Who would have thought that an innocent cup of coffee could produce a play about parasites? But that’s exactly what happened. Not just any play but a play with music, a sock puppet, scientists, drama, humor and of course a well rounded (like the worms?) touch of horror. Do you know about hypnotized snails? Brainwashed ants? No?? To learn about parasites is to learn about ourselves. Their evolutionary superiority and variety of life cycles is a feat few better-studied animals on this planet have achieved.
Parasite Play co-stars/co-creators Vicki and Matthew met working on projects for the Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival, and were interested in developing our own show together. One Sunday not long after closing FlagShakes’ production of Two Noble Kinsmen we sat down together over coffee to discuss mutual interests, and stumbled upon a shared enthusiasm for parasitic organisms. We started by exploring the stories and science described in Carl Zimmer’s nonfiction masterpiece Parasite Rex, and sending each other numerous articles and wiki pages about different parasites that intrigued us. And each of us began writing down different sketches based on our research.
We quickly found that we have similar sensibilities. We’re both clowns; we’re both science-enthusiasts; we both enjoy making people laugh while grossing them out and making them better-informed. We have very different writing styles, but we’re both particular about our use of language.
Between us we created about a dozen different sketches between 2 and 10 minutes in length. Then we started shuffling them around and trying to “put them on their feet.” As we started to organize our show, we became excited to add some live music, and our talented friend AJ graciously stepped in to help us create some very catchy songs.
We’re all passionate about our subject matter and would love to introduce you to the strange and amazing world of parasites.
Make friends with a tapeworm, have a chat with a lamprey, dance in a conga line with rats and sing a “cat”chy tune about why humans are so devoted to their feline friends. You may feel a bit squeamish at times because parasites are SO GROSS, but we feel certain that the knowledge you will glean will outweigh the chills. Come have fun while learning about this overlooked phenomenon.
Bring all your friends – even the ones inside you that you don’t know you have.
Board member, Adam Marsh, and lead paleontologist at Petrified National Forest, works with a team of scientists to uncover an approximately 300 million-year-old fossil skeleton discovered at Canyonlands National Park in Utah (June 2024)