Lafayette's Rachel Paul Explores Boundaries between Man and Machine in 'Frankenstein 2029'

2015 Nov 25

The newly released movie Victor Frankenstein is again stirring interest in Mary Shelley's literary masterpiece. Lafayette College students, including Rachel Paul of Wilmington, understand the world's fascination with this timeless tale.

They recently created Frankenstein 2029, an audacious theater and art performance based on Shelley's novel that was also an interdisciplinary exploration of the eroding boundaries between man and machine -- and its implications for both the definition and direction of humanity.

Sprawling through eight venues on Lafayette's Williams Arts Campus, over 80 students, faculty, staff and community members fused their expertise in art, chemistry, computer science, engineering, English, neuroscience, theater, women's and gender studies and more to bring the production to life. See full list.

Part of the semester-long project included an immersion into the mind of the brilliant, mad Victor Frankenstein himself and his Victor NeuroTech lab. Their ultimate product launch is the Creature itself, which came to life several times throughout each performance. Other students and staff created SAViN (Society Against Victor NeuroTech) to warn of the dangers of unbridled technology, and voiced their concerns as picket wielding protestors during the shows.

"With this production, we tackled the big, transcendent questions facing us all: the nature of humanity's connectivity, the impact of socio-economic and gender inequalities, the ethics of extending life, and most especially technology's current and future role in our lives," says art professor Ed Kerns. "How will we be changed, individually, collectively, by these issues?"

View, share images of the cast, crew and performances: https://flic.kr/p/rZidMh