Latest news with #CatalystCollaborative
CBS News
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Cambridge theater and MIT mark 20 years of creating science based plays
CAMBRIDGE - This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Catalyst Collaborative, a relationship between Central Square Theater in Cambridge, and MIT. It's the longest ongoing partnership between a professional theater and a major research institution in the country, staging and creating plays dealing with science and technology. Combining science and theater The collaboration started in 2004, with a series of conversations in informal gatherings. Co-founder Debra Wise says, "We live in a place that can nurture this kind of program because there are people who expect to be provoked, challenged, as well as entertained when they come to the theater." Over the past two decades, the partnership has generated 35 productions, five new commissioned plays, and 10 world premieres. The latest piece, "Space", focuses on the history of female pilots and astronauts. Executive Director, Catherine Carr Kelly explains, "It amplifies these women, many of whom you might say, 'I remember hearing that name somewhere,' and some you would have no idea…. And it juxtaposes that with the congressional hearings about whether or not women should actually go to space or whether or not they're capable of going to space." MIT professor Alan Lightman is another co-founder. His novel, "Einstein's Dreams", was the first production born from the collaborative, and now dozens followed. "I think some of the scientists gave ideas, stories of science to the theater people, some of which later became plays. And I think the scientists learned the way that artists think," Lightman tells WBZ-TV. "Theater can be about everything life is about. The wonders of our natural world, how to understand it, how to understand our part in it," Wise says. More stories to be told on stage With the fast-growing field of artificial intelligence, Lightman knows there are many stories yet to be told. "When an AI can do many of the tasks that we human beings do, what does it mean to be human? We're redefining what it means to be human. And I think that these are issues that the Catalyst Collaborative at MIT can deal with in the future." For the audience, it's a unique experience "You can come to a play here, and you can have a conversation with a Nobel Prize-winning scientist about what was in the play. That doesn't really happen anywhere else," Carr Kelly explains. You can see "Space" at Central Square Theater through February 23rd.
Boston Globe
30-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘SPACE' looks back at the history of women in aviation
The world premiere of 'SPACE,' at Advertisement 'Catalyst Collaborative began as a natural extension of the work of Underground Railway Theater,' says Debra Wise, founder and co-chair of the Catalyst Collaborative board. 'We were always seeking out people in other disciplines to work with, but it was so moving to learn how interested scientists are in the discipline of theater, and vice versa.' Over the two decades of Catalyst Collaborative, more than 800 scientists and artists have participated in conversations and readings held in community organizations and schools. By bringing these two disciplines together — both of whom 'sit in the middle of a problem looking for solutions,' Wise says — 'We were able to present, not just plays about science but engage audiences in conversations about the ideas of these plays.' Advertisement Bringing 'SPACE' to the stage, say Feldman and Lury, involved conversations with an estimated 200 people over its years of development, all of whom contributed to the creators' efforts to connect a complex idea about the battle for the soul of space to a tangible and urgent journey for specific individuals. "S P A C E" playwright L M Feldman. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff 'The bedrock of the play is the historical figures,' says Feldman, 'and we blend archival text, including Congressional testimony, with personal stories. For me, the biggest challenge was making sure there was enough personal detail to anchor the big ideas. But that's a lot like life, where big things are happening even in intimate spaces.' 'The beauty and magic of theater,' says Lury, 'is that multiple threads can happen at the same time. We ask the audience to imagine something together, to create a world that is both playful and transcendent.' Seven female actors double in roles, playing members of the 'Vanguard,' pioneering women from the 1920 to the 2020s who defied expectations in their determination to reach their goals, as well as members of the Mercury 13. One actor plays all the male roles. "S P A C E" director Larissa Lury. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff 'The play doesn't want literalism,' says Lury, 'so the set is spacious and spare. By doubling the roles, we want the two characters from different eras to 'speak' to each other, and we are asking the audience to remember what this actor did as the other character.' With the kind of sweep and drive their storytelling requires, Feldman and Lury say they drew on their backgrounds as acrobats. The play is divided into 'movements' rather than 'acts.' Advertisement 'Movement is essential,' says Lury, 'because it helps connect us across time, space, and situations.' At the same time, she says, each of the characters need to be distinct, and so some movements help provide more details about their lives. For example, since one of the Mercury 8 was the mother of eight children, she is seen folding kids' laundry, anchoring her stellar ambitions with everyday responsibilities. 'This is a rhythmic play,' says Feldman. 'The rhythm carries information. We think of it as an orchestral piece, in which all of the instruments come together in sweeping choral moments, and then there are other sections where individual instruments stand out.' At the heart of their story, however, both Feldman and Lury agree the characters are driven by a deep sense of longing, and hope for what is possible. SPACE Presented by Central Square Theater, as part of the Brit d'Arbeloff Women in Science and Catalyst Collaborative@MIT production. Jan. 30-Feb. 23. Tickets start at: $25. 617-576-9278 x1.
