Praxical

The STEAM Room Origin Story

The first bubblings of the Steam Room began when Luke Steller identified many people in STEM fields struggle to communicate their ideas to everyday people. As a regular attendee of Sydney’s stand-up comedy nights, he also noticed comedians could instantly build rapport with complete strangers and convey their material in an entertaining and effective way. He decided to take action, and the Steam Room was born! Luke proposed to teach people in STEM how to do stand-up comedy, and have them perform as part of National Science Week 2021. He reached out to celebrated science communicator and national treasure, Dr Karl, who agreed to be a part of the project, and with generous funding from Inspire NSW he opened applications. The response was enormous, over 60 people applied to be part of the Steam Room, and eventually 7 scientists, including Luke, were shortlisted to perform at Giant Dwarf Theatre with Dr Karl headlining the event. Then Sydney went into lockdown, National Science Week came and went, and the producer who was assisting Luke could no longer commit to the project. The Steam Room looked likely to fizzle.

Then fate intervened! As lockdown measures eased, Luke received a dinner invitation from long-time friend Ru Halwala, and her partner Tom Stevenson: experienced comedians, producers, and teachers, and founders of the comedy production company Scary Strangers. Luke explained the project, and asked whether Ru and Tom would be interested in coming on board. As fans of science, they leapt at the idea. So continued the experimental journey bringing the arts and science together. The Steam Room was back on track! Due to lockdown, the event could no longer be part of National Science week, and the original venue, Giant Dwarf, had closed permanently. So Luke reached out to Hugh Inglis from The Comedy Store and pitched the show as part of Sydney Comedy Festival 2022. Hugh loved the idea, and May 4^th (Star Wars Day) was confirmed as The Steam Room’s debut!

The venue was booked and the stage was set, now the scientists needed some training. Up stepped Sam Young, Giselle Dreyer, Michelle Power, Simone Herrmannsen, Isabelle Capell-Hattam, and Anastasia Shavrova the six scientists, who in addition to Luke, would perform on the night. At the first improv session at Scary Strangers studio, it was quickly apparent that this group of scientists had the makings of great comedians and story-tellers. After overcoming some initial shyness, they were quickly experimenting with characters, act-outs, and comedic patterns and forms, and were generally having a great time improvising with each other. The Steam Team was born! The second improv workshop, attended by Dr Karl, confirmed what had now become obvious: these scientists were going to absolutely SMASH IT it at the comedy store!

At the first improv session at Scary Strangers studio, it was quickly apparent that this group of scientists had the makings of great comedians and story-tellers. After overcoming some initial shyness, they were quickly experimenting with characters, act-outs, and comedic patterns and forms, and were generally having a great time improvising with each other. The Steam Team was born! The second improv workshop, attended by Dr Karl, confirmed what had now become obvious: these scientists were going to absolutely SMASH IT it at the comedy store! As news of the event spread, tickets sales soared. The event sold out a month in advance and due to demand, was moved to the main stage at The Factory Theatre, which could accommodate an audience of 500 people. The remaining tickets sold out within a week!

Up next was a full day stand-up workshop with Marcel Blanch de Wilt, established comedian and comedy coach, who guided the scientists in shaping their material. Dr Karl also presented, and was on hand to add his vast experience in science communication to the mix. Two more rehearsals at the studio followed to get the material ready for the stage, and then it was time for the show! After over a year of planning the scientists took to the stage at a packed Factory Theatre and absolutely crushed their sets. Laughter echoed around the room as they delighted the 500 strong crowd with their science-comedy. The show was so successful that it was invited to do an encore show at The Comedy Store which also sold out.

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