In each issue of D&T, we bring you five suggested plays for studying and performing with your students. This time, we are bringing you six! Playwright Claudia Barnett introduces us to her latest publication Aristotle's Wife: 6 Short Plays about Women in Science – a collection of plays that captures the complexities of balancing the scientific mind with the feminine need.
Almost Certainly Not Real
A short play inspired by Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
Cast: 2F
Synopsis: It's 1924, and young Harvard astronomers Cecilia Payne and Adelaide Ames are celebrating an ‘impossible’ achievement.
Why it's great: Darkness, stars, and two stellar actors are all you need to stage this poetic tribute to the woman who thought to ask what our universe is made of. This play can be glorious with just two flashlights.
Aristotle's Wife
A short play inspired by Pythias of Assos
Cast: 1F, 1M
Synopsis: Aristotle and his new bride are examining the natural world with clinical objectivity – until she forces him to realise they're part of it.
Why it's great: The wind, the sun, the sea: this play subtly transports us to an innocent island long, long ago, where we encounter the great philosopher and his playful, young wife. But wait! Is she smarter than he is? And is there something she needs to tell him?
Velveteen
A short play inspired by Esther Lederberg
Cast: 1F, 1M
Synopsis: Esther Lederberg presents to her husband a hypothesis that will forever change science – and for which he will win the Nobel Prize.
Why it's great: Esther has reason to celebrate, so she invites Joshua to her sacred space – their laboratory – at night. He can't imagine why they're here. Shouldn't they go out to dinner? To him, she's just a girl who wants a new dress. But she's never been a girl who wants a new dress.
I Knew I Was Right
A short play inspired by Barbara McClintock
Cast: 1F, 1M
Synopsis: Barbara McClintock has the soul of an artist, the brain of a scientist, and the pluck of a woman who's no longer aiming to please.
Why it's great: Barbara McClintock was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983, after decades of being sidelined and ignored. Fiercely independent, intuitive and creative, she's an amazing inspiration for women in science – and all fields. With a projector, a microscope and a stack of corn, you can bring her vision to life.
Mother of the Bomb
A short play inspired by Lise Meitner
Cast: 2F
Synopsis: Lise Meitner was sidelined as a scientist, first for being female and then for being Jewish. In this short play, a very old friend shows up after a very long time, nostalgic for the past that nearly killed them. But Lise is looking only to the future.
Why it's great: Lise Meitner was the first to discover nuclear fission, yet she refused to work on the atomic bomb. She deserves recognition for her science and her humanity (yet nary a mention in Oppenheimer!). This play has two great roles for women over 60.
Aristotle's Wife: 6 Short Plays about Women in Science by Claudia Barratt is published by Carnegie Mellon University Press press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/series/CMUPD