Combining Musical Theater & Science

Brigid Amos sits down with David Quang Pham to discuss how he combines his love of musical theater with science to educate and entertain.Credits:Audio Engineer Gary GlorOne Heartbeat Away is provided to The Theater Project by Gail Lou References:David Quang Pham is an award-winning songwriter, theatre and filmmaker, recognized for creating musicals that personify science to explore the human condition and social issues. His notable work includes plant-based comedy Turnover: A New Leaf, evolutionary fantasy The Living Fossils, and astrophysics family drama Ellipses. They have been produced Off-Broadway, nationally, and internationally. His talent has been recognized with numerous accolades, including a Working Title Playwrights apprenticeship, Playwrights Foundation fellowship, 2024 Great Performances Fellowship Award, and appearance at the 78th Tony Awards on CBS. Be up to lightspeed at science.studio and @ScienceTheatreTour (2019): A musical revolving around subatomic educators competing in an academic accelerator. It was a finalist at the 2019 Downtown Urban Arts Festival.Turnover: A New Leaf is an award-winning plant-based musical by David Quang Pham that follows Vietnamese cilantro Rau Ram trying to earn a green card while running a salon and raising her son, Parsley, in "Dirty City". The story, inspired by Pham's childhood, explores immigrant assimilation, queer identity, and photosynthesis through a comedic, dramatic lens.Aliyah Curryhttps://www.imdb.com/name/nm8550270/Dr Quincy Thomashttps://www.queertk.org/bios/dr.-quincy-thomasQueer Theatre Kalamazoohttps://www.queertk.org/Janelle Lawrencejanellelawrence.comGonzalo Valencia Penahttp://www.gonzalovalencia.com/Cải Lương is a form of modern folk opera that originated in southern Vietnam in the early 20th century. Often translated as "reformed theater" or "renovated theater," it represents a cultural fusion that combines traditional Vietnamese music and folk songs with Western stage techniques and modern spoken drama.