chILD News

Electric Baby

Written by Stefanie Zadravec
Directed by Daniella Topol
Played from March 29- April 22, 2012
Waldorf School of Pittsburgh

A note from the playwright, Stephanie Zadravec:
I'm a playwright and a mother of twin boys. In early 2010 I was 40 pages into a new play about a baby with a rare and mysterious illness, when my son Colin landed in the hospital and was diagnosed with one. What followed was a harrowing few months of trying to care for a toddler whose condition baffled our Brooklyn doctors. During those months, I struggled to finish my play about a group of unhappy strangers in who encounter a magical dying baby and rewrite the stories of their lives. Although the play was set in Pittsburgh, I'd never spent much time there, so you can imagine the surprise when our doctor referred us to UPMC Children's hospital and chILD doctor, Geoffrey Kurland. We came to Pittsburgh, where Colin completed the chILD Testing protocol including a lung Biopsy. On July 8, 2010 he was diagnosed with NEHI.
After months of not knowing, having a diagnosis and a trusted doctor came as a great relief to our family. UPMC is an incredible world class pediatric hospital and we have come to love this city because of that. This Spring, The Electric Baby, has its world premiere with Quantum Theatre in Pittsburgh and I couldn't be more thrilled. It's a play about hope and new beginnings which is what the chILD foundation gave our family. Although Colin's disease is rare, we stay in touch with other NEHI families and have access to any new medical developments. In other words, we never feel alone.

To see the news article about the play from the March issue of American Theater Magazine, click here.