THEATRE & SCIENCE

So much Beauty… in Science
A lecture by Andrea Brunello, Ph.D.
We live in a world that is dominated and profoundly shaped by science. Science has allowed our societies to truly flourish. Yet the feeling among many people is often one of fear, misunderstanding, anxiety, sometimes even rejection towards the advancements of science! I think we should overcome this instinct to shy away and we should instead embrace science with passion and confidence. Why? The reasons are indeed numerous. For the pleasure to appreciate the mechanisms of rational thought. For the sheer joy of knowledge, but also to fall in love with "high" ideas lifting our heads away from all the “vulgarity” which we deal with on a daily basis! Science can also help us not to fall victim to populism fed by pseudo-scientists and popularizers of so many fake-news.
How to win this hesitation? How to get closer with serenity to science? Here is a possible answer: getting in touch with its incredible beauty! The physical phenomena are inherently beautiful, because Nature is their product and we are their children. Science connects us with our inner soul, our primordial code, with the rest of the Universe, and this is necessarily... wonderful!
In this 50 minutes lecture I will try to raise some curiosity, wonder and amazement around some mysterious and puzzling ideas of science.

Theatre Training Methods for Teachers and Popularizes
Mentor: Andrea Brunello, Ph.D.
Very often there arises the need for speaking in public: to present a research project, to ask for a grant, when giving a lesson… but just as often we may feel uneasy about the challenge. Do I feel comfortable being there in front of an audience? What am I doing? Am I aware of what my body is communicating? What about my voice? Should I emphasise certain words? Which ones? Should I look at the audience in the eyes? How do I know when I have the audience's attention? And more generally: how do I become a better speaker?
By using classical theatre training and storytelling techniques the workshop aims to open up to the public and becoming better public speakers and communicators. In the process practical exercises will be developed to: finding one’s centre; increase one’s own awareness (what I do, what others do); gaining a healthy sense of confidence in the relationship with the others; developing listening skills; improvisation; tempo/rhythm; leadership and courage. Moreover, during the workshop some time will be devoted to proper breathing techniques and voice management.
Participants will be helped to develop an original, engaging presentation of a topic of their choice.

THEATRE AND SCIENCE on Bulgarian National Radio

Andrea Brunello (Italy) - In his work, Andrea Brunello links theatre and science. He holds a PhD in Physics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook (USA, 1997). In 2001, Brunello decided to follow his artistic side by pursuing a full-time professional theatre career. He is the founder and artistic director of Teatro Portland (Trento, Italy –www.teatroportland.it). He is also the artistic director of Arditodesìo Company, a professional theatre company founded in 2002 (www.arditodesio.org), for which he has written and produced more than 10 original plays that have toured all over Italy and abroad. The works deal mostly with social issues and make use of spoken word and storytelling techniques. In 2012, Brunello founded the Jet Propulsion Theatre (JPT,www.jetpropulsiontheatre.com), a permanent laboratory for the theatrical creation connected to science, the people of science, and the scientific tale. As a research lab that aims to narrate science by mixing it with theatre, JPT – a joint collaboration with the Physical Science Communication Laboratory of the physics Department of the University of Trento – aims to bring out the human side of science through theatre. Brunello is currently affiliated with the department where he has recently taught a course called Emozionare con la Scienza on scientific storytelling and scientific playwriting. JPT productions are both in Italian and English and have toured around a great number of venues, theatres, universities, and schools.