilots, former WASPs began a campaign to gain status as veterans. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a bill awarding WASPs status as veterans of the United States Air Force.