The EST/Alfred P. Sloan Project First Light Festival begins in January. First Light is a series of readings, workshops, and special events presenting new plays about science and technology.
Here is just a taste of what will be offered.
**All information is subject to change***
Reservations can be made by calling
212-247-4982 ext. 105
Sunday, 1/4, 1pm: Youngblood presents E = m c brunch
EST's next generation of playwrights serve up new plays and songs on the science of tsunamis, methodone addicts, Hollywood, the Olympics and the Wall Street bailout. Accompanied by a hearty helping of pancakes, bacon, fruit and an open bar of mimosas and (young) bloody marys. Reservations are essential for this special EST/Sloan edition of Youngblood's runaway monthly hit. $15.
Sunday, 1/4, 4pm: Posthumusical by Matt Schatz
A blocked musical theater lyricist invents a piece of software to create "new" work from her dearly departed composer-collaborator and pass it off as their long lost masterpiece in this musical comedy about "Artificial Musical Intelligence" and genuine romantic stupidity. (This is a first reading of material and songs. Matt will work through the month on the play and present the results at the end of the festival, 1/29.)
Tuesday, 1/6, 7pm: Lenin's Embalmers by Vern Thiessen
directed by Geoff Brumlik
Russia, 1924. Two scientists are called upon to do the impossible: Preserve the body of Communism's greatest leader, or face death themselves. A dark comedy about the science of death and the death of science.
Thursday, 1/8, 7pm: Elaine's Brain by David Ford
directed by Chris Smith*
As she finds her way through turbulent adolescence and early adulthood, a young woman finds the only way to make sense of her family, her lost loves and herself is through science.
Wednesday, 1/14, 8pm: Photograph 51 by Anna Ziegler
presented in association with the Manhattan Theatre Club
Rosalind Franklin provided the critical breakthrough that led to Watson & Crick's Nobel Prize-winning model of DNA, but her contribution was never celebrated during her lifetime. The questions surrounding Franklin's role in this discovery have roiled scientific circles ever since. Ziegler's play, which won the 2008 STAGE International competition for the best new play about science and technology, recreates one of the great discoveries of the 20th century, and brings the controversial, revered Franklin to flawed, full-blooded life. Directed by Manhattan Theatre Club Artistic Director Lynne Meadow. Starring Elizabeth Marvel as Rosalind Franklin.
Friday, 1/16, 7pm: Darwin's Challenge by Jason Grote
A reading of a new comedy where the young Charles Darwin finds himself zapped into the 21st-century Galapagos Islands -- the set of "Darwin's Challenge," a half-staged reality show that totally garbles and misuses his ideas.
Friday, 1/23, 7pm: Beautiful Night by Tommy Smith
Set in depression-era New York City, Beautiful Night follows the state-side exploits of Leon Theremin, Soviet inventor and grandfather of electronic music. When Theremin marries a whipsmart black prima ballerina, their expatriate romance shocks society and attracts the looming shadows of foreign terror. Starring David Strathairn as Theremin.
Thursday, 1/29, 7pm: Posthumusical by Matt Schatz
directed by Jordan Young
A blocked musical theater lyricist invents a piece of software to create "new" work from her dearly departed composer-collaborator and pass it off as their long-lost masterpiece. A musical comedy about "Artificial Musical Intelligence" and genuine romantic stupidity. The First Light workshop of Posthumusical offers an opportunity to watch a play evolve: an early "cold reading" of a rough draft at the start of the festival followed by a revised fuller "concert reading" toward the end of First Light. Cold Reading Sunday, 1/4, 3pm; Concert Reading Thursday, 1/29, 7pm.
Monday and Tuesday Nights at 7pm. 1/19 through 3/3: Five Easy Steps to Metaphycical Fitness: They Actually Work by Emily Levine
"Boy, that girl sure is brilliant and funny." - Carl Reiner
"What a compelling artist! Witty, whimsical, deeply thoughtful and, most of all, completely hilarious." - Lily Tomlin
"If you don't get Emily Levine's smart comedy, you're an idiot." - Matt Groening
Brainiac comedian Emily Levine's one-woman show takes you on a thought-provoking and hilarious ride through the paradigm shift: from Newton's rational universe to wildly improvisational quantum physics, chaos theory and complexity theory. As Levine began adapting the show into a movie, a rare medical condition called "acromegaly" created a bizarre set of symptoms: loss of balance, cognitive dissonance and a compulsion to grow beyond her natural limits. Now, having used her Five Easy Steps to get through her personal paradigm shift, Levine has revamped her one-woman show to offer the country - and the universe - a self-help program to help get them through theirs.
This presentation offers a chance to see the artist's work in progress as Emily spends January and February developing and reworking material in performance, in anticipation of her full Studio Production in March and April.
Workshop performances Monday and Tuesday Nights at 7pm. 1/19 through 3/3.
Opening Monday, 3/30: End Days by Deborah Zoe Laufer
directed by Lisa Peterson*
Sixteen year old Rachel Stein is having a bad year. Her father hasn't changed out of his pajamas since 9/11. Her mother has begun a close, personal relationship with Jesus. Her new neighbor, a sixteen-year-old Elvis impersonator, has fallen for her, hard. And the Apocolypse is coming Wednesday. Her only hope is that Stephen Hawking will save them all.
Previews
Wednesday March 25 - Friday March 27 @ 7pm
Saturday March 28 @ 2pm and 7pm
Sunday March 29 @ 3pm
Opening Night: Monday March 30 @ 7pm
Monday, Wednesday-Friday @ 7pm
Saturdays @ 2pm and 7pm
Sundays @ 3pm
Closing Night: Sunday April 19 @ 3pm
Tickets: $30. Previews: $20. Students & Seniors: $15
