Reading: The Cutter Incident

Open to all at no cost

Time and Location

Fri, Jul 24, 2026 - 2:00pm PDT

90 minutes
Performing Arts Center 199 - DUG Theater

Sat, Jul 25, 2026 - 1:00pm PDT

2 hours
Sculpture Woods

Accessibility

Check the location link for venue accessibility details.

Disability Accommodations

Requests with 24 hours or more notice before the event are appreciated. Western is an Equal Opportunity Institution.

The members of Summer Test Kitchen 2026 read Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Doug Wright’s new play "The Cutter Incident."

Two readings of "The Cutter Incident"

The first reading will be in the DUG Theatre at 2 p.m. on Friday, July 24

The second reading will be at the Sculpture Woods on Lummi Island on Saturday, July 25 at 1 p.m.

Both readings are free and open to the public

About the play

In 1955, batches of polio vaccine contained live polio virus, even though the vaccine had passed required safety testing. Over 250 cases of polio were attributed to vaccines produced by one company: Cutter Laboratories. The case, which came to be known as the Cutter Incident, resulted in many cases of paralysis. The vaccine was recalled as soon as cases of polio were detected.

The Cutter Incident was a defining moment in the history of vaccine manufacturing and government oversight of vaccines, and led to the creation of a better system of regulating vaccines.

"The Cutter Incident" is being developed for the LaJolla Playhouse in California, and the reading at Sculpture Woods features  WWU Theatre faculty, students, and alums.

About Doug Wright

Doug Wright is the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright known for "I Am My Own Wife," "Quills," "Grey Gardens," and "Good Night, Oscar."

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