Class act: Physics professor serves as Alley Theatre adviser

Class act: Physics professor serves as Alley Theatre adviser

BY JADE BOYD
Rice News staff

B. Paul Padley, associate professor of physics and astronomy in the T.W. Bonner Laboratory, has joined the creative team at Houston’s Tony Award-winning Alley Theatre, serving as an adviser to the cast of the spy thriller “Hapgood,” which opens Sept. 23.

“I like the challenge of explaining physics to nonscientists, and the Alley Theatre cast is one of the most attentive and earnest groups I have ever met with,” Padley said. “They weren’t put off by the difficult concepts, and they asked excellent questions.”

Photo by Jeff Fitlow

B. Paul Padley, associate professor of physics and astronomy, talks to Alley Theatre cast members during a recent rehearsal. Padley is serving as a quantum adviser to the cast of “Hapgood,” the spy thriller that opens Sept. 23.

In rehearsals, Padley led the 10-member cast in a mini “Quantum Mechanics 101” class, demonstrating an experiment that illustrates the wave-particle duality of light. Playwright Tom Stoppard uses wave-particle duality in “Hapgood” to illustrate the dual nature of human personality.

The Alley is extending a special 20 percent discount for “Hapgood” tickets to the Rice community. To receive the discount, patrons must use the promotional code “SPY” and purchase tickets online at <www.alleytheatre.org> or by telephone at 713-228-8421. Regular full-price admission is $29.

Padley’s research specialty is high-energy physics, and he is actively involved in projects at FermiLab’s Tevatron Collider near Chicago and at the European Center for Nuclear Research Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. In fact, this research plays a key role in the plot of “Hapgood.”

“Working with the cast was great fun, but I am most pleased about the opportunity to participate in the Alley’s upcoming ‘Talk-Back’ session for local [kindergarten through 12th-grade] educators,” Padley said. “The Alley has a great outreach program with local teachers, and public outreach is very important to me.”

Padley has served for many years as the editor of the “Results of the Week” section of the FermiLab Today news Web site, and he regularly prepares tutorials and research summaries that explain the significance of high-energy physics to nonresearchers.

The Alley is offering a free “Between the Lines” performance of “Hapgood” for educators Oct. 1. Padley will participate in a panel discussion and a post-performance ‘Talk-Back’ session with the audience, giving the teachers a comprehensive look at the world of the play and the role that physics plays in developing the onstage drama.