JARGIE THE SCIENCE GIRL Will Tour Children's Theaters

When 27-year old Jocelyn Argueta was working her way through college, studying Biochemistry at the University of California, Irvine, she filled her little free time working and performing with Phantom Projects Theatre Group in La Mirada. As an older teen, she starred in shows confronting teen-oriented life topics such as bullying and racism. As a young adult she joined their tour of Charlotte's Web, where she portrayed colorful farmyard animals such as geese and pigs, all the while spending countless hours in the on-campus labs of UCI. Upon graduating with a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Jocelyn's early career was founded in scientific research. She contributed with published work in the field of Neuroscience and as an inventor in allergy diagnostics.

"As a student, whenever I was in rehearsals, I was thinking about my science, about my goal and how my life was going to change in the coming months," reflects Argueta. "As an adult I found that when I was in lab, I'd be thinking about my time as a performer with Phantom Projects."

She found her creative counterpart in Steve Cisneros, Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Phantom Projects who worked with, and was part of, Argueta's artistic and academic dilemma.

"I'm a huge fan of Jocelyn's energy and talents as a writer and performer. And we've always worked so well together creatively," remembers Cisneros.

"One day after a rehearsal, we were talking about my desires of science and theatre, and he said: 'Why don't we combine them? Let's create a science show.' I thought he was kidding at first," added Argueta.

Within months the two created the character and show, Jargie the Science Girl! (Jargie is a creative combining of the first and last names of Jocelyn Argueta). Within months of workshopping the production for Southern California schools and youth groups, the duo set their sights on larger territories and larger productions. The show has since been booked on both coasts (including 4 sold-out performances at the Smithsonian Institute), and continues to add states and theatres to the show's roster. The addition of a bilingual Spanish/English version was part of the expansion, ensuring that Argueta's background was truly integrated into the production.

The expansion continued recently, when a representative from PolarTrec, while on a flight, read an article about Jargie, the show, and the educational background of Argueta. He reached out to Phantom Projects and within days, interviews were taking place with the idea of Argueta traveling to the South Pole as part of the Ice Cube Neutrino Lab. PolarTec is funded by the National Science Foundation to match educators with researchers at the north and south pole in an effort to promote polar research and literacy in K-12 classrooms.

And with that, between Jargie performances, she will join her colleagues for 4 weeks, in freezing temperatures. During this time, Argueta will also film new content for the Jargie character, as well as study and research new educational elements for the show.

And once again, she finds herself bouncing between labs and stages. Right before she leaves, she will host schools for special field trip performances on November 14 at the Ebell Theatre in Santa Ana. Almost immediately after returning, she will prep for the next stop on the Jargie national tour with 2 performances in Torrance, CA as part of the Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation's 25th Anniversary season at the James Armstrong Theatre (January 26, 2020).

For more information on Jargie the Science Girl! visit www.PhantomProjects.com/jargie

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