A romantic thriller involving a lost statue, a lost son, and an ancient mystery, Luminescence Dating is directed by veteran theatrical director Mark Rucker, whose credits include the Sundance Film Festival favorite Die Mommie Die! and A.C.T.'s production of Amy Freed's The Beard of Avon. Cast Includes OBIE Winner Ching Valdes Aran, Steven Barker Turner, and A.C.T. Core Acting Company Members René Augesen and Gregory Wallace.

Luminescence Dating centers on Angela Hart, an archeologist determined to find the Praxiteles Aphrodite, a seven-foot tall marble nude that aroused obsessions in 4th century B.C. before vanishing without a trace. When Angela's colleague and friend Victor Reid steals a broken arm from an excavation lead by Angela's professional nemesis and former lover, British archaeologist Nigel Edwards, Angela is given the clue that may reveal the statue's secrets. As the three highly competitive and emotionally charged academics set off unraveling the mystery, the Goddess of Love herself (who appears within the story in an unexpected physical guise) unleashes a chain of desires that forever changes their dynamic.

While comparing Luminescence Dating to the works of Tom Stoppard, the New York Times declared that the play "succeeds at conveying the delights of intellectual collaboration (and) rattles with sly wit and great narrative drama that can be dug from the past."

Perloff was inspired to write Luminescence Dating based on her lifelong interest in archaeology and a specific trip she took to the Smithsonian with her father to hear archaeologist Iris Cornelia Love detail her excavations at the temple of Aphrodite at Knidos. "I was so taken by this woman who was such a maverick in a field typically dominated by men," says Perloff. "Hers was a seemingly all-consuming search, which to me was so sexy and incredible and unbelievable. Archaeology is a scientific endeavor, but it's also a leap of the imagination: every culture attempts to unearth and examine its past in order to make sense of its current circumstances. In archaeology forgotten moments from the past can reemerge and what is critically important can sink into the oblivion in an instant. These sort of epic quests that Love undertook are not only hugely inspiring, but they are they stuff of great drama as well."

Originally commissioned under a grant from The Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project, Perloff's play was given a reading as a part of Science on Stage 2003, Magic Theatre's annual collaboration with the Exploratorium, workshopped in May 2004 by A.C.T.'s First Look series and again later that year at New York Stage & Film. The dramaturg for the original New York commission was Chris Smith, Artistic Director of Magic Theatre. It premiered in New York in April 2005 as the mainstage offering of the First Light Festival at the Ensemble Studio Theatre. "It is so appropriate for A.C.T. and the Magic to celebrate our 40th seasons together and Luminescence Dating is the perfect play for this partnership," says Smith. "Carey's play is smart, effervescent and well-crafted and I'm proud to have been a part of the original commission through my Sloan Program at NYC's Ensemble Studio Theatre."

Performance Times: 8 p.m.: 11/29, 11/30, 12/1, 12/6, 12/7, 12/8, 12/9, 12/13, 12/14, 12/15, 12/ 20, 12/21, 12/22, and 12/23 2:30 p.m. 12/3, 12/10 and 12/17 Tickets: $31-40 Wednesdays and Thursdays.; $36-45 Fri. & Sat. eves. and weekend matinees. Tickets are available through the Magic Theatre Box Office at 415.441.8822 and online at www.magictheatre.org .

Rush Tickets: Subject to availability, $10 rush tickets are available for students, seniors, educators, and those under 30 years-old, beginning one half-hour before curtain. Valid ID required.

Sliding Scale Wednesdays: A minimum of 10 tickets are reserved each Tuesday at $5-25 for each Wednesday performance. No reservations accepted; tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis. Cash only at the box office.

Until next time!