Humans convey a wide range of emotions through facial expressions. But emotions aren鈥檛 inherently human. Anyone with a pet dog or cat knows that animals also use facial expressions to communicate with us and each other. Why have these emotions and facial expressions been conserved throughout evolution?
That is what famed Italian actress Isabella Rossellini explores in her new witty and provocative one-woman show, Darwin鈥檚 Smile. The show comes to 黑料吃瓜资源鈥檚 (CSHL鈥檚) Grace Auditorium for a two-day run on Saturday and Sunday, March 4鈥�5, 2023. Written and performed by Rossellini, the play takes inspiration from The Expression of Emotions on Man and Animals by Charles Darwin, the father of evolution.
Darwin鈥檚 Smile brings together theater and science to explore empathy鈥攁 necessity for the art of acting and the study of animal behavior. 鈥淚t seemed that these two interests of mine were both distinct and separate: one satisfied my heart, while the other satisfied my brain,鈥� Rossellini says. With comically colorful costumes and props, she shows audiences how acting can help us understand animals and vice versa.
Isabella Rossellini acts out the mating behavior and life cycle of salmon in an episode of her YouTube comedy series Seduce Me.
鈥淚 loved it,鈥� says Helen Hou, an assistant professor and neuroscientist at CSHL. Hou attended the show鈥檚 Long Island premiere on August 12, 2022. 鈥淭hat love of animals, love of science, and her bold capturing of it is just so fun and inspiring.鈥�
Hou鈥檚 laboratory specializes in studying natural behavior, such as facial expressions, and the brain circuits that control them. 鈥淭he face is really a window into our mind,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e can tell a lot about a person, what they鈥檙e trying to communicate, and how they鈥檙e doing from their facial expressions. And as Darwin illustrated, many of our facial expressions are shared among animals.鈥�
The Hou team uses mice to explore how different stimuli trigger a range of facial expressions. 鈥淲hen mice taste bitter food, they shut their eyes and grimace,鈥� Hou says. 鈥淭his is just one example of the rich tapestry of facial expressions rodents display, controlled by many of the same facial muscles we have. We want to understand how the concerted movements of these muscles make up complex facial expressions linked to different emotions and social information, using cutting-edge technology in neuroscience and machine learning.鈥�
Hou believes a better understanding of how the brain ticks can have applications in mental health. 鈥淚n children with autism spectrum disorder, for example, the appearance and timing of facial expression is atypical,鈥� says Hou, 鈥淭his is something we鈥檙e interested in understanding.鈥�
Like Hou鈥檚 research, Rossellini鈥檚 acting explores facial expressions and emotions to make revelations about the human condition. Her offbeat and playful new show transforms complex science into entertaining lessons that will leave audiences more attuned to the nuance of nonverbal communication. Hou says:
鈥淚 was really happy to see such a talented actor taking on this problem at the interface of arts and science and animal behavior鈥攖hings that [are] really dear to my heart and inspire curiosity and the sense of wonder in anyone. So I would invite people to come watch [Darwin鈥檚 Smile] if you want to leave with this sense of wonder and start observing your cats more {laughing}.鈥�
CSHL will host a special performance of Darwin鈥檚 Smile at Grace Auditorium on March 4, with doors opening at 5 p.m. The show starts at 6 p.m., followed by a reception and Q&A with Rossellini led by Hou. An encore performance (sans Q&A and reception) will be held March 5, with doors opening at 3 p.m. and showtime at 4 p.m. Click below to reserve your tickets today.
Written by: Luis Sandoval, Communications Specialist | [email protected] | 516-367-6826