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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

Sangeeta Bhatia Headshot
Sangeeta Bhatia
Deborah Blum
Deborah Blum
Alan Brody
Alan Brody
Lee Mikeska Gardner
Lee Mikeska Gardner
Lauren Gunderson
Lauren Gunderson
Alan Lightman
Alan Lightman

Streaming April 7 - 30, 2021

by Lauren M. Gunderson
Directed by Jasson Minadakis

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

Lauren Gunderson
Lauren Gunderson

Cast

William DeMeritt
William DeMeritt

Director

Jasson Minadakis
Jasson Minadakis

Co-produced by Marin Theatre Company & Round House Theater

Marin Theatre Company
Round House Theatre

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

A new play in development by Melinda Lopez
Directed by Dawn M. Simmons

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

Des Bennett
Des Bennett
Brandon Green photo
Brandon G. Green*
headshot Jade Guerra
Jade Guerra
Evelyn Howe photo
Evelyn Howe*
Melinda Lopez
Melinda Lopez
Jaime Lozano
Jaime Lozano
James Milord Photo
James Ricardo Milord*
Jasmine Rush
Jasmine M. Rush*
Dawn M. Simmons
Dawn M. Simmons
Alejandro Simoes
Alejandro Simoes*

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

Des Bennett
Des Bennett
Melinda Lopez
Melinda Lopez
C. Brandon Ogbunu
C. Brandon Ogbunu
Debra Wise
Debra Wise*

Monday, April 12, 2021

7:30PM

Join us to discuss increasing equity, access, and innovation for youth and families.

Featured Speakers & Guests

Kortney Adams
Kortney Adams
Ambre Decilap
Ambre Decilap
Ebony Hearn
Eboney Hearn
Khari J. Milner
Khari Milner

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

7:30PM

Join us for a conversion on equity and inclusion in science.

Featured Speakers & Guests

Des Bennett
Des Bennett
Priyamvada Natarajan
Priyamvada Natarajan
Edie Stringfellow
Edie Stringfellow

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

Nancy Hopkins
Nancy Hopkins
Sharon Shattuck
Sharon Shattuck
Jane Willenbring
Jane Willenbring

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

Zach Barryte
Zach Barryte
Rachel Bowens-Ruben
Rachel Bowens-Ruben
Maeve Aurora Chapman
Maeve Aurora Chapman
Alli Hartley-Kong photo
Alli Hartley-Kong
Andra Laine Hunter
Andra Laine Hunter
Deborah Laufer self-portrait
Deborah Zoe Laufer
Alex Lin Photo
Alex Lin
Amy Merrill Photo
Amy Merrill
Quinn Shemet
Quinn Shemet
Nikki Toombs
Nikki Toombs

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.

To run the experiment, you will need:
  • 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:

If you would like to gather the materials yourself, here is what you will need:
 
  • 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
 
Post your own photos and videos online and tag Central Square Theater’s social media accounts with #ScienceAtHome.
 
We aim to include all families. If the cost of the kit would prevent you from participating, please email us at kaa@centralsquaretheater.org.

Featured Teaching Scientist

Racquel Sherwood
Racquel Sherwood

7:30PM

Join the playwrights behind the Ten-Minute plays to talk about the genesis of their plays!-

Featured Speakers & Guests

Zach Barryte
Zach Barryte
Rachel Bowens-Ruben
Rachel Bowens-Ruben
Bethany Brookshire
Bethany Brookshire
Lee Mikeska Gardner
Lee Mikeska Gardner
Andra Laine Hunter
Andra Laine Hunter
Amy Merrill Photo
Amy Merrill

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

Maeve Aurora Chapman
Maeve Aurora Chapman
Alli Hartley-Kong photo
Alli Hartley-Kong
Deborah Laufer self-portrait
Deborah Zoe Laufer
Alex Lin Photo
Alex Lin
Alanna Mitchell
Alanna Mitchell
Debra Wise
Debra Wise*

Streaming April 19 - 25, 2021

by Kia Corthron
directed by Lyndsay Allyn Cox

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

Hubens "Bobby" Cius
Hubens “Bobby” Cius*
Lyndsay Allyn Cox
Lyndsay Allyn Cox
Kia Corthron Photo
Kia Corthron
Alessandra Cronin
Alessandra Cronin
Brandon Green photo
Brandon G. Green*
Jaime Lozano
Jaime Lozano
Baron E Bugh
Baron E. Pugh
Jasmine Rush
Jasmine M. Rush*
Sabrina Victor
Sabrina Victor

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

Lyndsay Allyn Cox
Lyndsay Allyn Cox
Cate Mingoya
Cate Mingoya
Anjali Shah
Anjali Shah
Kerene N. Tayloe
Kerene N. Tayloe

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

Linsay Firman
Linsay Firman
Scott Kaplan
Scott Kaplan
Susan Loewenberg
Susan Albert Loewenberg
Doron Weber
Doron Weber
Anna Ziegler
Anna Ziegler

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

Julia Cort
Julia Cort
Callie Crosley
Callie Crossley
Paula T. Hammond
Paula T. Hammond
Nancy Hopkins
Nancy Hopkins
Sharon Shattuck
Sharon Shattuck
Jane Willenbring
Jane Willenbring
Debra Wise
Debra Wise*

Friday, April 30, 2021

7:30PM

Throughout the pandemic Lauren Gunderson was confined to her home when inspiration for her latest play came from within her own house – one room away in the office next to hers – her husband Nathan Wolfe.
 
While Lauren as the most produced playwright (other than Shakespeare) in the U.S. in recent years, Nathan is also at the top of his field as an expert on plagues. He warned everyone about the risks of a big pandemic years ago.
 
The result: The Catastrophist. Join us for a conversation with the playwright and her subject – a husband and wife – about a play created for the moment we’re living in.

Featuring

Lee Mikeska Gardner
Lee Mikeska Gardner
Lauren Gunderson
Lauren Gunderson
Nathan Wolfe
Nathan Wolfe