Biology Magic and Digestion Rap

All the world’s a stage, and in April, Manhattan’s Ensemble Studio Theater is a laboratory. Every year the First Light Festival of Plays About Science and Technology features 10 dramas—in various stages of production—commissioned by EST and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This 10th-anniversary season features pioneering mathematician Alan Turing, 18th-century naturalist William Bartram, and sudden infant death syndrome. The festival’s main-stage production, Lucy, appeared in the fall. For the raucous closing event, the Cabaret Scientifique, Columbia University biologist Stuart Firestein will perform magic, and rock and hip-hop artists the Organ Donors will rap about human digestion. The festival runs April 2–26 in New York City.