The Shark Lady: The Life and Legacy of Dr. Eugenie Clark
Developing this new musical is going to take a village of over 15 creative artists, several MISS staff members, and the generosity of sponsors and individual donors.
About The Shark Lady
The Project
THE SHARK LADY is a new play with music, featuring a blend of songs, scenes, puppetry, projections, & ensemble-based movement. The story centers around the epic life, career, and legacy of Dr. Eugenie Clark, Sarasota’s own Shark Lady. It follows Genie’s nearly century-long journey of overcoming adversity in the field of shark science, her unique discoveries and valuable contributions to the community, her commitment to lifting up women around her, and her lasting impact on young women today.
THE SHARK LADY has been in draft for over a year now and is ready to be workshopped with a creative team. The team will present a staged reading of the musical for an invited audience after a week of rehearsing, re-writing, re-composing, and re-rehearsing. This workshop is vital to the development and future success of THE SHARK LADY, as it will help the creative team hear the script out loud, workshop new pages and ideas, implement feedback from actors and creative team, and familiarize the actors with the content prior to the staged reading for invited audience members. Think of it as a musical theatre boot camp.
The People
Christina Meiping Chen is the creator, writer (book, music, and lyrics), creative producer, and will also play the role of Genie. Grace Strickert is the musical composer, arranger, and additional lyricist.
Christina (right) and Grace (left) pictured in 2018 during their college senior production of “HAIR the love rock musical."
THE SHARK LADY’S creation and development is a direct result of MISS CEO Jasmin Graham’s mentorship during Christie’s summer internship with MINORITIES IN SHARK SCIENCES in 2024, and MISS is the original sponsor of the project. In addition to the writer and composer, this December 2025 workshop will employ a director, music director, ~10 actors, musicians, and a stage manager.
Christina delivering a presentation about Women in Shark Science at JMIH (Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists) in 2024.
The Support
Developing this new work is going to take a village of over 15 creative artists, several MISS staff members, and the generosity of sponsors and individual donors. MISS and THE SHARK LADY creative team are in the business of paying people for their time and labor, and everyone involved in this workshop will be taking time off from their full-time jobs to commit to a week developing THE SHARK LADY.
Your generosity and support will directly fund equitable artist salaries, housing and transportation, workshop supplies and equipment.
Sponsorship Tiers
