Science and theater don't often share a stage. At LSU this month, they share a script.

The SciArts New Play Festival is back on campus, presenting staged readings of brand-new plays built around science and the people who do it. Every event is free and open to the public, which makes it one of the easiest nights out in Baton Rouge for curious minds.

The festival is a team effort between the LSU School of Theatre & Film, the LSU College of Science and the LSU Office of Research and Economic Development.

What's a staged reading?

Think of it as a play in its early life. Actors bring the script to life without a full production, so audiences hear a new work while it is still taking shape. It is a front-row look at how theater gets made.

Monday, Nov. 16: Hello, World

Written by Margot Connolly and directed by Rachel Acker, this one follows teenage girls and nonbinary students who use a coding competition to explore representation and social change. The reading starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Studio Theatre of LSU's MDA Building.

Monday, Nov. 23: Fission

The festival closes with Cindy Lou Johnson's play about physicists Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn, their scientific partnership and the fight for recognition that followed the discovery of nuclear fission. Barrett Hileman directs, again at 7:30 p.m. in the MDA Studio Theatre.

That same day, LSU's Dr. Ravi Rau gives a 3:30 p.m. keynote titled "Science is Part of Liberal Arts at a University."

Make a night of it

Admission costs nothing, so the only planning required is a parking spot and a little time to grab dinner near campus first. Bring a friend who works in a lab, or one who has never set foot in one. Both will leave with something to talk about.

New plays have to start somewhere. In Baton Rouge this November, they start in a studio theater on the LSU campus.

Photo courtesy of LSU School of Theatre & Film.