Women in STEM: Characters Across Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

The fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have, historically, been predominantly male since their origins in the 18th century. While historically underrepresented, dozens of women across history – and fiction! – excel in the fields with their intelligence, curiosity and innovative ideas. In celebration of these women and all the women to come, discover these brilliant theatrical works that feature women in STEM.

Science

An Experiment with an Air Pump by Shelagh Stephenson (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 3m)
Who: Ellen, a present-day geneticist who is drawn to the famous painting “An Experiment on a Bird the Air Pump”; and Susannah, the wife of a progressive scientist in 1799.
Synopsis: In 1799, it’s the eve of a new century and a Northern English house buzzes with scientific experiments, furtive romance and farcical amateur dramatics. In the present day in a world of scientific chaos and genetic engineering, the same house reveals a dark secret buried for 200 years. Jumping between both timelines, this play is a tapestry of two centuries, woven with questions about the basic principles of scientific research and the role of women in science.

Constellations by Nick Payne (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w, 1m)
Who: Marianne, a quantum physicist.
Synopsis: One relationship. Infinite possibilities. In how many universes would you love someone? Nick Payne’s Olivier award-winning play about free will and friendship, quantum multiverse theory, love and honey. Roland is a beekeeper. Marianne is a quantum physicist. What are their odds of falling in love? With infinite moments that can change the trajectory of a life, it’s anyone’s guess how cosmic collision is possible. This play moves from the question of “what if” to a poignant picture of “what is.”

Legacy of Light by Karen Zacarías (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 3w, 3m)
Who: Émilie du Châtelet, scientist and mathematician, forties; and Olivia, a 21st-century physicist, forties.
Synopsis: Two female scientists, living hundreds of years apart, explore the meaning of love, motherhood, family, art and science in this contemporary comedy. Legacy of Light juxtaposes the story of Émilie du Châtelet, a mathematician, scientist, and lover of the great 18th-century philosopher Voltaire, who became unexpectedly pregnant at 42, and that of a 21st-century physicist desperately trying to conceive a child.

Marys Seacole by Jackie Sibblies Drury (US)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 6w)
Who: Mary Seacole, Jamaican-born nurse and entrepreneur.
Synopsis: Born in 1805 Jamaica, Mary Seacole is determined to live an extraordinary life. As she travels across oceans and centuries, through a Jamaican hospital, a Crimean battlefront, a contemporary nursing home and everywhere in between, Mary moves through life with Herculean fortitude. But as her brazen spirit meets historical reality, Mary’s world splits, multiplying and redefining her narrative. Based on the life of the famous woman, Marys Seacole is an examination of what it means to be paid to care.

Miley Chase^®: The Science Ace JV by Larry Little, Dylan MarcAurele and Mike Ross (US)
(Short Musical, Comedy / 10 any gender + ensemble)
Who: Miley Chase, an inquisitive young genius and science ace who’s a bit of a loner.
Synopsis: While calculating the exact date the asteroid hit the earth and destroyed the dinosaurs, 10-year-old science whiz Miley Chase accidentally discovers the secret to time travel. She’s putting the finishing touches on her time machine when her nemesis Tyler, the snotty, spoiled next-door neighbor, arrives to gloat over his win at the science fair. Despite Miley’s warnings, Tyler gets a little too curious about the machine, accidentally sending them both to prehistoric times.

Nan and the Lower Body by Jessica Dickey (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 2w, 2m)
Who: Nan Day, medical assistant to the creator of the Pap smear, extremely bright, reserved and buttoned-up, but more emotional than she lets on.
Synopsis: When Pap smear inventor Dr. George Papanicolaou takes on a brilliant new assistant, Nan Day, he senses that she is hiding a secret. As Dr. Pap discovers the truth, he learns that he may hold the key to solving her greatest mystery. This frank and funny play explores the mysteries of the heart and provides a personal perspective on the revolutionary technology that has saved the lives of millions but caused moral dilemmas along the way.

