I previously blogged that May was looking up, and now I can officially announce that my play
Bones of the Sea has been chosen as
one of three winners of the Mach 33 Festival of science-driven plays to be
presented as staged readings in Pasadena, California on May 9th-11th.
Bones of the Sea tells the true story of Mary
Anning, a working-class woman in Dorset, England, who helped to revolutionize
the field of paleontology in the 19th century. In flashbacks, the audience sees
various scenes of the self-taught Anning and the wealthy scientist Henry De la
Beche as the two forge an unlikely friendship that lasts through fame and
glory, disappointment and heartbreak.
The play will
have a staged reading on May 9th on the main stage of Pasadena Playhouse. Satya
Bhabha is directing. The reading will feature Josette Eales as Anning and Richard
Short as De la Beche. Todd Brun will be playing William Buckland and Georgia
Dolenz the innkeeper Sally. Barbie Insua will be reading stage directions.
Dramaturg Kate Langsdorf has been providing support for the play, as have science advisers
Alistair Hayden, a PhD student at Caltech in geology and planetary sciences,
and Sara El Shafie, a doctoral candidate in integrative biology at the
University of California, Berkeley.
Mach 33 is a
joint project between Caltech and Pasadena Playhouse. The reading of Bones of the Sea will be at 7:00 pm at Pasadena Playhouse on May 9th. It will be followed by a
reading of Susan Bernfield's Sizzle,
Sizzle, Fly on May 10th and Kristin Idaszak's The Surest Poison on May 11th. You can get tickets here.
