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MIT & Underground Railway Theater present
staged readings of 'On Ego' -- Dec. 4-5

Cambridge, MA... Catalyst Collaborative at MIT (CC@MIT), a collaboration between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Underground Railway Theater (URT) presents "On Ego," the fourth in a series of free, staged readings of plays exploring science, December 4-5, 2006.

Co-written by playwright Mick Gordon and neuropsychologist Paul Broks — and inspired by Broks' best-selling book "Into the Silent Land" — "On Ego" combines art, science and philosophy to examine the idea of the self.

Two readings of "On Ego" will be presented:

Monday, December 4, at 7:30 p.m.
MIT Room 10-250 (enter 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge)
Followed by open discussion led by Robert Desimone, director, McGovern Center for Brain Research, MIT.
Info: (617) 253-ARTS (2787)

Tuesday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Cambridge Family YMCA Theatre (820 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge)
Followed by open discussion led by psychologist and award-winning writer Lauren Slater, author of "Welcome to My Country" and "Prozac Diary."
Info: (781) 643-6916 or info@undergroundrailwaytheater.org

Seating for the readings of "On Ego" is limited; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

Directed by Jon Lipsky, the readings will feature performances by Stephen Russell, Wes Sanders, and Debra Wise. Special appearances will also be made by supporting actors from MIT’s student body.

'On Ego'

"On Ego" portrays a neuroscientist whose experiments on a futuristic cutting edge of consciousness lead him to pose the greatest scientific and philosophical riddle of all: how does the brain construct a self? How does, in fact, meat become mind? The stakes of the dramatic conflict are raised by the passionate and complicated personal relationships between the characters: a father, a husband, and a wife with slowly progressing brain cancer. Dramatically juxtaposing "ego theory" with "bundle theory," "On Ego" explores whether we are simply skin, bone and a hundred billion brain cells, or feeling, loving, thinking individuals.

Written by British playwright Mick Gordon and neuropsychologist Paul Broks, "On Ego" is inspired by Broks' best-selling book, "Into the Silent Land,"a poetic meditation on the nature of the brain. Short-listed for the Guardian First Book award, 2003, the book has been translated into ten languages.

Post reading discussions

Following the December 4 reading at MIT, Robert Desimone, director of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT will lead an open conversation with the audience about questions raised by the play. The conversation will be facilitated by URT Artistic Director Debra Wise, and will include Director Jon Lipsky and actors Stephen Russell and Wes Saunders.

Desimone is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts of Sciences, and a recipient of numerous awards, including the Troland Prize of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Golden Brain Award of the Minerva Foundation.

Following the December 5 reading at the Cambridge Family YMCA Theatre, Wise and Lipsky will lead an open discussion with Dr. Lauren Slater, psychologist and author of six books, including “Welcome to My Country,” "Prozac Diary," "Lying: A Metaphorical Memoir," and "Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century."

Paul Broks

Paul Broks trained as a clinical psychologist at Oxford University before specializing in neuropsychology. His career combines clinical practice and basic research and he is senior clinical lecturer at Plymouth University in Britain. His numerous research publications cover a wide range of interests, including autism, schizophrenia and acquired brain disorder. "Into the Silent Land" is Broks' first non-fiction work, the result of his entry in a competition to write the next popular science bestseller. Broks' attempt won him a book deal for his blend of real-life neurological cases, science fiction, and personal disclosures.

Mick Gordon

Playwright Mick Gordon has served as director of London's Gate Theatre and associate director for the National Theater. Recognition for his work includes the Peter Brook Award for Most Outstanding Theater.

"Not only do theater and neurology have a shared language," said Gordon, "but through Paul Broks I discovered a philosophical realm with concrete situations to explore." According to Gordon, several of Broks' case studies of patients whose brains have been damaged through disease or accident have been incorporated into "On Ego." "We still don't really know how the brain constructs itself," said Gordon, "But the evidence-gatherers are the neurologists who work with people whose brains have been damaged. Although, as Paul always points out, all our brains are damaged to a lesser or greater extent - it is just a matter of degree on a sliding scale."

More about 'On Ego'

"On Ego" is described as a "theatrical essay," a form Gordon has been developing over 10 years with his company "On Theatre." His goal is to create a "thinking space for 90 minutes during which audience members can reflect on a given theme, and re-evaluate their relationships with themselves." His first such theater essay was "On Death," followed by "On Love" and "On Religion." He is currently creating "On Emotions" with Brok, examining how fear response is a basis of decision-making.

"On Ego" and "Into the Silent Land" have been optioned for a motion picture, and no full productions can take place in the U.S. "On Ego" is being presented in Cambridge as a staged reading by CC@MIT under a special agreement with its authors.

"On Ego" will be followed in April, 2007 by CC@MIT's first full production: an adaptation of Alan Lightman's best-selling book "Einstein's Dreams," which will be performed April 19-29 at the Broad Institute as part of the Cambridge Science Festival – the nation's first city-wide celebration of science.

The Catalyst Collaborative at MIT was established to develop new plays about science and to provide the public with a better understanding of our increasingly scientific and technological world.

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