| Science fiction has been a popular and enduring genre in novels, television and movies, boldly taking us to fantastic worlds where no one has gone before for more than 50 years. So where are the top-selling science fiction plays? Look through the catalogs, and you'll see lots of fantasy, some horror (especially spoofs), but almost no science fiction, except the occasional comedy about bug-eyed monsters. What is it about sci fi that doesn't seem to be able to translate successfully to the stage? It's not that the special effects are too challenging. There are plenty of other kinds of plays that require a lot of technical support. And some of the most memorable sci fi shows have cheesy effects anyway. It can't be the campy style of acting, either. Melodramas are immensely popular, and they serve up ham in epic proportions. I'm not sure, but I think that the failure of sci fi to capture our theatrical imagination has to do with stage conventions and our willing suspension of disbelief. We can accept a brainless scarecrow or a stringless marionette, but put an alien onstage, and all we see is a kid in a rubber mask. Science fiction writers have to work extra hard to create and sustain a sense of reality, even in the most far-fetched settings. They have to define an entirely different world for their audiences, and the aesthetic distance the television or movie screen provides actually helps. Audiences will accept images and situations on a flat screen that they just won't buy on a stage. On a screen, we can pretend we are watching through a window into another world, but onstage, we are actually participating at some level, and exist within the overall setting. Also, the emphasis that sci fi places on technology appeals more to our rational, objective minds, even while engaging the imagination. Our hearts want to explore the far reaches of the universe, but our sense of reality keeps reminding us that this is just a play. Because the appeal of fantasy and horror is essentially non-rational, we are more willing to suspend disbelief. It's too bad, too, because sci fi is one of the richest resources we have for exploring human behavior, gaining multi-cultural perspectives and debating moral uncertainties. What do you think? What would it take to make sci fi work onstage? | 
