Pretending to fly
When the ground disappears, we learn to fly
Summer 2020, NYC.
On a rooftop above an empty city, roommates Kaitlyn and Frances cling to fragments of friendship and sanity. They lose themselves in Carla Horowitz's story—a Women Airforce Service Pilot who defied gravity in 1943. As past and present collide, three women discover that survival demands its own kind of flight.
Three women's voices span eight decades of crisis and resilience. Through intimate interviews with WWII pilot Carla Howard Horowitz and New Yorkers navigating pandemic isolation, Pretending to Fly reveals how we find wings when the ground disappears beneath us.
Written by Ash Singer
Based on interviews with Carla Howard Horowitz & NYC residents
Runtime: 55 minutes
community response
Pretending to Fly resonated deeply with audiences who recognized their own pandemic experiences reflected onstage. During its Edinburgh Fringe run, the production sparked post-show conversations about intergenerational trauma, resilience, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive crisis.
The work's development process itself became a form of community building—from Zoom workshops during lockdown to outdoor rehearsals when theaters remained closed. New York audiences at Under St. Marks connected the wartime rationing and isolation Carla experienced to their own pandemic shortages and separation.
The production's journey from COVID-era creation to international stage mirrors its central theme: finding ways to take flight when circumstances ground us. Audiences consistently reported feeling less alone in their own struggles after witnessing how three women across eight decades navigated uncertainty with grace and grit.
What People Are Saying
"Pretending to Fly does more than just fly – it soars"
— Broadway World, 2023
“extremely relevant for its audience […] and exciting in its commitment to using theatre to highlight the stories of women that history would otherwise have us forget.”
— Theatre Travels
Production History
2020: COVID-19 lockdowns inspire Ash Singer to revisit her interview with WWII pilot Carla Howard Horowitz and begin interviewing New Yorkers about pandemic life.
2020-2021: Script development through Zoom workshops and outdoor rehearsals. Workshop production at Kraine Theater.
2022: Rewrites and title change from Can We Talk? to Pretending to Fly. Edinburgh Fringe commitment made.
2023: NYC previews at Under St. Marks Theatre, followed by international premiere at Edinburgh Fringe Festival.