Reading: The Cutter Incident
Time and Location
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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 which 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."
Part of the Summer Test Kitchen
WWU's Summer Test Kitchen brings together professional theatre and screen artists from around the nation - including Tony and Pulitzer winners - to workshop plays and screenplays for production. The Test Kitchen features WWU students, alumni, and faculty, and hosts free readings of the works in progress.
- July 17 at 11 a.m. - Problematic Word Play
- July 17 at 2 p.m. - Fission
- July 24 at 11 a.m. - Eve's Ale
- July 24 at 2 p.m. - The Cutter Incident
- July 25 at 1 p.m. at Sculpture Woods on Lummi Island - The Cutter Incident
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