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First Light Readings


  • Ensemble Studio Theater 549 W 52nd Str. 6th floor (betw. 10th & 11th Ave) New York, NY 10019 United States (map)

TECTONIC MÉLANGE
by Deborah Yarchun

Dec 7th | Mon | @ 7pm

In a small North Dakota town, at the edge of the Bakken oil patch, a petroleum geologist surveys for minerals, uncovering deep community tensions and a darker side of herself.


THINGS THAT CANNOT TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES
by Sinead Daly

Dec 10th | Thu | @ 7pm

With billions of dollars in research at stake, workers at a university lab struggle to protect their animal subjects at all costs during a devastating hurricane.


MARIA SIBYLLA
by Arlene Hutton*

Dec 15th | Tue | @ 8pm

In 2015, a biology professor fighting to keep her job at a Southern faith-based college is inspired by the accomplishments of seventeenth-century divorcee Maria Sybilla Marian, a pioneer botanical artist.


THE DEVIL'S SALT
by France-Luce Benson*

Jan 7th | Thu | @ 7pm

Set in 1960’s Haiti, at the rise of Duvalier's brutal dictatorship, two agronomists set out to preserve Haiti's natural resources, and inadvertently instigate an uprising of the oppressed peasant class.
**Please note, tonight's reading has been moved from EST to the 52nd Street Project, at 789 10th Ave, on the Second Floor.**


FALLING DOWN THE STAIRS
by Tala Manassah and Mona Mansour

Jan 12th | Tue | @ 7pm

Baghdad, 1975. Invited to teach in a city steeped in the history of great scientific discoveries, hotshot physicist Kamal leaves the Ivy League and finds himself caught between the desire to contribute to a burgeoning scientific community and a firm commitment to science as a tool of non-violent liberation.
*Please note, Falling Down The Stairs is an invitation-only reading*


PUGWASH
by Vern Thiessen*

Feb 14th | Sun | @ 4pm

At the height of the Cold War, a group of world-renowned scientists descend on the tiny fishing village of Pugwash, Nova Scotia. What happens over the course of those three days changes the world.

*Indicates Ensemble Artist

Earlier Event: December 6
Bah Humbrunch
Later Event: January 3
The Brunch Of Shame