The Catastrophist
EXTENDED THROUGH MAY 9, 2021
WRITTEN BY Lauren M. Gunderson
DIRECTED BY Jasson Minadakis
How do you plan for catastrophe? Virologist Nathan Wolfe, named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the World for his work tracking Ebola and swine flu, proposed pandemic insurance years before the novel coronavirus outbreak. No one bought it. Now, in a post-COVID world, we hear his story—presented entirely digitally. The Book of Will playwright Lauren Gunderson returns with a time-jumping tale based on the life and work of Nathan Wolfe (who also happens to be her husband). A deep dive into the profundities of scientific exploration and the harrowing realities of facing your own mortality, The Catastrophist is a theatrical experience built of and for this moment in time.
CAST
WILLIAM DEMERITT (Nathan) is an actor, writer, director, theatre educator, and dialect coach. Off-Broadway credits include The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World AKA the Negro Book of the Dead at Signature Theatre Company; Liz Swados’ Violence Project at LaMaMa ETC.; and Mom, How Did You Meet the Beatles? at The Public Theatre. International credits include Hamlet at the Bridge Lane Theater (London) and October in the Chair & Other Fragile Things at the Amsterdam International Fringe Festival. Regional credits include Will in Shakespeare in Love (U.S. premiere), Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Sholem Asch in Indecent at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Orsino in Twelfth Night at Yale Rep; We, The Invisibles at the Humana Festival of New American Plays, Actors Theatre of Louisville; writer and co-creator of the one-man show Origin Story (winner, New York Innovative Theatre Award, Best Solo Performance); Sense and Sensibility at Dallas Theatre Center; and The Slam Jam at the Upright Citizens’ Brigade Theatre. Film credits include The Normal Heart; The Lennon Report; The Surrogate; What’s Up, Lovely?; and Bad Luck Dandelion. Television credits include The Flight Attendant (HBOMax), NCIS: New Orleans, Person of Interest, Law & Order: SVU, One Life to Live, The Outs (Vimeo), and Guiding Light. Additional credits include the audiobooks Underground Airlines (AUDIE nomination, Earphones award winner), The Mortifications, Snapshot, The Wild Ones trilogy, The Resisters, and the Isaiah Coleridge series; and Featured Narrator for The New Yorker and The New York Times on the AUDM app (streaming service for narrated long-form journalism). William has a BFA from Marymount Manhattan and an MFA from Yale School of Drama. williamdemeritt.com, @demeritt. Special thanks to my wife Cassandra for making this pandemic quarantine time thrive-able and not just survivable. And to Nathan and Lauren for trusting me with their story.
From the Press
"A subtle blend of film and live theatre...interesting and exotic yet entirely normal, filled, like all lives, with discovery and disappointment, joy and loss. In Ms Gunderson’s hands, The Catastrophist sheds compassionate light on the all-too-human tendency to ignore catastrophe until it is too late. There’s no risk, and plenty of reward, in watching this essential lesson." — The Economist
"A marriage of art and life. Fascinating." — PBS News Hour
How to purchase tickets
On sale at 12pm central time on April 12. Available for $25 per household.
Closed Captions and Audio Description versions of performance available. To access special Audio Description ticket, select the AD ticketing type. Audio description provided by Nicole Sardella, Audio describer from People’s Light (Malvern, PA).
How to watch
THE CATASTROPHIST will be available to access through Vimeo in any internet browser or tablet for ticket holders and will not require downloading any software or files.
Upon purchase, streaming link and password will be automatically sent to ticket holder’s provided email. You will have until May 9 to access your link, although we do ask that you do not share your access links with people outside your household.
Cast & Creative
CAST
WILLIAM DEMERITT*
(Nathan)
CREATIVE TEAM
Director
JASSON MINADAKIS
Director of Photography/Editor
PETER RUOCCO
Dramaturg
MARTINE KEI GREEN-ROGERS
Lighting Designer
WEN-LING LIAO+
Composer/Sound Designer
CHRIS HOUSTON/IMPLIED MUSIC
CostumeDesigner
SARAH SMITH
Assistant Director
CHRISTINA HOGAN
Producer
NAKISSA ETEMAD
CO-PRODUCED WITH ROUND HOUSE THEATRE AND MARIN THEATRE COMPANY
CLICK HERE TO VIEW EDUCATION MATERIALS
CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIRTUAL PROGRAM
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, and a grant from Wells Fargo.