Photograph 51 by Anna Ziegler (US)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w, 5m)
Who: Rosalind Franklin, a Jewish British scientist, 30s, doesn’t suffer fools.
Synopsis: A humorous and moving portrait of Rosalind Franklin, one of the great female scientists of the 20th century, and her fervid drive to map the contours of the DNA molecule. A chorus of physicists relives the chase, revealing the unsung achievements of this trail-blazing, fiercely independent woman. A play about ambition, isolation and the race for greatness.

Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 1m)
Who: Henrietta Leavitt, a brilliant, meticulous and excited 19th-century astronomer, thirties, wears a hearing aid; Annie Cannon, the terse and sure lead astronomer who grows into a firebrand; and Williamina Fleming, a Scottish astronomer, smart as a whip and fun.
Synopsis: When Henrietta Leavitt begins work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she isn’t allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women “computers,” charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who has no time for the women’s probing theories. In her free time, as Henrietta attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love. This play based on a true story explores women’s place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women’s ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them.

Smart People by Lydia R. Diamond (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 2w, 2m)
Who: Ginny Yang, a respected tenured professor of psychology at Harvard, Chinese-Japanese American, thirties to forty.
Synopsis: It is the eve of Obama’s first election. Four of Harvard University’s brightest; a surgeon, an actress, a psychologist and a neuro-psychiatrist, are all interested in different aspects of the brain, particularly how it responds to race. But like all smart people, they are also searching for love, success and identity in their own lives. Lydia Diamond brings these characters together in this sharp, witty play about social and sexual politics.

The Apiary by Kate Douglas (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 4w, 1 any gender)
Who: Zora, the new, overqualified lab assistant at the synthetic apiary, loves bees; Pilar, another lab assistant, sweet; and Gwen, the stressed supervisor at the lab
Synopsis: It’s 2044. Bees are extinct, only kept alive inside synthetic apiaries where they live in perpetual spring. And begin to crave flesh. As the bees begin to thrive, lab assistants Zora and Pilar must satiate their new appetites in this unsettling and sharp-witted cautionary tale that warns that the key to protecting each other and the planet is right in front of us, if only we would listen.

The Effect by Lucy Prebble (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 2w, 2m)
Who: Dr. Lorna James, 47, 131 lbs, 5’6”, clinician leading a clinical drug trial.
Synopsis: A clinical romance between two young volunteers who agree to take part in a clinical drug trial. Succumbing to the gravitational pull of attraction and love, however, Tristan and Connie manage to throw the trial off-course, much to the frustration of the clinicians involved. This funny, moving and perhaps surprisingly human play explores questions of sanity, neurology and the limits of medicine, alongside ideas of fate, loyalty and the inevitability of physical attraction.

tiny father by Mike Lew (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w, 1m)
Who: Caroline, thirties to forties, NICU nurse.
Synopsis: In this heartfelt drama, Daniel’s entire life changes overnight when his former lover gives birth to his daughter several months early. He begins to learn the ins and outs of caring for a premature baby with the help of NICU nurse, Caroline. But Daniel’s initial ambivalence toward parenthood turns into a growing distrust of Caroline’s rigid adherence to hospital protocols, and Caroline, in return, questions Daniel’s fitness as a father and feels as though she’s the only one properly advocating for the baby’s well-being. tiny father focuses on the tension between parents, healthcare professionals, and the business of hospitals as their priorities overlap, conflict and come to a head.

Uncanny Valley by Thomas Gibbons (US)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w, 1m)
Who: Claire, a neuroscientist.
Synopsis: Drawing on research in artificial intelligence and robotics, Uncanny Valley charts the relationship between Claire, a neuroscientist, and Julian, a nonbiological human. As Julian is “born” over the course of the play, Claire teaches him how to be as human as possible: mirroring speech, engaging in small-talk, playing an instrument. Their deepening friendship and Julian’s growing “humanity” lead to the revelations about Claire’s personal life and, ultimately, why Julian has been created. This fascinating “techno take on the Pinocchio story” explores the painful divide between creator and creation, the inherent unpredictability of consciousness, and what it means to be human in the 21st century.

