Scholar Social

Join us for a post-show conversation with composer and clarinetist Evan Ziporyn, a Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Music at MIT. As the Head of Music and Theater Arts as well as the Inaugural Director of MIT’s new Center for Art, Science and Technology, we’re thrilled to have Professor Ziporyn share his thoughts on Einstein’s Dreams through the lens of music and art.

All Central Conversations are open to the public; seats are available on a first come, first serve basis.

Thought Experiments

We’re very excited to present our final Einstein’s Dreams Central Conversation as a pre-show discussion with Alan Lightman (author of Einstein’s Dreams), psychologist Steven Pinker & author/philosopher Rebecca Goldstein on the similarities and differences between how scientists, such as Einstein, and artists use metaphors in their work.

Rebecca Goldstein holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University and an Honorary Doctorate from Emerson College, and among her many awards and fellowships, has been designated a Humanist Laureate by the International Academy of Humanists, received both Guggenheim and Radcliffe Fellowships and is a recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Grant. Most recently, The White House announced Ms. Goldstein as a distinguished recipient of the 2014 National Humanities Medal.

Steven Pinker is currently the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard, and has been awarded prizes by the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Institution of Great Britain, and the American Psychological Association for his research on visual cognition and the psychology of language. He holds eight honorary doctorates, often writes for the New York Times, Time, and The New Republic, and has been named one of Time magazine’s “The 100 Most Influential People in the World Today.”

Alan Lightman holds a Ph.D in theoretical physics from the California Institute of Technology, as well as four honorary degrees. He was the first professor at MIT to receive a joint appointment in the sciences and the humanities. Professor Lightman also co-founded the Catalyst Collaborative@MIT, the collaboration between MIT and URT with the goal of conveying the culture of science through theater.  You may remember him from last season’s Mr g, which, like Einstein’s Dreams, was an adaptation of one of his books.

All Central Conversations are open to the public; seats are available on a first come, first serve basis.

Join us for a special Artists and Audiences with the cast of The Edge of Peace after the Saturday matinee on April 11th!

A Post-Show Conversation with Reverend Dr. Christian Brocato and Peter Littlefield

Please join us for a post-show conversation with Reverend Dr. Christian Brocato & Peter Littlefield as we explore the intersection of religion and theater in Mr g.

The Reverend Dr. Christian Brocato is the Rector of Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church on Mass. Ave in Central Square. He holds a Masters in Theology as well as a PhD in Musicology with a concentration in liturgy and sacred music. He has served in several parishes as well has been a professor and guest lecturer in several colleges. He has a passion for theater and views the liturgy of the Church as a kind of well choreographed theater with lots of important moving parts, dialogue, music and preaching. He has greatly enjoyed the CST productions this year, his collaboration with Peter Littlefield from Saint Peter’s and CST, and is very excited about Mr g.

Peter Littlefield is a stage director, dramaturg and writer. He has spent the last 30 years deconstructing operas at major companies in the United States and Europe. Handel’s Partenope, which he co-directed with Christopher Alden at the English National Opera, won the Lawrence Olivier Award. He has written and staged many original works, including, most recently, “Doctor Schweitzer’s Practical Heart” – with members of the Annisquam Village Church in Gloucester. He teaches playwriting at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education.