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<small><font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><b>CCS to Celebrate
Life of Rachel Carson Sponsors Stage Play at Provincetown Theater</b><br>
<br>
(Provincetown) – The Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) is bringing the
nationally-renown play A Sense of Wonder, based on the life of Rachel
Carson, to the Provincetown Theater on November 20 and 21. <br>
<br>
Hailed by Time Magazine as one of its most influential people of the
century, Rachel Carson (1907 – 1964) was a junior biologist with the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1936 when few women worked in
government civil service jobs. Eventually she became editor-in-chief
of all materials the agency distributed for public consumption. While
working for the government she found time to write the first of three
influential books about the sea, Under the Sea Wind (1941). <br>
<br>
She resigned from government service in 1952 to write full time. Her
next books were The Sea Around Us (1951) and The Edge of the Sea
(1955). Her love of nature did not end at the shore. In 1957 Ms.
Carson began work on Silent Spring, her most noteworthy book which
focused on the dangers of pesticides. While its 1962 publication
raised the ire of the chemical industry, the book recruited a new
generation of environmentalists including President John F. Kennedy.<br>
<br>
Rachel Carson died of breast cancer in 1964 in the midst of defending
Silent Spring. A year later, The Sense of Wonder was published
posthumously and provided inspiration for this play. <br>
<br>
“Silent Spring was a clarion call, sounded well before Earth Day and
her congressional testimony, which led to the banning of DDT, helped
define the role of the citizen-scientist’” says Peter Borrelli, CCS
executive director. “I think it is accurate to say that she almost
single-handedly focused national attention on the proliferation of
toxic chemicals,” Borrelli adds.<br>
<br>
Bringing the essence of Carson to stage is actress and playwright
Kaiulani Lee. She has appeared in numerous on and off-Broadway
productions and in well-known television series such as The Waltons,
Tales from the Dark Side, and Law & Order. Lee’s motion picture
credits include The World According to Garp, Cujo, The Fan, The
Seduction of Joe Tynan, and Compromising Positions. Act one of this
one-woman play is set in Carson’s beloved Maine coastal cottage in 1962
as she packs for a trip to Maryland to defend Silent Spring. The
second act portrays Carson in failing health in her Maryland home,
reflecting on the writing of Silent Spring while battling thunderous
criticism of its content. <br>
<br>
Performances of A Sense of Wonder are at 8 p.m. on Saturday, November
20, and Sunday, November 21 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person and
proceeds benefit the Center for Coastal Studies. A limited number of
priority seats are available for $150 per person and include a
post-show reception with Ms. Lee after Saturday’s performance. The
reception will be held at Fanizzi’s, 539 Commercial Street, a
five-minute walk from the theater.<br>
<br>
Phone (508) 487- 9793 to order tickets from Noon to 5 p.m., 7 days per
week, or go on-line to ptowntix.com. The Provincetown Theater is
located at 238 Bradford Street in the East End. Four of Ms. Carson's
books, Silent Spring, Under the Sea Wind, The Sea Around Us, and Edge
of the Sea, are available through the CCS gift shop
[<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.coastalstudies.org">www.coastalstudies.org</a>] and will be available for sale following the
play.<br>
<br>
Since 1976, scientists at the Provincetown-based Center for Coastal
Studies have researched marine mammals of the western North Atlantic,
and coastal and marine habitats and resources of the Gulf of Maine.
CCS promotes stewardship of coastal and marine ecosystems, including
Cape Cod Bay. The Center’s public policy program, Coastal Solutions
Initiative (CSI,) examines issues and conflicts affecting the coastal
and marine environment and seeks creative solutions based on the
principles of conservation biology, sustainability, and ecosystem based
management. <br>
<br>
Bringing A Sense of Wonder to its hometown of Provincetown enables the
Center for Coastal Studies to balance art and science while fulfilling
its mission statement to educate and encourage responsible use and
conservation of coastal and marine ecosystems.<br>
<br>
For information please contact Theresa Barbo, Development Committee,
CCS Board of Directors, at (508) 362-1222.<br>
<br>
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