By Kenneth Lin

Directed by Kim Rubinstein

Show Description: Near the end of World War II, in an abandoned salt mine where the Nazis have moved the Buchenwald machine factory, Austrian industrialist and concentration camp prisoner Curt Herzstark tinkers with an amazing device. A small, black metal cylinder, no bigger than the palm of his hand, the device is a technical marvel...and until it's finished, it's the one thing keeping Curt alive. Based on a true story, Kenneth Lin's play tells the story of the "intelligence-slave" charged with creating the world's first hand-held four function calculator, intended as a gift for Adolf Hitler.

A post-reading discussion will be led by Deborah Hertz, the Herman Wouk Chair in Modern Jewish Studies, Professor of History and Director of the Judaic Studies Program at UC San Diego.

This is a free reading. Reservations are required. Seating is general admission.

Kenneth Lin's plays Warrior Class (TCG Edgerton New Play Prize), Fallow (Barrymore Award nomination: Outstanding New Play, Brown Martin Philadelphia Award), Po Boy Tango, (TCG Edgerton New Play Prize), said Saïd (Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition Winner, L. Arnold Weissberger Award, Princess Grace Award), Life On Paper, Agency* and Genius In Love have been seen at theaters throughout the country, including the Second Stage Theatre Company, Alliance Theatre, Northlight Theatre Company, Alley Theatre, People's Light and Theatre Company, South Coast Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Marin Theater Company and East West Players. He is the creator of a new limited series, "American Way," for USA Networks and is a staff writer on Netflix's "House of Cards." Commissions: Ensemble Studio Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, South Coast Rep, Wilma Theater and Arena Stage. Residencies: Ojai Playwrights Conference, Ucross Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Lark Playwrights Workshop, Interstate 73, New York Stage and Film, McCarter Playwrights Retreat. Education: Cornell University, Fulbright Scholarship, Yale School of Drama.