Interview: Mitzi Maxwell Discusses Mad Cow's Science Play Festival

Beginning tonight at Orlando's Mad Cow Theatre, their third annual Science Play Festival begins at 8:00pm with a reading of Sarah Treem's play about evolution, THE HOW AND THE WHY. On Friday night, there will be a reading of Nick Payne's Broadway hit CONSTELLATIONS, which has a quantum physics backdrop, and Mad Cow will close the festival on Saturday with a reading of Tom Stoppard's classic play about science, research, and literature, ARCADIA.

Recently, I spoke with Mad Cow's Executive Director Mitzi Maxwell about the festival's vision, goals, and future.

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BWW: How did the idea to begin a Science Play Festival take shape in 2014?

Maxwell: Mad Cow produced several full production plays with science themes since its start in 1997, including ARCADIA (by Tom Stoppard), HUMBLE BOY (by Charlotte Jones), and LEGACY OF LIGHT (by Karen Zacarias). Each of these plays uses science as one theme/story, and we experienced a wonderful reaction from the community, including scientists and artists. That led us to the idea that a concentrated weekend of readings with these themes would be welcomed, and that's exactly what has happened.

Many people would likely consider theatre and science on the opposite ends of the intellectual spectrum, why do you think it is important for the arts to embrace science, and vice versa?

Both theatre and science require creativity and non-linear thinking to be successful. Finding connections and discovering new ways of seeing familiar things are two key elements that bind the two. We keep discovering local scientists who have great ties to the arts, including those that paint, act and write. Theatre is meant to ask questions, not answer them. The world of science offers answers to questions. Those complementary roles make the melding of art and science delightful for audiences, scientists, and artists.

How is the production process for actors and directors similar or different when producing plays that have a strong scientific background, whether for readings or full productions, compared to those with more traditional subject matter?

We believe there is essentially no difference. Dramaturgy helps us fold stories and source material into our work to create a great production. At the heart of every good play is a great story that may or may not contain science themes.

The three plays that are a part of the festival this year, THE HOW AND THE WHY, CONSTELLATIONS, and ARCADIA, seem to cover very different aspects of science. What went into selecting these three scripts?

Each season we pour over dozens of scripts as part of curating the festival, and in true Mad Cow fashion we look for a variety of stories to share with the audience. THE HOW AND THE WHY is a smart new play about men, women, love, destiny and genes. The play suggests answers to some vexing questions, such as "Why do only women undergo menopause?"

CONSTELLATIONS, a new play from London, was a big success in New York this past year. We follow a couple's romance through time and space, but watch out for the bombshell!

Finally, we chose ARCADIA because not only is it a masterwork of Tom Stoppard, but the theatre produced a full production in 2005. As we move towards our 20th anniversary season, we thought it was a great way to reach back to our roots as we transition into this exciting milestone.

This year, the festival consists of three staged readings of published plays, are there any plans in the future to either expand that, or add new elements to the festival?

In 2017, we plan to add a component that will tour to local schools, thanks to a grant from the Walt Disney Company. At some point, we'd love to commission a new play to be written especially for the Festival.

What do you hope that the audiences get out of coming to the Science Play Festival?

We hope that people will come and sample two or more plays, and that they will join in the nightly talkback with the artists. Our vision for the talkbacks is that questions will be varied, covering the landscape between science, art and other themes, and that the dialogue will further the journey.

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To purchase tickets to Mad Cow's Science Play Festival, visit their website or call 407-297-8788 ext. 1. What do you think of Mad Cow blending science and art? Let me know in the comments below, or by "Liking" and following BWW Orlando on Facebook and Twitter by using the buttons below. You can also chat with me about the show on Twitter @BWWMatt.

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