ROBOT NATURE Comes to Springfield

Springfield, MA – Unity House Players is proud to present a new original musical comedy- ROBOT NATURE, co-created by Tammy Mader and western MA native Ian C Weber.

In this East Coast premiere production, top scientists unveil the robots they've built to solve world peace in the pursuit of honest scientific research. However, one robot goes rogue as the show explores themes about science, social justice, work-life balance, and ethics, through a hilarious script and high-energy musical numbers.

Ian C. Weber, was raised in Monson, MA before moving to Chicago in 2017 where he has since been working professionally as a performer, composer, and sound designer. He partnered with his former professor Tammy Mader, Director of the Musical Theatre Dance BFA program at Roosevelt University to create ROBOT NATURE. “We started writing the piece in 2021, predating the current AI boom, which necessitated some re-writes. The future always catches up to you! So, this time we invented some fictional terms while keeping the actual scientific method intact”. Those well versed in Isaac Asimov, as well as pop culture enthusiasts, will appreciate the playful references scattered throughout the dialogue.

This musical comedy is also accompanied by an original score. “I'd call it a fusion of jazz, rock, and electronic dance music” says Weber. “It involves some pretty cool technology in order to be played live”, which will be done by a band of 4 local professional musicians.

As part of Unity House’s mission to develop artists, twelve performers ages 13-23 have enjoyed working first hand with Weber and Mader undergoing an intensive two week process learning choreography, music, and character development.  “This experience has been nothing short of amazing. We are very lucky to be able to become fully immersed in rehearsals so quickly” says cast member Kayla Bouchard. “Having the opportunity to work on new original pieces and create characters based on a lot of our own unique takes and ideas has been very challenging but so rewarding”. 

Performances will be held Friday and Saturdays at 7:30PM and Sundays at 2PM from July 18^th to Sunday July 26th. There are special preview performances open to the public on Thursday July 16^th and Friday July 17^th at 7PM that will include a talk back session between the creative team and the audience allowing them to be part of the development process.  “The ultimate goal for this show,” Weber adds “is to be licensed to theater companies across the country”.  Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the door or online at uuspringfield.org.

Unity House Players offers theatricals, Arts education and outreach including plays, musicals, concerts, improv, and more. You can follow them on social media @unityhouseplayers.