By Julie McKee 
Directed by Jean Randich
A Staged Reading
Saturday & Sunday, January 27 & 28 | 7 pm
First Floor Studio | 120 Bank Street, New York
Free | RSVP at eventbrite.com
1942. New Zealand is under threat of a Japanese invasion. Louise MacGregor, formidable scientist, is sent in search of Pterocladia Lucida, a simple seaweed to aid the war effort. May Smith, an untried youngster, is plucked to assist the prickly botanist as a sketch artist. But having only recently discovered her Maori heritage, May has other questions and struggles to meet Louise’s rigorous demands. Inspired by Lucy B. Moore’s wartime mission to scour the wilds of New Zealand’s coast for the weed, “The Secret Life of Seaweed” tells the story of two women who learn to feel deeply about each other in a time when expressing feelings of unbearable emotional sadness was forbidden for the good of all.
Featuring James Hallett*, Siw Laurent, Johanna Leister*, Donna Svennevik, with stage directions by Andrew Plimpton.
The Secret Life of Seaweed is a commission by The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation of Science and Technology and The Ensemble Studio Theatre.
*Appearing courtesy of Actors Equity/Aftra.
*Photo credit Donna Svennevik
