Philly's Women in Science/Science Onstage Looks at Women in STEM

Philadelphia's Lantern Theater Company has teamed up with Chemical Heritage Foundation to present the Saturday, September 19 event, Women in Science/ Science Onstage, a day of storytelling, discussion and hands-on experience. The daylong event looks at the Lantern's production of the science history play "Photograph 51" and the accomplishments of women in the sciences, among them Dr. Rosalind Franklin, whose work was instrumental to the discovery of DNA's structure.

"As a theater company, it is important to engage community partners, and the Chemical Heritage Foundation is one we really admire, because they are like-minded in how they think of programs that engage the Philadelphia community," said Jessica Doheny, general manager of the Lantern Theater Company. "They knew we wanted to do something with women and science, and when we reached out to them, they were very open."

The day-long event begins with a Science Fair featuring prominent women scientists from the area, representing local companies and universities organized with the local chapter of the Association of Women in Science. Attendees will be able to roam the CHF gallery, connecting with current women scientists and learning about the research and discoveries they are pursuing right now.

"Chemical Heritage is coordinating that portion of it, and they are well-connected with the president of the local chapter of the Association of Women in Science, which spread the word to its members," said Doheny. She said arts and education was also a big mission for Lantern Theater Company, and so they were happy to find so many ways to connect art with science.

Over lunch, Lantern theater artists will mingle with attendees while portraying prominent women scientists throughout history. Patrons will also be treated to a talk on the history of several key female scientific figures presented by Lisa Rosner, Distinguished Professor of History at Stockton University. Dr. Rosner, Director of the university's Honors Program, specializes in the history of science and medicine, and she has published extensively on topics in the field of historical science and medicine.
�
After lunch, there will be four breakout sessions in which small groups will explore topics in more detail through fun and engaging activities. Breakout session topics are wide-ranging, and include "Cowboys Vs. Empiricists," "(Women In) Science Jeopardy," "Breaking Out of the Gilded Cage: Jane Marcet," and "A Study in Infamy: Photograph 51." These interactive sessions will enable active audience participation and give attendees a chance to explore CHF's facilities.
�
KC MacMillan, director of "Photograph 51," looked forward to the breakout sessions, recalling a recent conversation with the show dramaturg Lisa Rosner about Jane Marcet, who wrote 19th century books on chemistry and women.

"She was a pioneer not only in chemistry, but for chemical education for women," said MacMillan. "Lisa is passionate about Jane Marcet, and gave us the idea to do a dramatization of some of the dialogue in 'Conversations on Chemistry.' We'll talk about her career and what it meant to changing attitudes toward scientific education for girls."

And Doheny is looking forward to the "Cowboys V. Empiricist" panel, where guests will debate ethics. They'll compare the careful, hyper-focused work of Dr. Franklin, which biographer Brenda Maddox suggests may have been the reason why she was scooped on DNA's structure by James Watson and Francis Crick, researchers who used Franklin's work, but had confidence in their ability to imagine the possible shape and structure of DNA.

"She could have gotten there if she took a different way, but they could never have 'discovered' the structure of DNA without their dubiously ethical ability to imagine how it might be," said MacMillan. "I think plays can put complex modern discoveries in human terms. For example, Dr. Franklin was paired with Maurice Wilkins at Kings College in London, and they were a bad match, because they loathed each other. But Watson and Crick were a good match, and discovered DNA."

"The play not only goes through the arduous discovery, but shows good partnerships," she continued. "Certain chemicals bond well, and certain people can bond well, too. The discovery is also the story of a good fit. It's like when theater artists and scientists find each other, we realize how sympathetic we are. Both are in the pursuit of a lifetime that excludes other aspects of our lives, and we can really understand each other because of it."

MacMillan is also excited about the (Women in) Science Jeopardy panel, an audience-suggested theatrical presentation during lunch, in which actors in period dress armed with biographies of key women in STEM present a mock quiz show on what participants have learned. Of course, they'll be prizes.

�
�

A keynote panel will conclude the day, focusing on the intersection between the arts and sciences and exploring several key ideas: What stimulates artists to create credible and compelling work exploring the worlds of science and technology? What role does art play in the scientific process, and how can we challenge the existing stereotypes of scientists and engineers in the popular imagination?

The panel looks at science as a human endeavor, not just a series of dry events that happen in a lab. As MacMillan notes, "Scientific discovery is the story of us, just as theater is. It helps us learn about who we are."

Panelists include physicist Danielle Bassett, 2014 MacArthur Fellow and celebrated interdisciplinarian at the University of Pennsylvania; Linsay Firman, Associate Director for the Ensemble Studio Theatre/Sloan Foundation partnership that commissions and promotes new plays about science; and nationally renowned playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer, who has made a career of science-focused plays including the recent "Informed Consent," a Sloan commission that will be produced in 2015 by Primary Stages and EST at the Duke Theatre in New York City.

MacMillan looked forward to hearing audience feedback at the end of the keynote discussion, saying that she was always surprised by their insights. Doheny added that it was important to put these women front and center, to show good examples of women in science.

"There are so many women who are scientific thinkers, but science is just not something that was seen through history as a girl's field, and that's wrong," said Doheny. "There's even attitudes like this today, like the Harvard professor who commented that women don't make good scientists. Women all over the country and world are disproving that, but we don't hear much about their stories. So I think think it's important for us to tell these stories, to put these faces on stage for young women to see, and be inspired by."

After activities at CHF conclude, attendees are invited to see a performance of "Photograph 51" on the Lantern stage. The play addresses the tension between painstaking research and wild creative leaps, between the creator and the creation, and between inspiration and collaboration. In telling the story of Dr. Rosalind Franklin and her contributions to the discovery of DNA's double helix structure, "Photograph 51" invites its audience to see the major scientific discovery of the 20th century in a new light, for as Dr. Franklin notes in the play, "one sees something new each time one looks at truly beautiful things."�

"'Photograph 51' is set in the 1950s, but it's a timely play in how it deals with the challenges of women in the science fields, and the glass ceiling of that," said MacMillan. "It has a very compelling heroine at center, Dr. Rosalyn Franklin, and this is a great way to honor her and encourage modern women who are doing similar things in science, things that would not possible without these figures."

The best part of the daylong event is that you don't have to be a science buff - or a theater buff - to enjoy it.

"I don't consider myself a science person at all, but what is great about an event like this is it makes the topic accessible for everyone," said Doheny. "We are exploring ideas in such an accessible format with debates, questions and interactions. It is different than just sitting, listening to a lecture. It's a unique way to reach new people."

Women in Science/Science Onstage begins at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19 at CHF, 315 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. Tickets are $35 for the event/$60 with a ticket to the 8 p.m. performance of "Photograph 51" at St. Stephen's Theatre that evening.

For tickets or information, visit www.lanterntheater.org/chf
�
