Burien Actors Theatre continues its “Shelter in Place” season with The Half Life of Marie Curie opening via Zoom this weekend. 

The play, by Lauren Gunderson, is directed by Andrew Coopman, and features Jane Martin Lynch as Curie and Brynne Garman as her friend and fellow scientist, Hertha Ayrton. 

Curie, who lived in France, discovered radium and polonium and won two Nobel Prizes. In Half Life, she has become caught up in a social scandal, and Ayrton comes to stand by her friend. 

Burien Artistic Director Eric Dickman said the play checks all the boxes for the COVID-induced Shelter in Place season. 

“First, it is a great script,” he said. “Second, it appears to lend itself well to being a Zoom production. There are just two actors.” 

Half Life is the third of four shows Burien is putting on this spring for Shelter in Place Season III.  Dickman said virtual productions have allowed them to continue to do theater, despite not being able be live and in person. 

 “For a theater, the pandemic could have been a curse. We live to produce live theater,” he said. , “During the pandemic, the ability to gather was taken from us. So, we pivoted. Before we had even downloaded the Zoom app, we announced our Shelter-in-place Season I. Then we scrambled to make Zoom do what we needed.”

And they learned about its possibilities and limitations, he said.

“We quickly learned Zoom-theater is not live theater,” Dickman said. “It is not a reading. It is not a radio play. It is not a movie. Theater on Zoom is its own unique animal.”

But it still can be enjoyable, he said. 

“Even in the face of closed venues, we took to cyberspace and made space there for live theater. That is/was no small feat,” Dickman said. “For our audiences, I think they have learned that good storytelling is good storytelling. While being in a large room with hundreds is a grand experience, theater transcends its location.”

The pandemic also drove them to handle tickets differently, he said. 

“Because Covid-19 affected people differently, we decided to make our Shelter Seasons pay-what-you-will,” Dickman said. “If money is tight, see the show for as little as $1. If money is not so tight, patrons can help keep BAT alive with a higher donation.”

Showtimes are May 8 and 15 at 8 p.m., and May 9 and 16 at 2 p.m. For those interested in watching the play below is a link with information about the play and how to get tickets.

Tickets are available at https://www.battheatre.org/shows/shelter-in-place-season-2021/shelter-in-place-season-3-2021/the-half-life-of-marie-curie-by-lauren-gunderson.