The Pear Theatre’s production of “Ada & the Engine” comes to a close this weekend in Mountain View.
The drama, which opened Nov. 21, follows Ada Byron Lovelace, the 19th-century mathematician often credited as an early visionary of computer programming, as she navigates a creative partnership with inventor Charles Babbage.
Angel Lin and David Boyll play Lovelace and Babbage, respectively, and both are making their Pear Theatre debuts.
Lin, who moved to San Francisco from Virginia three months ago, described Lovelace as someone who “defied the standards for those living in the Victorian era and tended to exist outside of the social expectations.”
She hopes the story shows audiences that “a young girl and a woman can be ambitious, excited and unrestrained in these seemingly out there ideas and have that confidence and ambition not be viewed as a negative thing to her character.”
Boyll, who said he grew up as a “backstage kid” with two performer parents, sees Gunderson’s script as a reminder of how women’s contributions to technological developments have often gone overlooked.
“Silicon Valley today is a place where women, unfortunately, are still underrecognized for their vital and foundational contributions to the tech industry and to technology,” he said. “It’s always been that way. It’s changing, but it takes a long time.”
He added that the heart of the play lies in the relationship between Lovelace and Babbage.
“I want audiences to focus on the delight and awe that each of these great minds and great big hearts has for each other and the compassion they have for the people that they understand each other to be,” he said.
The central conflict the characters face, he said, comes from “the expectations of the world putting a strain on their personal and creative relationship,” a dynamic he believes “gets to the heart of human relationships that are fraught with external expectation.”
Boyll and Lin both said they identified a tension that runs through the show: the gap between the potential and the reality of technology. Just as characters in “Ada & The Engine” only see the “magic” of invention, Lin sees clear parallels to modern advancements with AI and its impacts on the arts.
“Artists are feeling threatened by this technology…it isn’t necessarily there to uplift and support and help enhance their creativity,” she said. “It’s being positioned as a way to take over what artists do.”
Both actors agreed that the story feels especially resonant in Silicon Valley. In a region driven by innovation that often drives people to be “more independent and more individualistic,” Lin said sees theater as a vital counterbalance.
“Theater is one of the main art forms where collaboration is a primary point,” she said. “Relying on theater is a way of keeping community.”
Remaining performances of “Ada & the Engine” are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The Pear Theatre is located at 110 La Avenida St. Tickets are $45.
For tickets and more information, visit thepear.org/season24.
