Festival Name: MACH 33 Festival
Link to site: http://tacit.caltech.edu/mach33
Host: California Institute of Technology (CalTech) and the Pasadena Playhouse
Festival Type: Festival of New Science-Driven Plays
Festival Dates: Early Spring
Overview of Festival: “Each year, MACH 33—which engages students and staff at Caltech and Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in the selection, development, and performance of new science-driven plays—culminates in staged readings and fully produced shows in the spring. This year, two of the readings will be performed on the Pasadena Playhouse main stage, and one reading will be held in Caltech’s Ramo Auditorium. Each reading will include a post-show discussion with the playwright.”
(https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/mach-33-festival-new-science-driven-plays-opens-april-30-82092)
“Escape velocity” is the speed needed to “break free” from the gravitational attraction of a massive body. On the surface of Earth, escape velocity is about 11.2 kilometers per second, or approximately 33 times the speed of sound: MACH 33. Our name celebrates the innovative, dynamic breakthroughs that scientists and artists achieve.
(http://tacit.caltech.edu/mach33/why)
Sponsors and Partners: Caltech and the Pasadena Playhouse
Festival Team:
Brian Brophy – Artistic Director of MACH 33
Arden Thomas – Associate Artistic Director of MACH 33
Danny Feldman – Producing Artistic Director of the Pasadena Playhouse
First Festival Date: May 4th, 2013
Festival History: The MACH 33 Festival comes from the collaboration between Caltech Theater, who had been producing science plays as part of their regular season, and the Pasadena Playhouse. Since 2013 they have hosted the MACH 33 Festival, and premiered over 20 new science-driven plays.
2020 Festival Season
Play Performed: Burst
Playwright: Rachel Bublitz
Genres: Drama
Synopsis: Sarah Boyd is an extraordinary human being. Not only did she build her company from scratch using nothing but willpower and fortitude, she also sits on the precipice of truly saving this planet. Because on top of being one of the fastest growing tech companies in history, Tactix, with Sarah at its helm, will usher this planet into the post-plastic era. A time where we need not worry or fret over the great destruction being done to our world from this non-biodegradable foe. With her eyes steady on her next round of funding, Sarah must persevere through a late night interview with a particularly tough reporter, a lawsuit aimed at a person from her past, and the waffling of her CTO. It’s a heavy load, and Sarah knows that she is the only one great enough to bear
(Synopsis provided by Rachel Bublitz’s website)
Discipline: Environmental
Play Performed: The Sunrise from the Moon
Playwright: Hannah Manikowski
Genres: Drama
Synopsis: The year is 2096, and Annaliese Gardner, a refugee from the defunct Lunar Colony Montgomery, is returned to Earth and housed in the Georgia Aquarium’s jellyfish room. Mina Espinoza, a researcher from NASA, is assigned to Annie’s case. If she can extract from Annaliese what caused Montgomery’s failure and simultaneously mold her into something resembling a typical American citizen, she is confident she’ll win over the public opinion and reinstate NASA’s prestige. But the intentionally difficult, pointedly bizarre, and deeply traumatized Annaliese is wary. Though reluctant at first, the two develop a bond that might even approach love – and, to save Annie from a life lived as a sideshow attraction, Mina considers abandoning all her plans of space program grandeur and running away with Annie. However, when an anxious teenaged Georgia Aquarium intern discovers the pair’s involvement via the aquarium’s security footage and threatens to out Mina, Mina’s resolve falters. That night, devastated and newly aware that she is being recorded, Annaliese breaks the glass of every tank in the room, killing the jellyfish. While the water drains around her, she calmly recounts the details of the Montgomery collapse.
(Synopsis proved by the MACH 33 website)
Discipline: Psychology
Play Performed: Human (e)
Playwright: Desiree’ York
Genres: Drama
Synopsis: Doctoral candidate Molly Royce has one goal in life: complete her thesis to carry on the pioneering work of her father who recently died of Huntington’s disease. Wanting to live a normal life, Molly has kept her promise to her father not to be tested for the genetic disease: until now. Master’s degree candidate Shayna Williams has trained all of her life to become a professional violinist, but a neurological disease which affects her ability to play threatens her dreams of graduation. Viewing each other as only a means to an end, Shayna reluctantly agrees to participate as Molly’s test subject in her research project as a last resort. As the experiment unfolds, Shayna and Molly develop an unlikely friendship that is put to the test when Molly finds out she is pregnant and is confronted with the ultimate decision. She must choose whether to keep her promise to her father or risk passing on the disease that killed him.
(Synopsis proved by the MACH 33 website)
Discipline: Genetics
Previous Season’s Shows:
2019 Season:
Bones of the Sea by James Armstrong
Sizzle Sizzle Fly by Susan Berfield
The Surest Poison by Kristin Idaszak
2018 Season:
Theory of Nothing by Lolly Ward
Out There Right Here by Anna Nicholas
Lie After Lie After Lie by Stephen Dierkes
2017 Season:
Vavilov’s Gardenby Mark Eckard
Somber Science by Matilde Marcolli
Faustus, PhD by Mark Kozlowski
2016 Season:
The Chisera by Paula Cizmar
Planet Between the Stars by Hillary Bhaskaran
Heart of the Stars with Brian Brophy, Bryan Penprase, Manan Arya, and Utkarsh Mital
2015 Season:
Two Degrees by Tira Palmquist
The Last Flight of the Mercenary by Karen Howes
2014 Season:
They Promised Her the Moon by Laurel Ollstein
Theory of Nothing by Lolly Ward
Capture the Sun by George Morgan
2013 Season:
Tesla: A Radio Play for the Stage by Dan Duling
Out of Orbit by Jennifer Maisel
Sila by Chantal Bilodeau
The Washing of the Water by Marcus Renner
Links:
https://www.dramatistsguild.com/organization/1751
http://tacit.caltech.edu/mach33/past
https://www.artsforla.org/mach_33_the_festival_of_new_science_driven_plays
https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/mach-33-festival-new-science-driven-plays-opens-april-30-82092
http://tacit.caltech.edu/mach33
https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/when-science-mentors-art-and-art-plays-science-50742
Entered by: Anna Galanides
Photo/Visual Research with citations:
Photo provided by MACH 33 promotional materials