2025 Playwrights Horizons, Vineyard Theatre and Goodman Theatre Co-Production of The Antiquities (Emilio Madrid)

Technology

anthropology by Lauren Gunderson (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w)
Who: Merril, brainy coder and AI expert
Synopsis: Merril has been spending more time with her sister, Angie, but she isn’t ready for anyone to know about it. At least, not until Merril has decided that Angie is ready to see other people. After Angie, without permission, arranges for Merril’s ex Raquel to come over, the truth comes out: Angie is an A.I. creation that Merril has developed to cope with her sister’s death. As the virtual Angie begins to demand more presence in Merril and her mother’s lives, reality and consciousness blur, and new moral questions arise about the right, safe, and acceptable ways to grieve.

New Golden Age by Karen Hartman (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 2w, 2m, 1 any gender)
Who: Professor Lin, a professor and underground folk hero, elegant and charismatic, late forties, defending tech company Right to the Dark; and Polly, half-sister to Professor Lin, a gifted, unemployed performer, animated, emotional and charming, mid-thirties, now working with tech company InLight.
Synopsis: In the New Normal, two sisters face a big tech dystopia. Sunlight, founded by a boy genius, has expanded during the Pause, bringing every corner of our lives InLight. Now folk-hero Professor Lin defends the Right to the Dark, while her sister Polly attempts a perilous inside maneuver with a new gig InLight. Will we ever meet unobserved again? New Golden Age is a revolutionary tale about reclaiming human connection in an age driven by data.

The Antiquities by Jordan Harrison (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 4w, 4m, 1 boy)
Who: An ensemble of actors play multiple roles that explore humanity and technology across the ages. There are four tracks for women, who get to portray characters ranging from Mary Shelley, author of one of the earliest examples of science fiction, to women in the future contending with the integration of AI in the world.
Synopsis: At the Museum of Late Human Antiquities, the curators are fiercely committed to bringing a lost civilization to life again: What were humans really like? What did they wear, what did they eat, how did they die out? By casting us into the far future, Jordan Harrison’s new play gives us an uncanny view of the present moment, as we straddle the analog world that was and the post-human world to come.

The Gradient by Steph Del Rosso (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 2w, 3m)
Who: The employees at The Gradient, a facility that uses psychology and technology to rehabilitate men, including Tess, new to the job; and Natalia, an old hat.
Synopsis: In a not-so-distant future, men accused of sexual misconduct are sent to The Gradient to reckon with their mistakes and get rehabilitated. New employee Tess is eager to hold men accountable and enact change – but it might not be as simple as it seems. Steph Del Rosso’s fresh, stinging satire is prescient, provocative and often very funny.

Engineering

OMG (Opposite Machine Gadget) by Christa Crewdson (US)
(Short Play, Comedy / 10w, 10m)
Who: Casey, an inventor, student in the eighth grade.
Synopsis: Friendships can change fast in middle school, but what if you had the power to change them back? When Casey’s friend Lisa decides to start eighth grade by hanging out with the popular kids, Casey uses her smarts as an inventor to build the “Opposite Machine Gadget,” which changes things to their opposite. If the cafeteria can turn into a five-star restaurant and basketball practice can turn into sitting around eating junk food, Lisa will turn back to the way she was… won’t she? A large-cast comedy about friendship and figuring out who you are.

Raindrops, Hailstones, Lunatics by Alan D. Haehnel (US)
(Short Play, Comedy / 10w, 5m)
Who: Jan, a sound engineer for a recording studio (formerly).
Synopsis: Fed up with impossible directors and egocentric actors, Jan has just quit her job as the sound engineer of a recording studio. Now she sits in a park relishing the outdoors and remembering an especially painful (if amusing) experience involving a lunatic director, a dysfunctional cast, and a sub-par children’s play about the water cycle.

The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence by Madeleine George (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w, 2m)
Who: Eliza, thirties, a brilliant woman across the decades, including an inventor developing a robot companion and an intelligent Victorian woman worrying about strange occurrences involving her husband’s latest steam engineering invention, the Merrick Greaseless Piston.
Synopsis: Watson: trusty sidekick to Sherlock Holmes; loyal engineer who built Bell’s first telephone; unstoppable super-computer that became reigning Jeopardy! champ; amiable techno-dweeb who, in the present day, is just looking for love. These four constant companions become one in this brilliantly witty, time-jumping, loving tribute (and cautionary tale) dedicated to the people – and machines – upon which we all depend.

