Heavy, dense, slow to move: Copenhagen like natural uranium

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Uranium in its natural form includes two subtypes: U-238, a heavy metal that absorbs energy without flinching, and U-235, the fuel for nuclear reactors and the first nuclear bombs. Volatile U-235 must be extracted from the surrounding material and gathered together in a tiny space to form a crucible of powerful material that explodes in a fury of energy and light.

So it is with a play. Dense words, dark on the page, must have their meaning and potential extracted and then presented on the crucible of a stage to enlighten and excite the audience. Copenhagen is a hard play to do this with, and resisted being distilled by Portland Stage Company.

Playwright Michael Frayn delved deep into theoretical physics to understand a historical event: German physicist Werner Heisenberg traveled to Nazi-occupied Copenhagen in 1941, where he spoke with his former teacher, Niels Bohr, the discoverer of atomic structure and grandfather of nuclear science. The subject of their conversation remains unknown. What Frayn surfaced with is a play that demonstrates in art two important concepts in physics, Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and Bohr’s idea of complementarity (or duality).

Both are attempts to infer reality from what can be observed about the way particles move in the world, much as Frayn has tried to figure out what happened that night in Copenhagen by learning what Bohr and Heisenberg said and wrote about their meeting.

Frayn’s play is an example of the challenge of the uncertainty principle: It looks closely at one event, the meeting in Copenhagen, and tries not to lose focus of the rest of the context, including the Nazi occupation of much of Europe and the nascent arms race pitting the US and the UK, which had offered asylum to German Jewish physicists, against Germany itself. Further, it has a powerful physical duality: both a historical lecture and a play in one.

The historical value of it is a bit dubious, at least according to Heisenberg’s son Jochen, now a theoretical physicist at UNH, who told the PSC audience after a recent show that he thinks much of it is accurate, but his father was more rational and less emotional than Frayn allowed him to be. For that, we should thank Frayn: If any of these characters were less emotional, they would be dead, as indeed they all are today.

Combining science and art is a commendable undertaking, and one which this newspaper rewarded by sponsoring the play at PSC. However, the brutally spartan set and lighting force unwavering attention on complex speeches delivered by two of history’s most towering scientists. They discuss the moral role of a scientist who is pushing the limits of human capability, and whether people who know how to create terrible weapons should do so, or should delay politicians eager for new power.

Director Rafkin has chosen a play with strong contemporary tie-ins, weapons of mass destruction, scientific ethics, and the role of science in war. But he has not distilled the volatile, powerful emotion from the dense and deadening dialogue. The actors are perhaps put through their physical paces on a three-dimensional set unlike any other, but their passions are fettered and hidden. Brief bursts of energy are not reflected or amplified by the others, but are instead absorbed, stopping the chain reaction before it even starts.

Copenhagen
Written by Michael Frayn. Directed by Michael Rafkin. With Alison Edwards, Lee Godart, and Glen Pannell. At Portland Stage Company through March 23. Call (207) 774-0465.

BACKSTAGE

• Copenhagen is PSC technical director Ted Gallant’s 100th show. Since he started in 1987, he has climbed the exterior of a forklift to load a set into the building (Triple Espresso), designed two beds that fly for A Christmas Carol, built the lobster boat at the Children’s Museum of Maine, and ripped out a third of the stage to make room for a three-foot-deep swimming pool for Church of the Sole Survivor.

He called the set work for Copenhagen easy, saying the set for True West was much more challenging. It had to be constructed both in intricate detail and in super-sturdy form. Not every telephone gets ripped out of the wall daily, nor kitchen drawers thrown on the floor every evening. He has to work with actors, directors, and lighting crews to get things that look good and work properly but also fit in the space allotted and suit the rest of the performance.

" I never thought I was going to do a 100th show, " Gallant said, and laughed at the idea of 100 or 50 more, saying he would see what happens. Don’t be too surprised, though. After 15 years, " it has become what I do. "

• With no warning or explanation, Cauldron and Labrys’ run of Carolyn Gage’s Thanatron has ended prematurely at the Portland Performing Arts Center studio theater.

• For an evening of free theater, check out Eggs over Eric, written and directed by Tim Rubel, in a workshop production at PPAC’s 25A Forest Avenue studio theater at 8 p.m. March 27, 28, and 29.

• PSC’s 14th Little Festival of the Unexpected is coming April 23 through 26, showcasing new women’s voices in theater and preparing Women and the Sea for its debut at PSC next season.

• Registrations have closed for the Maine Association of Community Theaters’ one-act festival. Keep your eyes open for many of Maine’s local stars at Great Falls Performing Arts Center in Auburn, May 2 and 3.

School Board cans Hamlin idea

Published in the Current

The numbers seem to show that Town Council Chairman Jack Roberts’ proposal for Cape Elizabeth to take over or share South Portland’s Hamlin School would cost more than either building an addition to Pond Cove School or renting portable classrooms at the school.

