Young Nerds of Color Screenings
MONDAY, OCTOBER 17 - FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21
FREE SCREENINGS IN THE PLANETARIUM AT:
8:30AM, 10:30AM, 12:30PM, & 2:30PM
Members of the Framingham State University community are welcome to attend a FREE screening of the play Young Nerds of Color in the FSU Planetarium during Massachusetts STEM Week 2022!
Hiding in plain sight in the science labs, grappling over civilization’s greatest challenges, are Young Nerds of Color. Some speak with the poetry of wise sages. Others subvert the establishment with renegade ways. Finally, there are rock stars whose ideas flow like jazz improvisation. All change the world like a bolt of lightning illuminating the night sky.
Playwright Melinda Lopez weaves together over 60 interviews with scientists from the most underrepresented backgrounds -- amplifying the rich harmonies, breaking down boundaries, and showing us what is possible.
Screenings During STEM Week
Monday, October 17: 8:30am; 10:30am; 12:30pm; 2:30pm
Tuesday, October 18: 8:30am; 10:30am; 12:30pm; 2:30pm
Wednesday, October 19: 8:30am; 10:30am; 12:30pm; 2:30pm
Thursday, October 20: 8:30am; 10:30am; 12:30pm; 2:30pm
Friday, October 21: 8:30am; 10:30am
FSU Faculty, Staff, and Student Clubs/Organizations:
To book a screening for your group during STEM Week, please fill out this form.
Additional screenings in the FSU Planetarium can be scheduled any time during the semester. Please use this form to submit a screening request.
Note: The play is about 80 minutes long. Should you prefer, we can also provide a link to the video for you to screen the play in your classroom or meeting location.
Walk-ins: Interested in attending a screening but aren’t part of a group? No problem! All members of the FSU community are welcome to attend any STEM Week screening as a walk-in on the dates and times listed above.
Panel Discussion with FSU BIPOC Faculty
FSU faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend a panel discussion prompted by the themes of Young Nerds of Color in the FSU Planetarium on Wednesday, October 19 from 4:30pm-6:30pm. A special screening of the play from 2:30pm-4:00pm, just before the panel discussion, is also available!
About Young Nerds of Color
Young Nerds of Color premiered last spring at Central Square Theater in Cambridge, MA. The play is an interdisciplinary project, based on interviews with scientists and students of science who come from backgrounds underrepresented in professional science: people of color, women, ethnic minorities, and people from low income families. The play provides a case study in how interviews can be used to bridge the humanities and science. The goal of this project is to provide audiences with a new approach to address issues of systemic racism, especially in fields like the sciences and theater, where dominant groups have historically codified who can practice the discipline and how.
The play brings to the stage deeply-felt stories of people passionate about science for whom the journey has been complex. It explores themes such as loneliness, code switching, the lie of science objectivity, challenges to feeling authentic, pressure to represent, and imposter syndrome. Through these stories, reasons emerge for why diversity is needed to shape the future of scientific innovation: to encourage a ‘diversity mindset’ and a broad definition of diversity; to show commonalities, to disrupt dominant narratives, and to demonstrate the need to be messy, inquisitive, and fearless.
Watch a brief preview of the play below, or by clicking here.
THIS EVENT IS PART OF MASSACHUSETTS STEM WEEK 2022
Massachusetts STEM Week 2022, October 17 – 21, is a statewide collaborative effort organized by the Executive Office of Education and the STEM Advisory Council in partnership with the state’s nine Regional STEM Networks, like MetroWest STEM Education Network, which plan and coordinate activities with local school communities, community leaders, and business partners.
Important Information
The McAuliffe Center is located at the rear of O’Connor Hall on the campus of Framingham State University. The entrance to the O’Connor Hall Parking Lot is on Maynard Road. Click here for directions.
Masks are required for all.