The Half-Life of Marie Curie by Lauren Gunderson (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 2w)
Who: Hertha Ayrton, 57, British, a brazen, ambitious, fiercly intelligent engineer inventor and suffragist, widowed but continuing her work in electrical experimentation; and Marie Curie, forties, Polish-born French national, a brillian, shrewd, private and patient scientist who recently won her first Nobel Prize in Physics.
Synopsis: In 1911, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the elements radium and polonium; by 1912, she was the object of ruthless gossip over an alleged affair, all but erasing her achievements from public memory. Weakened and demoralized by the press, Marie agrees to join her friend and colleague Hertha Ayrton, an electromechanical engineer and suffragette, at her summer home in England. This two-hander revels in the power of female friendship as it explores the relationship between these two brilliant women, both of whom are mothers, widows and fearless champions of scientific inquiry.

2019 Audible Theater Production of The Half-Life of Marie Curie (Joan Marcus)

Math

Ada and the Engine by Lauren Gunderson (US)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 3w, 3m)
Who: Ada Byron Lovelace, Mathematician
Synopsis: As the British Industrial Revolution dawns, young Ada Byron Lovelace (daughter of the flamboyant and notorious Lord Byron) sees the boundless creative potential in the “analytic engines” of her friend and soul mate Charles Babbage, inventor of the first mechanical computer. Ada envisions a whole new world where art and information converge – a world she might not live to see. A music-laced story of love, friendship, and the edgiest dreams of the future. Jane Austen meets Steve Jobs in this poignant pre-tech romance heralding the computer age.

Proof by David Auburn (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 2w, 2m)
Who: Catherine, twenties, daughter of mathematical genius Robert who inherited much of her father’s prowess for math as well as his struggles with mental health; quick-witted, stubborn, brilliant.
Synopsis: Catherine has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, Robert. When he dies, she has more than grief to deal with: There’s her estranged sister, Claire, and Hal, a former student of her father’s who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that Robert left behind. And a further problem: How much of her father’s madness – or genius – will Catherine inherit? In the Pulitzer and Tony-winning Proof, David Auburn has fashioned an exhilarating and assured play – a subtle and gripping exploration of loss, guilt, discovery, instability and the elusive nature of truth.

Queen by Madhuri Shekar (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 2w, 2m)
Who: Sanam Shah, an applied mathematician about to graduate from a Ph.D. program in ecology, Indian.
Synopsis: Sanam Shah, a mathematician, and Ariel Spiegel, a biologist, are Ph.D. candidates and best friends working together to discover the cause of colony collapse disorder – the urgent, ecological crisis where bees are disappearing around the world in alarming numbers. Just as they are about to publish a career-defining new paper on the subject, calling for a ban on commercial pesticides, Sanam realizes that the numbers don’t add up to support their conclusion. Should she look the other way for the sake of environmental action, or should she stand by her scientific principles, even if it means ceding ground to an ecological disaster, jeopardizing her career and losing her best friend?

Start Down by Eleanor Burgess (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 2w, 4m)
Who: Karen, 28, African American, a math teacher.
Synopsis: A San Francisco programmer, Will, latches onto an idea for a startup that will automate the work teachers do in their classrooms. But as the idea begins to take off, it becomes clear that Will’s new company may threaten his fiancée’s job in this engaging, intelligent play.

Victoria Martin: Math Team Queen by Kathryn Walat (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 1w, 4m)
Who: Vickie Martin, the newest addition and only girl on the math team at Longwood High School.
Synopsis: When uber-popular Vickie Martin joins the all-male math team, chaos theory becomes the rule at Longwood High School. Can this goddess of Pi possibly make the mathletes victorious? Totally. A surprisingly touching tale about overcoming odds that will leave audiences both laughing and cheering.

For more great plays and musicals about women, visit Concord Theatricals in the US or UK.