South Portland also has told Cape there would be no chance for a long-term lease agreement. Instead, the longest lease Cape could look for in negotiations would be a single year, Superintendent Tom Forcella told his School Board at a finance committee meeting Tuesday night.

Roberts had suggested using the Hamlin School to house Cape Elizabeth’s kindergarten, now housed at the high school.

Cape Business Manager Pauline Aportria spoke with her counterpart in South Portland and learned that a lease of the building would cost roughly $86,000 for the first year, which would include heat, electricity, water and sewer fees and snow removal. Telephone lines and staffing the building with a custodian and a receptionist/secretary would cost an additional $74,200.

That would bring the Hamlin proposal in at $160,200 for the first year. Aportria expected that costs would rise 3 percent per year. The worksheet Aportria distributed did not include projections for a nurse, special education travel costs or any other incidental expenses.

“If anything, the number at the Hamlin School could be higher,” Forcella told the board. Finance Chairman Elaine Moloney said it was unclear what, if any, money would be available from the state as an incentive to carry out the Hamlin plan and offset its costs.

By contrast, the cost of renting and operating portable classrooms at Pond Cove for the kindergartners would start at $97,300 for the first year, and would drop to nearly $48,000 in the second year. After a third year of leasing (at $49,000), the district could buy the portables in five annual payments of roughly $74,000 each. Board member Kevin Sweeney warned bringing portables into compliance with future building codes could be expensive.

Building a new addition at Pond Cove would cost $139,000 in debt service and operating costs in the first year, would rise to $165,500 in the second year, and would decline each year for the 20-year life of the loan.

The board also agreed that the size and location of the Hamlin School were unsatisfactory. “Our kids would be in another town, which is not an ideal thing,” Forcella said.

“We’ve been trying to get those kids out of the high school, and now we’re going to ship them out of town?” Sweeney asked rhetorically.

Moloney said she was opposed to the Hamlin idea both because it costs more and because it “defeats the purpose” of the School Board’s efforts to get the students together in buildings housing grades K-4, 5-8 and 9-12.

Roberts, in an interview Wednesday, questioned whether the $86,000 figure for school rent was realistic. He said South Portland has rented other buildings to non-profits for lower rates per square foot. He also did not know whether control of the building would revert to the South Portland City Council if it were not being used as a school.

If the numbers do end up showing the Hamlin idea to be more expensive, Roberts said he would not be discouraged. “I’m not married to that proposal,” he said.

CEHS traffic plan to be tested

Published in the Current

A new traffic flow plan for getting cars into the high school area in the mornings will begin trials just after April vacation. Starting that Monday morning, April 28, traffic coming south on Route 77 will be able to turn right onto Jordan Way, the road between the police and fire stations.

According to a proposal drawn up by parents, police and town and school officials, cars will be allowed to drive down the road and through the gate by the fire station, which is usually locked.

Then they will have to go around the loop where buses drop off at Pond Cove School and down to the high school.

“They need to go around the circle, not just go in and take a left,” said Debbie Croft, president of the High School Parents Association.

There will be a stop sign added at the intersection of the Pond Cove access road and the road leading behind the high school toward the pool, Croft said.

There also will be a couple of speed bumps put on that road to the pool.

Cars will only be allowed to exit the high school at the normal exit, onto Route 77, and drivers coming north toward the high school will still have to turn left into the existing entry, Croft said.

The new route will be used in the mornings only. Croft said the traffic is less of an issue in the afternoon because it is more spread out across time; not everyone is trying to get out of the high school at the same time.

The trial will run until the end of the year, Croft said. At that point they will reassess the situation and see about further changes.

Croft said the HSPA still wants to learn more about putting a traffic light at the Route 77 entry to the high school. That is the group’s long-term goal, she said.

The light would initially be used only at peak traffic times of the school day, but could also be used to manage traffic entering and leaving the high school during special events at night or on weekends, Croft said.

Cape man leads Civil Air Patrol to new skies

Published in the Current

Maine’s members of the Civil Air Patrol have a new mission and have formed a rapid-response team to be ready in case they are needed to respond to a public safety threat.

“We’re very involved in homeland security,” said Maj. Chris Hayden of Cape Elizabeth, commander of the Cumberland County Combined Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol.

In an emergency, the Civil Air Patrol could be called on to provide aerial reconnaissance of a disaster site, either visually or with equipment that can measure airborne contaminants. The planes and pilots could also search for people or vehicles, or transfer supplies or personnel to and from emergency sites and staging areas.

Cape Elizabeth has long been home to CAP leaders. Cape resident and newspaper magnate Guy Gannett was a leader in encouraging Fiorello LaGuardia to establish a national group of aviators to help with home defense. On Dec. 1, 1941, a week before Pearl Harbor, the CAP was founded, with Gannett as a member of the board of directors.

