March 16, 2005

Bridging the Arts and Science

UCSB Launches International Competition for Plays About Science and Technology with $10,000 Prize

Eileen Conrad

The Professional Artists Lab and the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) at UC Santa Barbara have launched an international script competition open to plays about science and technology.

The winning script in the Scientists, Technologists and Artists Generating Exploration (STAGE) competition will receive $10,000, a staged reading with a cast of professional actors, and the opportunity to participate in the Professional Artists Lab's development process.

This includes access to advice and guidance from professional theater and film artists as well as experts in the fields of science, engineering, and technology.

Submitted plays must explore scientific and/or technological stories, themes, issues or events.

(The competition is not open to plays written in the genre of science fiction.)

Entries must be postmarked by Dec. 15.

The winning play will be announced on June 15, 2006.

This novel competition evolved from a shared desire to make science more accessible to the public and the theatre more reflective of what is happening in the world, said Nancy Kawalek, founder and director of UCSB's Professional Artists Lab, which was established last year.

"Our goal is to cultivate appreciation and collaboration between science and art, develop art that depicts the technological age in which we live, and foster new imaginative voices and methods of storytelling," said Kawalek, who is also a studio professor in the Department of Film Studies and the Media Arts and Technology Program.

The Professional Artists Lab is a dynamic artistic laboratory in film studies and media arts and technology at UCSB, in which professional actors, directors, writers, and producers create and develop new works in film, theatre, television, radio, and multi-media performance. Visiting artists also discuss their craft in classes and present workshops.

The California NanoSystems Instituteóone of the prestigious California Institutes for Science and Innovationófocuses on dramatic breakthroughs in materials, devices and resulting technologies, made possible by controlling form and function at the nanoscale.

These breakthroughs are being accomplished through the integration of many science and engineering disciplines, and will have broad applications for innovation in communication, biomedical, energy and environmental technologies.

CNSI is a research partnership between UCSB and UCLA.

Evelyn Hu, co-director of CNSI, said, "I am very excited about this opportunity to bridge arts and science.

Scientific innovation and technological change dominate our lives, and it is important that these themes be reflected in our artistic narratives."

More collaborations between the Professional Artists Lab and the research institute are being planned, including the addition of an international screenwriting competition in the near future.

The prize money for the STAGE competition comes from private philanthropic support.

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.