Having met in the 60’s, Nina Wise, performance artist, and Ralph Abraham, one of the pioneers of chaos theory, found themselves together again at UC Santa Cruz in 2004 where they were both teaching. During a series of lunch meetings, they decided to develop a performance work about 17th Century astronomer Johannes Kepler. For years, Abraham had been studying and writing about Kepler, one of the major players in launching the Scientific Revolution, as part of his research on the history of paradigm shifts and their impact on human culture.  Wise – fascinated by Kepler’s story and convinced of its vital relevance to contemporary issues – was inspired to translate it into a theater piece.

In the spring of 2006, the two collaborators spent a month at the Djerassi Foundation where they researched and brainstormed. There, Nina wrote the first version of The Kepler Project, a play with music for 8 actors. In the play, the 17th Century comes alive as a contemporary astrophysicist encounters personal and professional challenges due to her radical notions of the structure of the universe. Kepler and Galileo guide her through the emotionally charged terrain of her love life, her career, and the harmony of the spheres.

The play has had four STAGED READINGS:

2006 - Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Magic Theater (San Francisco)
2007 - Riverstage Playwrights Festival (Sacramento)
2008 - Lensic Center for the Performing Arts (Santa Fe)
2008 - the Playwrights Foundation’s “INKubator Series” at Traveling Jewish Theater (San Francisco) 

The response of producers and audiences has been extremely positive.

Deepening the Work

In 2007, Nina traveled to Germany, Poland and Prague to research the highlights of Kepler’s life. She met with the directors of the Kepler Museums in Wiel der Stadt and Regensberg, visited the library of the Strahof Monastery in Prague which houses original 17th Century volumes by Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo, and toured the grand castle in Prague where the mad emperor Rudolph appointed Kepler Imperial Mathematician of the Holy Roman Emperor.  She also visited the homes and observatories of Tycho de Brahe, which house his quadrants, sextants, and his  illustrated maps of the universe.

Taking Kepler to the Planetarium

In 2010, Nina approached Ryan Wyatt, director of California Academy of Sciences Morrison Planetarium about developing The Kepler Project for planetarium domes. Wyatt warmed to the idea and a groundbreaking project was given birth. Together with Ryan and visualization director Tim Horn, Wise developed a solo work with stunning immersive visuals and deeply moving music by renowned avant cellist Zoe Keating. The pilot run of the Kepler Planetarium Project played to over 1000 people during five shows at Morrison in November 2011, inspiring us to move forward with a theatrical run in late Summer/Fall 2012.