Philly Fringe 2025: August Hakvaag presents The Superconductor

Recent concerns around the Trump administration's withholding of federal funding for universities make this play especially timely, as real-life affected faculty members praise the restoration of funding while fearing concessions made to academic integrity and independence. Winner of Cannonball and Philadelphia Theatre Company’s Text and Dramaturgy cohort this summer, The Superconductor, like a streamlined Waiting for Lefty, is a work-in-progress placing these recent events in the smallest of contexts.

The power of scientists' labor

This particular cohort is working on superconductors—wasteless electricity that could be valuable in transportation, medical, and housing settings. (Power for all, indeed.) However, the race for discovery and publication—fueled by university and external funding—leaves them in a precarious state. These physicists haven’t seen much success, and lack necessary personal protective equipment and proper space to continue their work.

In a more urgent context, this cohort has been attempting to unionize. This union is unique in that it crosses career lines: the graduate students and senior faculty are organizing together. Despite it being election day, they are not all on the same page, causing major issues with a voting body this small. But the differing opinions don’t fall clearly along career, gender, or racial lines. And unfortunately, the lab’s leading faculty member and organizer Stephanie has been recently incapacitated in a potentially deadly workplace incident. Stephanie’s absence is felt throughout the show, as PhD student Yaz (Marissa Emerson) steps in to rally the union effort, PI Pete (R. Eric Thomas) steps up to manage the lab, and PhD student Nico (Matthu Minns) takes on the experiment she had begun.

The action really begins with the introduction of Jessie (Chaz T. Martin), the UAW representative hosting today’s election. Despite the urgency, most of the scientists see the vote as just another task on their to-do list. As Pete notes, grant applications, an overdue incident report, and reading through student outputs all take priority of the potential political future of the lab.

Jessie is an audience stand-in for explaining the scientific elements of the show and the union process. (Whether or not Jessie can be this candid in swaying the election, I’m not sure—I suspect their involvement would lead to several complaints). Jessie’s presence is also a stark reminder that labor organizing, like scientific progress, is not a one-and-done event. It is an arduous process of negotiations between the university and the union that leads to improvements for workers, but could also delay the research and output even further. Pete notes in regards to the lab’s mission that “we don’t celebrate until we replicate”—he is referring to the experiment, but could also be speaking to the outcome of today’s vote.

Relevant now and next year

The Superconductor is actively under development, and this performance features only an excerpt of the full play. It’s unclear if it’s a complete excerpt, as there are some unexplored threads for further character study beyond the archetypal students and the ciphers of the senior faculty. Readings are not full productions, but both the script and direction suggest visual elements—the ritual movement preparing for an experiment, and keeping Jessie at the far corner of the stage.

Still, I have lots of enthusiasm for this work. I’m excited to see Hakvaag’s show develop further. They are participating in PlayPenn’s annual conference in 2026, where a complete reading of the play will take place. When it returns next summer, The Superconductor will likely be just as relevant.