A Reading Series where Science is Center Stage
“Art illuminates. This is a moment for arts organizations to enlighten their audiences and contribute to a global narrative by showcasing the minds and spirits of the folks in the middle of today’s scientific breakthroughs. By commissioning BIPOC writers to create characters for these stories, we uplift people of color as leaders in the scientific community.” — Lisa A. Tromovitch, Founding Artistic Director
Season 2023/24
Marjorie Prime
By Jordan Harrison
Directed by Cynthia Lagodzinski
Presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concord theatricals.com
MARCH 15, 16 @ 7:30PM, Sunday March 17 @ 2:00PM
Performances at SPARC Studio, 2172 Railroad Avenue, Livermore, CA
SYNOPSIS
It’s the age of artificial intelligence, and 85-year-old Marjorie is a jumble of disparate, fading memories. What would we remember, and what would we forget, if given the chance? In this richly spare, wondrous new play, Jordan Harrison explores the mysteries of human identity and the limits — if any — of what technology can replace.
“Jordan Harrison’s play…has all the hallmarks of the best science fiction; it’s clever in conceit, alive with humor, surprising in its turns, and terribly haunting by the time the lights go out.” – The New Yorker
Part of this artwork was AI generated with DALL-E
Running the Light
By Prince Gomolvilas
Directed by Michael Wayne Rice
Commissioned Script (w/AI Focus)
MARCH 29 @ 7:30PM, March 30 @ 2:00PM and 7:30PM
Performances at SPARC Studio, 2172 Railroad Avenue, Livermore, CA
SYNOPSIS
After a failed career in standup comedy, Pong has taken a soul-sucking job as an AI engineer at his younger brother Samson’s thriving chatbot company. But when the artistic bug bites again, Pong decides to leverage the company’s AI technology to write jokes, and he hits open mic nights once again—much to Samson’s dismay. The sparring brothers’ sibling rivalry reaches epic proportions in this timely yet timeless exploration of a fractured Thai-American family, the uneasy intersection of art and technology, and the question of what it means to be human in the modern age. And yes, this synopsis was written by ChatGPT.
Or was it?
SPARC’s
Science@Play
Playwright
Photo Credit: Cheshire Isaacs
Prince Gomolvilas
Prince Gomolvilas is an internationally produced Thai-American playwright and winner of a PEN Center USA Literary Award for Drama. His critically acclaimed play, The Brothers Paranormal, debuted Off-Broadway at the Beckett Theatre, in a production by Pan Asian Repertory Theatre. It has since been published by Dramatic Publishing and performed across the country. He is the co-creator of a new TV series currently in development at Amazon Studios, and he is a former Assistant Professor of Writing at the University of Southern California.
Photo Credit: Zack DeZon
Jordan Harrison
Jordan Harrison was a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Marjorie Prime, which premiered at the Mark Taper Forum and had its New York premiere at Playwrights Horizons. A film adaptation, directed by Michael Almereyda, premiered in the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Jordan’s play Maple and Vine premiered in the 2011 Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville and went on to productions at American Conservatory Theatre and Playwrights Horizons, among others. Other plays include The Grown-Up (Humana Festival), Doris to Darlene, a cautionary valentine (Playwrights Horizons), Amazons and their Men (Clubbed Thumb), Act A Lady (Humana Festival), Finn in the Underworld (Berkeley Rep), Futura (Portland Center Stage/NAATCO), Kid-Simple (Humana Festival), The Museum Play (WET), and a musical, Suprema (O’Neill Music Theatre Conference). Jordan has two new plays premiering Off-Broadway in the ’17-’18 season: The Amateurs at the Vineyard Theatre, and Log Cabin at Playwrights Horizons. Visit his website at https://www.jordanharrison.org/
Science@Play is partially funded by:
- Alan and Mary Burnham
- Dave and Patricia Munro
In Memory of Professor Leon Morris Keer,
a lover of scientific inquiry, the arts, and good wine
Make a Donation to Science@Play
All performances @SPARC Studio, 2172 Railroad Avenue. Masks recommended, but not required.