Frontline Health Workers Digital Theater

The Frontline Health Workers Digital Theater Project uses the viewpoints of those working in the hospital setting (transport, nurses, doctors etc.) as inspiration for virtual theatrical performances created by playwrights from Elevate Theatre Company, LLC in partnership with Penn Nursing.

The Frontline Health Workers Digital Theater project created by Elevate Theatre Company, LLC in partnership with Penn Nursing uses the viewpoint of those working in the Penn Medicine health system as inspiration for two original digital theatrical performances.

Act One. Silos by Nikki Brake-Sillá.

SILOS transpires over one day at a hospital, two years into a global pandemic. Over the course of this day, we see firsthand how shared trauma has strengthened the bonds between people while they rely on each other for support, strength, and hope.

Act Two. A Soft Landing by Ang Bey.

Did you know there’s music on the moon? Astronaut is a nurse, treating patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dad is one of them, trying to get better. Child is a poet, struggling to understand. All are alienated, pining for reconnection with the world. Tonight, will they land in a place where they can better care for themselves and each other? A Soft Landing is an intimate, grounded look at the public health issue plaguing the nation.

A panel discussion with Penn Medicine and Penn Nursing health experts will follow the play and discuss the themes of burnout, vaccine hesitancy, medical racism, and how art can be leveraged to heal.

Panelists include the directors of the shows and healthcare workers:

  • Hope Adkins-Durante, BSN, RN, Clinical Nurse, Lancaster General Hospital
  • Horace Hubbard, Patient Transport, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
  • Zachary F. Meisel, MD, MPH, MSHP, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and director of the Center for Emergency Care Policy and Research, Perelman School of Medicine