Purchase Tickets

October 24, 2010 at 4:00 p.m.
In The Allen Theatre
Running Time: 1 hour, 0 minutes

Continuing its mission to serve as a cultural engine, ACT launches InterACTionsa new annual forum of explorations designed to probe themes of the mind, being, and culture, featuring leading experts as guest speakers.

How does theatre raise our consciousness and the issues that confront us? Where does novelty emerge and how is society killing innovation? What is consciousness? InterACTions will explore these questions and more in 2010 with its first series of lectures, Mindscapes, led and moderated by ACT Artistic Director Kurt Beattie, with 60-minute presentations by Beattie, historian Mott Greene, neurosurgeon Dr. George Ojemann, and philosopher Paul Loeb.

George Ojemann photoPart 3 Human Brain Mechanisms for 'Consciousness'

Neurosurgeon Dr. George Ojemann discusses what is commonly called 'consciousness' and how the brain responds to external stimulus and different states of awareness, and overlays it with deeply encoded memory that can influence a conscious experience. 

Dr. Ojemann's lecture is made possible by Dr. Sheree Wen. 

Don't miss Part 1, Part 2, and Part 4 of InterACTions 2010: MindScapes!

A Central Heating Lab at ACT Event.

ACTPass Monthly and Charter Members: no charge - ALL FOUR LECTURES are included in your membership! Learn more about the ACTPass

Adults: $15

Students/People 25 & under: FREE!

All of InterACTions 2010: Mindscapes

Part 1 - Kurt Beattie, Theatre and Consciousness
Sunday, August 29 at 4:00 p.m. 

ACT Artistic Director Kurt Beattie will discuss theatre as a means of cultural investigation and as a catalyst to raising our consciousness to the issues we live today. 

Part 2 - Mott Greene, The Physiology of Imagination and the Aesthetics of Stability
Sunday, September 26 at 4:00 p.m.

Join Historian Mott Greene as he investigates how it is becoming increasingly evident that the pace of fundamental novelty and imagination, at the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, is actually slowing down. He will share how an explosion of a variety of cultural products acts as a brake on the creative process and the acceptance of change within our social and technical structures - and our artistic creations.

Part 3 - Dr. George Ojemann, Human Brain Mechanisms for 'Consciousness'
Sunday, October 24 at 4:00 p.m.

Neurosurgeon Dr. George Ojemann discusses what is commonly called 'consciousness' and how the brain responds to external stimulus and different states of awareness, and overlays it with deeply encoded memory that can influence a conscious experience.

Part 4 - Paul Loeb, New Values for the Posthuman Future
Sunday, November 21 at 4:00 p.m.

Philosopher Paul Loeb concludes the 2010 InterACTion series with a fascinating look at how rapid advances in science and technology are contributing to the alteration, enhancement, and evolution of the human into the posthuman. Should parents design their children? Is human cloning immoral? Is radical life extension desirable? Should humans take control of their own evolution?  Should humans aim to transcend their bodies through artificial intelligence and virtual reality?

Titles, dates, ticket pricing, and venues subject to change.