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Carpenter Square Theatre continues its 37th Season with “Ada and the Engine,” a comedy-drama based on historical figures who designed the first computer in the 1800s. Lauren Gunderson’s romantic imagining of Lord Byron’s daughter Ada and Charles Babbage plays April 9-May 1, 2021 at the theater located at 800 W. Main in downtown Oklahoma City. Jane Austen meets Steve Jobs in this poignant pre-tech romance heralding the computer age. As the British Industrial Revolution dawns in the 1800s, young Ada Byron Lovelace (daughter of the flamboyant and notorious Lord Byron) sees the boundless creative potential in the “analytic engines” of her friend and soul mate Charles Babbage, inventor of the first mechanical computer. Ada envisions a whole new world where art and information converge—a world she might not live to see. It’s a music-laced story of love, friendship, and the edgiest dreams of the future.
Playwright Lauren Gunderson finds plenty of intriguing matter in her story of the early computer age as she focuses on the poignant relationship between Ada and Charles Babbage. She captures the unrequited intimacy of the two soul mates in her intelligent play about intelligent people and crafts it for an intelligent audience.
Ms. Gunderson has spoken nationally and internationally on the intersection of science and theatre and Arts Activism, and teaches playwriting in San Francisco. She is a playwright, screenwriter and short story author from Atlanta, GA. She has been one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015 topping the list twice including 2019-20. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award, and a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and John Gassner Award for Playwriting. Previously, Carpenter Square presented her comedy “Exit, Pursued by a Bear,” and area theater goers may have also seen “The Revolutionists.” Like Ada, Ms. Gunderson obviously has an ongoing interest in the intersection of science and the arts, and has had a play, a string theory poem, and a monologue printed in various science publications.
Director Tom Cowley guides the small ensemble of actors from the metro area. Kaylan Ferrell stars in the title role of Ada Byron Lovelace, a curious, brilliant young lady more of our time, but stuck in hers. David Burkhart is the mathematician, dreamer, and inventor Charles Babbage. Taylor Reich appears in the dual roles of Ada’s husband and father, Lord Lovelace and the poet Lord Byron. Laurie Blankenship performs the dual roles of Ada’s mother, Lady Byron, and Mary Sommerville, Babbage’s colleague in the world of math and science and Ada’s mentor. Ford Filson assists as production stage manager. Linda Cowley serves as rehearsal stage manager. Scott Hynes is in charge of the set, and Jay C. Schardt is the lighting designer. Rhonda Clark serves as the costume and sound designer, with Barry Thurman providing special video and audio effects.
“Ada and the Engine” is rated PG. Specific performance dates and times over four weeks are: 8 p.m. April 9-10 and 16-17, 7:30 p.m. April 22, 8 p.m. April 23-24 and 2:00 p.m. April 25, 7:30 p.m. April 29, and 8:00 p.m. April 30 and May 1.
The production is supported in part by the Oklahoma Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Inasmuch Foundation, Kirkpatrick Family Fund, and Allied Arts. Season Sponsors include Mel and Cindy Ables, Ed and Janet Bucknell, Tom and Linda Cowley, Rita Hejny, the Slater Family Fund, and Ed and Jennifer Spinelli. Costume Sponsors are Ed and Vivian Hasbrook and Cast Sponsors are Mel and Cincy Ables and Robert Corley.
Regular adult tickets are $30 with $25 tickets available for seniors aged 62 or more, military, and groups of ten or more. Educator tickets are $10 and students are only $5. Two-for-one tickets may be purchased when presenting the Allied Arts City Card or when attending Thursday evening performances. Reservations are highly recommended for the intimate theater, as the theater will only be seating 30% of the house to accommodate for social distancing. All patrons are required to wear masks in order to attend. For tickets, call 405-232-6500 or email [email protected]. Visit www.carpentersquare.com for more information.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Carpenter Square Theatre, Venue: 800 W Main (Mailing: 806 W Main), Oklahoma City, OK 73106, United States
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