The Livermore Shakespeare Festival has commissioned California playwright and actress Diana Burbano to create an original play focusing on local scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and how they have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The play is part of the nonprofit Shakespeare Festival’s yearlong Science@Play initiative “to bring the scientific process to life through literature and performance” and “to highlight and provide opportunities for writers, directors, actors and scientists, especially of color,” according to organization’s website.
âDiversity is nothing that can ever be wished away, driven away, or washed away,â said Michael Wayne Rice, the Shakespeare Festivalâs resident director. âIt is baked into the very nature of our nation and the world. We are at a point in history where taking a stand and moving into action is the answer to creating a more just, empathetic and representative world.â