A quarterly play or musical discussion group devoted to exploring works by artists who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, female/femme, and/or non-binary.
Our 2022 TRL programming continues to deconstruct the Western canon with engaging works focused on distinct categories.
Quarter One: Gender Diversity in STEM
In McClintock’s Corn by Carolyn Gage
Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven by Reina Hardy
Date: Friday, March 25th, 2022
Time: 7:30-9:30pm CST
(5:30-7:30 PST/6:30-8:30 MST/8:30-10:30 EST)
Price: FREE*
*This is a Community Event so it is free and open to all. However, if you would like to make a donation to help cover the costs of paying our actors & special guests, that would be greatly appreciated. Suggested Donation $5.
Synopses: In McClintock’s Corn is set in a cornfield. The play is about gender-non-conforming, neurodivergent geneticist Barbara McClintock and her companion/partner Harriet Creighton, and McClintock’s revolutionary quest to understand diversity in nature and to reframe “deviance” as an expression of natural variance.
Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven is about a 13-year-old science genius whose alien-obsessed father is the laughingstock of Strawberry, KS. One night in August, a meteor falls, and Annie meets Althea, an intergalactic supercomputer that manifests itself in the form of a mean girl with really great hair. Althea’s here to help Annie take humanity from the earth to the stars, but being the Chosen One isn't all glory. What is Althea hiding? And what will Annie have to sacrifice to fulfill her destiny? A play for all audiences about finding your place in the universe, and intelligent life in your neighborhood.
Plays: In McClintock’s Corn can be purchased here. Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven can be found here and here. Please contact us if you have any further questions.
Discussion format: Actors will be reading scenes from the play and/or we will listen to select songs to kick off our discussion. This will provide a jumping off point as well as some context for people who are unable to read it ahead of time. The Thumbprint Team will be facilitating an open conversation where we hope that people will feel confident to bring their thoughts and experiences to the discussion. Additional materials will be provided to you in our Welcome Packet to dig in further to the study of this work, if you so choose to use them.
You do not need to have read the material beforehand to participate.