Using as a launchpad the new play The Catastrophist (about virologist Dr. Nathan Wolfe), by Lauren Gunderson, recognized as America’s most produced living playwright, this two-part public virtual event series will explore intersections of science and storytelling to illuminate the backstories behind how expert scientists fell in love with the quest for discovery, and how writers seek to tell these stories from past and present to convey the power and purpose of the scientific endeavor.
The second event, “Eureka Stories: The Power of Putting Science Center-Stage” will bring together a cohort of formidable writers in dialogue about the power, purpose, and necessity of telling the stories of science and scientists. Science needn’t be contained solely in nonfiction. How do plays, films, novels, musicals, and journalism about science offer other prismatic perspectives on the work, adventure, and humanity of great contemporary and historical scientists? This 90-minute live event will feature storytellers of science and peek into their process and passion for dramatizing the work and life of science.
Lauren Gunderson, M.F.A.
Playwright, screenwriter, and short story author. Marin Theatre Company’s Playwright in Residence, Lauren was named the most produced playwright in America by American Theatre Magazine in 2017 and 2019 and finds “deep and thrilling drama in the course of scientific progress” and stages it as much as possible.
Kait Kerrigan & Bree Lowdermilk
Kait Kerrigan (words) and Bree Lowdermilk (music) are musical theater writers, songwriters, and dramatists. They make big, structurally complex pieces of art, and stunningly small emotional gut punchers. They’ve written family musicals that have toured across the U.S., off-Broadway musicals, plays, songs, and co-founded NewMusicalTheatre.com.
Joe Palca, Ph.D.
Correspondent, Science Desk, National Public Radio. Since joining NPR in 1992, Palca has covered a range of science topics—everything from biomedical research to astronomy. He is currently focused on the eponymous series, “Joe’s Big Idea.” Stories in the series explore the minds and motivations of scientists and inventors.
José Francisco Salgado, Ph.D.
Emmy-nominated astronomer, experimental photographer, visual artist, and public speaker. He who creates multimedia works that communicate science in engaging ways. As the Executive Director and co-founder of KV 265, a non-profit science and arts education organization, he collaborates with orchestras, composers, and musicians to present films that provoke curiosity and a sense of wonder about the Earth and the Universe.
This event is co-hosted by the Aspen Institute Science & Society Program, Marin Theatre Company, and Round House Theatre.
