THATCHER — Eastern Arizona College invites the community for an evening of introspective theater with the play “An Experiment with an Air Pump.”
The play is based on the painting “An Experiment on the Bird in an Air Pump,” by Joseph Wright
The play features a dual timeline: 1799 when a Northern English house is filled with scientific experiments, furtive romance, and farcical amateur dramatics; and present day when the same house reveals a dark secret buried for 200 years.
“A lot of the show is about the ethics of scientific discovery,” said Addie Omerza, who plays Susanna Fenwick.
This production marks the directorial debut of EAC’s new theater director, Jeff Skiba, in his new, full-time director role at Eastern Arizona College.
“One of the things I love about this play is that Shelagh Stephenson, who wrote it, she places in people in situations where it feels like you’re in an air pump,” Skiba said. “Relationships and different kind of social situations, where . . . you’ll find people that you’re like, ‘Wow, I’ve kind of been through that, I’ve had that fight, I’ve been in that situation.’ ”
“An Experiment with an Air Pump” runs Nov. 15-18 in the Fine Arts Auditorium, at 7 p.m. each day. Admission is $5 per person and tickets are available at www.eac.edu. This play is rated PG-13 for adult themes, scientific and ethical issues regarding medical research, a suicide attempt, and murder.
