The Festival Schedule
The Brit d’Arbeloff Women & Science Theater Festival is a three week long Festival of virtual performances, panels and special events at the intersection of art and science. Join us!
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
7:30PM
Science On Stage Mixer, the Festival Kick-off, is a virtual gathering of scientists, artists, and audiences. Join us for a panel conversation with nationally known artists and scientists and then venture into our break out rooms to enjoy smaller conversations, all from the comfort of your own home.
Featured Speakers & Guests
Streaming April 7 - 30, 2021
Virologist Nathan Wolfe, named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the World for his work tracking viral pandemics, has hunted viruses from the jungles of Cameroon to the basement of the CDC. Hear his story–presented as cinematic digital theatre–as he tracks the threats that come from without and within. A blazingly intelligent, wryly witty and warm look at the thrill of discovery, whether it’s a new virus or the treasures of your own family.
Playwright
Cast
Director
Co-produced by Marin Theatre Company & Round House Theater
Please Note: Due to a special agreement with the producing theaters, we are unable to offer Pay-it-Forward pricing for The Catastrophist. It is also not included in any festival pass.
Streaming April 8 - 11, 2021
Young Nerds of Color (working title) is a play in development at Central Square Theater as part of the Catalyst Collaborative@MIT program. Investigating the field of science from the perspective of the people who are underrepresented – people of color, women, ethnic minorities and people from low income families – through the sharing of personal and surprising stories.
Cast & Creative Team
Watch the play and join us for the virtual panels on April 8, 12, and 13 to dive deeper into the themes and to share your thoughts.
*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre, Central Square Theater, and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Thursday, April 8, 2021
7:30PM
Playwright, Melinda Lopez, and scientist, C. Brandon Ogbunu will reflect on the questions and themes raised in the play. Join the conversation!
Featured Speakers & Guests
Monday, April 12, 2021
7:30PM
Join us to discuss increasing equity, access, and innovation for youth and families.
Featured Speakers & Guests
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
7:30PM
Join us for a conversion on equity and inclusion in science.
Featured Speakers & Guests
Streaming Beginning April 14!
Women make up less than a quarter of STEM professionals in the United States, and numbers are even lower for women of color. But there is a growing group of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists, exposing longstanding discrimination, and leading the way in making science more inclusive. A biologist, a chemist, and a geologist lead viewers on a journey through their own experiences in the sciences, ranging from outright harassment to years of subtle slights. Along the way, from cramped laboratories to spectacular field stations, scientific visionaries, including social scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists, provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all.
Selected Creative Team & Scientists
Join us for conversations with the filmmakers and scientists on Thursday, April 29 at 7:30PM
Streaming April 15 - 18, 2021
Commissioned especially for the Women & Science Theater Festival, this collection of Ten-Minute Plays is fresh off the typewriter (wait, what is that?). Stream eight plays with strong female characters engaging with real science. Learn more.
Playwrights
Join us for conversations with the playwrights on April 19 & 20!
Monday, April 19 2021
10AM
Just in time for vacation week, Dr. Racquel Kim Sherwood of BioBuilders will lead an experiment that elementary and middle school students (and their families) can do from their own home! Join Racquel via Zoom for a specially designed experiment on the phenomenon of fluorescence.
- some household materials (or purchase a prepackaged kit below for $10)
- a cell phone or other camera to take measurements
You may also purchase your own materials, too! The list is below:
- 1 yellow highlighter
- 2 eppendorf tubes OR a sheet of wax paper
- 1 eye dropper
- 1 blue light
- 1 piece of black construction paper
- 1 sheet of orange saran wrap
Featured Teaching Scientist
7:30PM
Join the playwrights behind the Ten-Minute plays to talk about the genesis of their plays!-
Featured Speakers & Guests
Tuesday, April 20 2021
7:30PM
Join the playwrights behind the Ten-Minute plays to talk about the genesis of their plays!
Featured Speakers & Guests
Streaming April 19 - 25, 2021
Thyme is fifteen, a straight A student, and three months pregnant. Her husband Erry is eighteen, works in construction. They plan for their future in the bedroom of her parents’ Harlem apartment, where they live. Thyme’s journey spans urban politics and environmental racism as she plans for a water birth – a Splash Hatch – and watches as Erry’s health begins to deteriorate from occupational lead inhalation. Playwright Kia Corthron has been praised for her poetic language and vivid characters grappling with one of the great existential threats of our time.
Cast & Creative Team
Watch the production and join us for a conversation about Environmental Racism on April 22!
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Thursday, April 22 2021
7:30PM
Written in the late 1990s, Kia Corthron’s Splash Hatch On the E Going Down was ahead of its time in grappling with environmental racism. Join us for a conversation on the short and long-term impacts of racist environmental policies and the lack of regulation, both how it was over 20 years ago and where we are today.
Featured Speakers & Guests
Tuesday, April 27 2021
7:30PM
Join us for a panel discussion featuring artists from around the country who are expanding the genre of theater engaged with science. artistic directors, producers, playwrights, and actors will pull back the curtain on the developmental process. Out of this conversation, Central Square Theater and fellow organizations from across the country will forge a vision for a national network.
Featured Speakers & Guests
Thursday, April 29, 2021
7:30PM
About the Film:
Women make up less than a quarter of STEM professionals in the United States, and numbers are even lower for women of color. But there is a growing group of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists, exposing longstanding discrimination, and leading the way in making science more inclusive. A biologist, a chemist, and a geologist lead viewers on a journey through their own experiences in the sciences, ranging from outright harassment to years of subtle slights. Along the way, from cramped laboratories to spectacular field stations, scientific visionaries, including social scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists, provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all.
Join us for a clip from NOVA’s “PICTURE A SCIENTIST” and a panel discussion about the challenges faced by women in STEM. Moderated by GBH radio and TV host and commentator Callie Crossley, the conversation will feature Director Sharon Shattuck and three scientists—Nancy Hopkins, Ph.D., Jane Willenbring, Ph.D., and Paula Hammond, Ph.D.— who will discuss the issues explored in this powerful documentary.
Panelists & Guests
Friday, April 30, 2021
7:30PM
Featuring
