The arts and sciences may not be as dichotomous as we think. Research-based theatre is a growing phenomenon, which translates data gathered by traditional scientific means into artistic, emotional and dramatic representations. This novel approach to scientific communication challenges the traditional stigma that scientists are poor communicators who fail to engage the public in their attempts to share knowledge. Consequently, instead of just presenting facts and findings, “science plays” tell a story about the world around us, unraveling scientific information scene by scene so that the audience has received a concealed form of education by the time the curtain falls.
One of the greatest successes of scientific theatre is the Tony Award winning play Copenhagen, which explores a meeting between physicists Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. The script is a combination of research and imagination, revealing Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, the workings and reactions of atomic particles, the nuclear science behind atomic bombs and the laboratory experiments that led to these discoveries.
(A trailer for the film Copenhagen).
Emulating from the success of Broadway science-based plays, many researchers are theatricalizing data to transfer important and complex new findings in a clear and entertaining manner. This is particularly evident in the health and medical field where researchers are turning to community-based theatre productions to circulate information to vulnerable groups. For example, a study published by The Journal of Educational Gerontology found that incorporating research data into a play, called Wicked Widows, was a successful medium to educate older generations about the effects of widowhood. By incorporating research data into a humorous and professionally written script, participants felt more knowledgeable after the performance and believed this was an unthreatening and enjoyable way to learn about this sensitive topic.
(A scene from Wicked Widows.)
The educational power of research-based theatre is also observed cross-culturally. Many international health organizations utilize community-based theatre to educate vulnerable societies about important issues such as family planning, proper hygiene and nutrition. For example, the Tuelimishane Project in Tanzania developed a play geared towards men to educate them about safe sex, infidelity and conflict resolution due to alarming gender violence and HIV rates. Preliminary results show that, of those that watched the performance, 12% more men reported using a condom and there is evidence that male attitudes towards gender violence has improved.
Overall, it is evident that the great chasm between science and the arts is a misconception, as both disciplines can work symbiotically to help scientists communicate in innovative ways. In particular, when trying to convey knowledge to the general public, we should no longer feel confined to the characteristic journal publication, panel discussion, PowerPoint presentation or press release we are so often used to seeing.
Looking a step beyond theatre, what would be really interesting to see is more mainstream movie productions based on sound science (and I mean sound science, not the guy-gets-bit-by-radioactive-spider-and-becomes-spider-man science). If Hollywood could start collaborating with Nobel Peace worthy scientists to generate scripts, I think the whole world would become a lot smarter. As Alan Alda, an actor and advocate of science-based theatre, once said: “Every experiment is a great story”.
Published by Jamie Fujioka
Interesting Links to a list of Research-Based Theatre Companies:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/talkingscience-centres-science-on-stage.htm
Eakin, J. M., & Endicott, M. (2006). Knowledge translation through research-based theatre. Healthcare Policy, 2(2), 54.
Rossiter, K., Kontos, P., Colantonio, A., Gilbert, J., Gray, J., & Keightley, M. (2008). Staging data: Theatre as a tool for analysis and knowledge transfer in health research. Social science & medicine, 66(1), 130-146.
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