Purple Crayon Players presents Digging up Dessa, a play by Laura Schellhardt recommended for fifth to eighth graders that touches upon female empowerment, women in stem, and learning to advocate for oneself.

In Digging up Dessa, 12-year old Dessa, a “hunter of fossils,” is sure that the move to her new town will be a disaster. She struggles to communicate with her mom now that her dad is gone. As a paleontologist, even the location of her front yard, a construction zone, is disappointing. After an incident at the Natural History Museum involving the lack of women scientists mentioned on the wall, Dessa partners with Nilo, a confident boy at her new school, in the science fair. With some help from Nilo and her imaginary confidant Mary Anning, a 19th century British Paleontologist, Dessa searches for a new fossil from her own backyard. Along the way, Dessa devotes herself toward increasing female representation in the sciences and finds a way to communicate her feelings to her mom. 

We can’t wait to see you there!