Since then, the CAP has been charged with aircraft education, emergency services and cadet training about aircraft handling and maintenance. It is adding the security work to that list and has a new name to reflect its new importance: U.S. Air Force Auxiliary.

“We are basically at the table with the Air Force” in homeland security planning, Hayden said.

The Cumberland County squadron is the first branch of the CAP in Maine to form a quick-response team. “We’ve written the book for the rest of the wing in Maine,” Hayden said.

There are always two pilots on call, who must keep their flight suits and clothing and toiletries for two days close by. The pilots and ground crew members must be able to get into their planes, parked at the Portland Jetport, within an hour after receiving an emergency page.

Members of the group are unpaid, though their aircraft purchases, maintenance and fuel are covered by the Air Force.

They are using cellular phones’ text messaging capability to activate the crews. When a message is received, the phone chirps or vibrates, alerting its owner to a new message. “I actually put mine under my pillow” at night, Hayden said.

The unit has been conducting drills and stepping up their training, to make sure they are prepared if something does happen.

CAP members are planning training exercises with other homeland-security agencies, including the Air Force, the Coast Guard and the National Guard, as well as local law enforcement agencies and the Red Cross.

“We haven’t all been training together,” Hayden said.

Hayden is also trying to spread the word to employers that CAP members have important public-safety duties that may require them to leave work at a moment’s notice. While training, meetings and most CAP activities are done at regularly scheduled times, CAP members may need to drop everything if a major incident occurs, Hayden said.

“If they do get called, let them go without prejudice” is the message he wants employers to get. “They are doing a service for the country.”

In addition, Hayden is building ties to towns and cities in Southern Maine, to let local governments know how the CAP can help them. CAP pilots and crews can search coastlines and borders and monitor disaster sites from above. And they can help towns with aerial photos, road surveys or other assistance where looking at the ground from above could be useful, Hayden said.

Biotech struggles to start at PATHS

Published in the Current

Fifty years after James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the structure of DNA, a program offering cutting-edge biotechnology education to local high
school students is having trouble generating interest.

In August, teacher Don Berthiaume started the program, housed at the Portland Arts & Technology High School, in a room with bare walls. Since
then, he has furnished it and stocked it with his own library of texts and reference books. He also has gathered donations of equipment and supplies worth more than $16,000 from local biotech firms, but so far has attracted only one student.

Local schools may send one or two students each next year, which would be a big boost to the course.

“We have a functional lab,” Berthiaume said. It includes a bio-safety cabinet for working with materials in an uncontaminated space, DNA replication and extraction devices and machines that can create “fingerprints” from DNA that can then be used to do DNA matching.

This is not the first time Berthiaume has started such a program from scratch. Seven years ago, he was a high school biology teacher in Biddeford and began a biotech class at the vocational-technical school next door.

He had no trouble finding students then because they already knew him. He would recommend that the best students in his classes take the biotech course the following year.

For students who took the semester-long class and wanted to do more, he arranged internships with local biotech companies.

One of those students got a job with Maine Biotech Services right out of high school, and the company is paying for her to go to college at USM, Berthiaume said.

It was a great opportunity and with the high school right next door, students jumped at the chance. “I actually had a problem with enrollment – too many students,” he said.

Now, in the program’s first year at PATHS, he has but one. He has been working hard to attract students to the program, giving presentations to local school guidance counselors and science teachers.

Part of the challenge is overcoming a large number of barriers all at once. First, PATHS has never been seen as a place for top-notch academic students to find opportunities.

Second, timing is a problem. Not only are PATHS sessions two and a half hours long, but students have to be bused back and forth to the school. Students in college-prep classes can’t often miss that many classes, Berthiaume said.

He is now targeting high school seniors because they will have taken the prerequisite courses and have some flexibility to choose electives, including biotech.

Enrollment doesn’t worry at least one member of the PATHS advisory board, Kevin Sweeney, also a member of the Cape Elizabeth School Board.

“We are going to continue to support this for a while regardless of student enrollment,” Sweeney said. He recognizes the challenge of overcoming PATHS’ image as a school for special education students.

“This program puts PATHS in an entirely different place than it was,” Sweeney said.

It does, however, still target students who want to have direct experiences and have an alternative learning style, Sweeney said. Also, it takes advantage of the broad base of schools PATHS serves. No single school could fund a biotech program or attract enough students to make it work, Sweeney said.

Ellen Ross, science department head at Scarborough High School, said one student is expecting to go next year, and another may also go. Ross said biotech is an important field for future scientists to learn about.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity,” said Michael Efron, science department head at CEHS. A student or two from Cape may be looking at it for next year, he said.

A student from South Portland High School is also looking at the program, according to Linda Sturm in the SPHS guidance office.