THE CATASTROPHIST Will Stream From People's Light Next Month

People's Light presents Lauren M. Gunderson's The Catastrophist, a filmed play co-produced by Marin Theatre Company and Round House Theatre, and the fourth and final installment in People's Light's Winter/Spring Digital Season. America's most produced playwright returns with a time-jumping tale based on the life and work of Dr. Nathan Wolfe, a renowned real-life virologist who happens to be Gunderson's husband. Wolfe proposed pandemic insurance years before the novel coronavirus outbreak. No one bought it. Now, in a COVID-altered world, we hear his story, presented as a filmed theatrical experience that has streamed at partner theatres throughout the country. A deep dive into the profundities of scientific exploration and the harrowing realities of facing your own mortality, The Catastrophist has been hailed as a "brilliant and riveting" (wttw.com) new play that "will leave a lasting impression" (Ms. Magazine). Streaming at People's Light May 10-23 for $25 per household with an online account. Run time is 80 minutes. Best enjoyed by viewers 13+. Learn more at peopleslight.org.

During the early days of COVID-19 lockdowns last April, director Jasson Minadakis posed to Gunderson the idea of writing a play about her virologist husband. She was trepidatious at first, but the more she considered the idea, the more sense it started to make. "In this moment-with a global pandemic raging and ravaging communities, with a chilling rejection of science resurfacing, and with undeniable and unnecessary deaths devastating families worldwide-Nathan's story might be more universal than ever before," Gunderson explains in the Catastrophist program note.

"I realized I could write a new kind of one-person play that twisted the predictable theatrical form. One where the writer is almost in the play, sharing the journey with the main character. You recall how a playwright must push her characters to the edge? Well, I thought, what if the character pushes back? And with that, I knew that this was a play I could write. No. This was a play I couldn't wait to write."

Gunderson's real-life husband and renowned virologist Nathan Wolfe is portrayed by widely sought-after film, television, and stage actor William DeMeritt, whose performance in The Catastrophist has been praised as "brilliant, ideally nuanced," "smart," and "magnetic."

People's Light audiences might remember Gunderson's work from the Theatre's 2017 production of her popular play I and You. "Lauren is one of the most compelling and imaginative playwrights in the country," says People's Light Producing Director Zak Berkman. "She has a distinct ability to personalize science, and provides a truly unique vantage point in The Catastrophist. We're thrilled to partner with Marin Theatre Company and Round House Theatre to share this timely, deeply personal, and beautifully crafted play with a wider audience."

The Catastrophist is digitally streamed for $25 at peopleslight.org with an online account. Once purchased, the filmed play can be viewed by everyone in the household anytime, any number of times through May 23, 2021. Click here for more information about streaming digital content.

Accessibility offerings for The Catastrophist include optional closed captioning, audio description, and ASL interpretation. These options appear automatically in viewers' online accounts as they become available.

People's Light offers a range of discounts to stream digital titles, including $10 access for theatre industry professionals and 25% off for military families, teachers, and frontline healthcare workers.

Questions? Leave a voicemail at 610.644.3500 or email tickets@peopleslight.org and a member of the Box Office will be in touch as soon as possible. Please note that the People's Light campus is closed to the public and staff members are working remotely Monday through Friday.

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