The Scientist 15[20]:16, Oct. 15, 2001
http://www.the-scientist.com/yr2001/oct/index_011015.html
NEWS
Oxygen: Putting a Human Face on Science
Renowned chemists advance science through the arts
By A.J.S. Rayl
Oxygen--the 'science-in-fiction' play written by chemists Carl Djerassi and
Roald Hoffmann--will permeate the Royal Institution as it debuts in London
Oct. 27. With the premiere at the San Diego Repertory Theater in California
and publication of the play (Wiley-VCH) last Spring, Djerassi, also known as
'Father of The Pill,' and Nobel laureate Hoffmann garnered kudos from an
A-list of science 'critics' and respectable notice in theater circles. From
Nobel laureates Harold Varmus and Murray Gell-Mann to best-selling authors
Oliver Sacks and Stephen Jay Gould, Oxygen has been heralded as "probing,"
"thought-provoking," "witty," "an extraordinary tour-de-force."
The two-act drama is based on the premise that the Nobel Committee has
decided in this, its centenary year to give the first "retro-Nobel" to the
discoverer of oxygen. Three chemists, the committee quickly determines, lay a
claim to that discovery:
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, father of the chemical revolution;
Reverend Joseph Priestley, a founder of the Unitarian Church; and
Carl Wilhelm Scheele, an unassuming Swedish apothecary.
Through the trials and tribulations of the three contenders and the
members of the Nobel Committee, Djerassi and Hoffmann take the audience
'backstage' for an inside look at the politics and passions in science then
and now. The play opens in Stockholm, Sweden, 1777 (the year oxygen was
discovered) and, with a very intentional nod to women, introduces Lavoisier,
Priestly, and Scheele vicariously through their wives. Scene Two fast-forwards
to 2001 where the Nobel Committee--led by a woman--sets about the task of
selecting the recipient(s). From there, the action shifts from one century to
the other, as the actors, who play dual roles, make seamless costume and
character changes.
Djerassi and Hoffmann mix chemistry history with fictional drama as they
weave the characters' dialogue and emotions around the play's central themes:
what is discovery and why is it important to be first? The plot, as well as
the history, is enhanced with audiovisuals projected onto screens onstage, from
sophisticated drawings of instruments to the piece de résistance--Madame
Lavoisier's travel chest, a real antique held in Cornell University's
Lavoisier collection. "The fact is that when you have seen our play you have
learned something," says Djerassi, "whether you like it or not."
The authors do take some dramatic license--a particular letter 'found' in
the travel chest, for example, isn't real--but, by and large, Oxygen plays
with a genuine ring of truth. Even so, says Djerassi, "Our play should not be
viewed as a play about history, but about the character and the culture of
science and scientists."
It may seem off the bench path for scientists the likes of Djerassi,
professor of chemistry at Stanford University, and Hoffmann, professor of
chemistry at Cornell University, to be trying their hands at playwriting--and
to be trying it together. But for each of them, it's part of the greater plan
to push science into the mainstream via the arts. They both came to the
project well-equipped, literarily speaking.
Hoffmann, known and honored for his contribution to the Woodward-Hoffmann
Rules, has written three collections of poetry, as well as three nonfiction
books on chemistry and hosted PBS' The World of Chemistry. Djerassi has spent
his time away from the bench authoring five novels in the genre he defines as
'science-in- fiction.' He has also penned several short stories, poems, and
the recently published nonfiction book, This Man's Pill: Reflections on the
50th Birthday of The Pill. For Djerassi, Oxygen represents the second of a
trilogy of "science-in-theater" plays he has planned. Actually, he is now
devoting much of his life to the pursuit of putting the human face of science
before the masses and is even teaching a course in Science-in-Fiction at
Stanford.
"One of the things we really need to do in the 21st century is humanize
science and make it part of world culture," says Hoffmann. "We need to talk to
people about science so they can make intelligent, democratic decisions about
it. And scientists need to consider the ethical and spiritual dimension of the
world, if people are to accept their work as being of spiritual as well as
material value."
Neither Djerassi nor Hoffmann remembers who originally came up with the
idea for Oxygen. But they both remember that in case of a "possible divorce,"
a "pre-nuptial agreement" was in order. In the end, the partnership was "an
absolute collaboration," says Djerassi. And it took place primarily via E-mail.
Hoffmann, put his erudite historical perspective on the table and Djerassi
anted up his expertise in the world of fiction. "With Roald's more romantic
views of the scientific enterprise and my more brutal views, we really had two
authorial psychologies operating, and that was the main attraction of the
collaboration," offers Djerassi. For Hoffmann the main attraction was "seeing
the ideas take shape through dialogue, and how from the collaboration more
came out than I could ever have imagined doing myself."
The timing is as obvious as it is perfect. On Dec. 10, the Nobel
Foundation will officially celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Nobel
Prizes. The "retro-Nobel" remains fantasy. "But it's not a bad idea," contends
Djerassi.
So who discovered Oxygen? As the play pages turn, the Nobel Committee
concludes: Scheele discovered it first; Priestley published first, and
Lavoisier actually understood it first. Who then should get the Prize? Or
should it go to two of the contenders? Or all three?
Not even Djerassi and Hoffman could agree. At last count, there were "nine
endings," says Hoffmann. The only thing that is certain at play's end is this:
Science has changed the world during the last 200 years, but the scientists,
the human beings behind the discoveries, have not.
On Nov. 14, Oxygen moves to the Riverside Studio Theatre in London for a
three-week run. On Dec. 1-2, the BBC World Service will broadcast a radio
adaptation of the play, with WDR Radio 3 German broadcasting the first
performance of the play in German on Dec. 12. A German version, now in
production in Wuerzburg, will run through the end of the year. Djerassi's
first play, An Immaculate Misconception, just opened at New York's Primary
Stages Theatre, where it will run through Oct. 28.
A.J.S. Rayl (ajsrayl@loop.com) is a contributing editor for The Scientist.
=====
"One of life's quiet excitements is to stand somewhat apart from yourself and watch yourself softly become the author of something beautiful."
[Norman Maclean in "A river runs through it."]
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