←Recommendations of Ground Control to Baby Tom

By putting motherhood in one of the most clinical, scientific contexts possible, this play got to delve into what a surreal, messy experience it is to become a mother. McClain puts pregnancy at odds with bureaucracy in a way that is so satisfying right to the end.

We produced this script as an audio play on the Gather by the Ghost Light podcast in our Season 5 line-up (https://www.gatherbytheghostlight.com/s5e3). A tale of two women astronauts on a mission to both carry the first pregnancy in space only to find out there's only enough sample for one pregnancy. McClain does a remarkable job building the tension between the characters as they both make their case for being the host all leading to a satisfying ending. Highly recommended fem sci-fi story!

A taunt two-hander in which two women are far enough from the rules and confines of Ground Control and the stereotypes and exterior influences of Earth in order to step back and see life at its most beautiful: a choice.

Emily McClain explores what it means to say "the Future is Female." By foregrounding issues of motherhood, conception, and what it means to have a career and family at the same time. Emily McClain's characters are pitted against one another by an outside (patriarchal) force, but in fighting for what they want, these two women find a satisfying solution. It is wonderful to see a short scifi play that explores themes relevant to modern audiences.

I heard this play produced on the Gather by the Ghostlight Podcast. Very satisfying!

The mommy wars go intergalactic in Emily McClain’s thought-provoking and funny ten minute play. The conversation between GROUND CONTROL’s potential mothers will feel familiar to anyone who’s navigated the conflicting expectations and advice on how to be a good parent; McClain shrewdly raises the stakes (and the altitude) as two astronauts debate who is better equipped to carry the first pregnancy in space.

The satisfying and unexpected ending is especially wonderful. Feminist motherhood is the future.

Two very different female astronauts find themselves in the unexpected position of deciding which of them should carry space's first full term pregnancy. Their sharply funny disagreement explores much of the external pressure women face in child rearing. Their eminently rational solution flies in the face of the arbitrary direction of the soulless bureaucrats in ground control. This play made for an excellent episode of "Gather by the Ghost Light."

This was a perfect script for "Gather by the Ghostlight!" Two very different women with two very different ideas of what makes a "good mother" and the stakes are so high, they are out of this world. Bad pun, but it really does make the argument between Celeste and Natasha that much more intense than a typical internet thread of opinions. Because this baby is extremely important to the mission. I love that the faceless entity of Mission Control tries to put two women at odds with each other, but like good mothers, they found a secret better solution!

An intriguing sci-fi short, inspired by the words of David Bowie. A thought-provoking look at a possible future! Available for listening on the "Gather by the Ghost Light" podcast!

Planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing they can do.... or can they? Two women on a mission orbiting Jupiter's are unexpectedly faced with a difficult decision in this smart short play. They must chose which of them would be the best mother, but how can that be known? A clever concept and a two great roles for the actors. Nice.

Inspired by David Bowie's Space Oddity, Emily McClain takes the familiar head vs heart conundrum and stages it on a spaceship orbiting Jupiter's moon Io. The idea that Celeste and Natasha grapple over their motherhood candidacies and the future of the human race while orbiting a faraway moon is so cool like everything else about this play. How easy it becomes to put one's faith for our future in these two fine characters.