In the era of the covid pandemic, theaters are dark and empty, actors at home, patrons unable to support plays. But a collaboration between the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company and a University of Colorado Boulder research institute worked to change that. Their result was Science Shorts, four fictitious, 10-minute plays that were written and produced by a group of four scientists partnering with four playwrights from Colorado, followed by four short talks by the scientists who inspired their work.

Dr Ted Scambos, Principal Investigator for ITGC's Science Coordination Office was a science advisor for a play about Thwaites Glacier. The Tipping Point was written by playwright Lia Romeo in which an aerial tour of Thwaites Glacier leads some casual tourists far beyond a typical vacation experience. The production is the result of a collaboration between the Boulder Ensemble Theater Company (BETC) and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), with support from CU Boulder’s Nature, Environment, Science & Technology (NEST) Studio for the Arts.

Streaming February 1 to 7, register here to watch the four plays online.