Climate Science Is the Star of the Third ‘Science on Stage’

Ghost Forest was one of three one-act plays performed as part of Science on Stage: Climate Edition, October 28 at the Staller Center for the Arts. Photos courtesy of Ken Weitzman.

The worlds of science and art came together at Science on Stage: Climate Edition, performed at the Staller Center for the Arts on October 28.

The event, held for the third time, featured three short, one-act plays inspired by Stony Brook University researchers working on climate change, written by professional playwrights and performed by professional actors.

The three plays were: Counterfactual, based on the research of Kevin Reed, chief climate scientist for The NewYork Climate Exchange, Stony Brook's associate provost for climate and sustainability programming, and professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS); Resplendence, based on the work of Christine Gilbert, assistant professor of climate communication in the School of Communication and Journalism and SoMAS; andGhost Forest, based on the research of Elizabeth Watson, associate professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolution in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Science on Stage has grown over the last few years," said Ken Weitzman, an associate professor in the Department of English and the event's creator. "We had to go online with it our first year because of the pandemic, the second year we filled a 130-seat theatre and turned about 100 away. This year we had registrations for the 390 reserved spots of the Recital Hall."

In addition to the growth in audience, this year was the first time that all three plays were around a theme.

"In the first two interactions, we sought a variety of research," said Weitzman. "This year was a significant next step, centering all three plays on a theme. The feedback I've received expressed that having the three plays on a theme and back-to-back put them in conversation with one another and gave the audience three angles from which to engage with the topic. This allowed greater depth and a more expansive exploration."

Resplendence is based on the work of Christine Gilbert, assistant professor of climate communication in the School of Communication and Journalism and SoMAS.

Counterfactual, written by playwright Mat Smart, was a comedy that addressed the challenges climate scientists face in today's hyper-political world.

"In just the last month with the last two hurricanes that hit the southeast United States, we've unfortunately seen a lot of misinformation and disinformation going around regarding hurricanes and climate change," said Reed, who spoke of the anxiety that comes with his work.

"When I get into an Uber in certain parts of the country, I prefer not to say what I'm there for," he said. "They want to have a conversation, and oftentimes I shut myself down so I don't have to. Part of it is because there's uncertainty around the political aspects of talking about climate change. But it's weird. I teach here and I'm dedicated to trying to understand climate change and communicate that with our students and the communities, but there are certain times where, as a human, I don't want to fight that fight. Despite the reality that I'm quite proud to be a climate scientist."

Resplendence featured three generations of a family contemplating the changing environment and explored how different generations deal with such change.

"This has been a wonderful opportunity to see into the expertise of a field that I know nothing about," said Gilbert. "The play didn't reflect my specific family, but it did reflect my work as a science communicator. Specifically, how do we break out of our silos and how can we have scientific talks? It's been a really powerful and wonderful opportunity to see it all come to life."

"So much of what Christine's research unlocked in me is this idea of how we are thinking about climate change from an emotional standpoint, because research is about responding to the ideas through language," said Kareem Fahmy, the playwright who worked with Gilbert. "I thought that was a really interesting way of thinking about how these three different generations of the family have their own emotional attachments and ideas and feelings around a thing. I think each individual person has their own expression of what they're doing to combat those larger forces."

Ghost Forest, written by playwright Gab Reisman, explored the sense of dread that surrounds many climate discussions.

"It was great seeing these actors give voice to that and seeing what it all meant," said Watson. "It made it come alive in a way that was pretty amazing. Unlike Christine, however, there was a lotof my family in this play."

"I think in the way that we operate in time, so much of what now is about what it will be in the future," said Reisman. "Even though things are bad, it seems like they will get even morebad. So what do you do? How do you know who that's going to affect and how it feels? This was a way to sort of tie the personal into the climate."

This year, the event was expanded to open with the premiere of a composition by Margaret Schedel, professor of composition and computer music in the Department of Music, for youth chamber ensemble. Inspired by Saint-Saëns'Carnival of the Animals (1886), Schedel blended melodies inspired by each animal's nature and the environmental challenges they face. Using AI, she mapped recordings of endangered species onto acoustic instruments to raise awareness of creatures rarely heard in the wild.

"I felt the beautiful movement for cello captured the grace of the swan and I thought, 'How can I capture the spirit of these animals and these melodies?'," she said. "I wanted to do that AI orchestration of their calls. And in order to do that more effectively, I extended techniques, which means not playing the instruments like they normally would be played. That was something that I experienced in high school and I wanted these performers to experience that."

- Robert Emproto

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