The Martha's Vineyard Playhouse continues its Monday Night Specials on June 19 with a reading of Gene Play, written by Casey Ann Hayward and Jonah Lipsky, and directed by Joann Green Breuer.

As the title suggests, the play is about genetic engineering, tracking the growth of this science through time, along with the factors controlling it. Act One takes place in 1976 and Act Two occurs in the present day.

But one could also look to the title as a metaphor for the creators. Jonah Lipsky is the son of Jon Lipsky the celebrated Vineyard playwright, director and professor who died in 2011. Casey Hayward was a former student of Jon Lipsky’s at Boston University.

As co-writers of Gene Play, both Jonah and Casey had to dig deeply into the science of genetic engineering. They had an expert guide in West Tisbury resident Paul Levine, a retired geneticist and professor at Harvard and Stanford. But they also had to manage the intellectual nature of the play with its narrative arc.

“There was a lot of science,” Ms. Hayward explained. “I would say, that’s very interesting, let’s stick to the plot.”

Ms. Hayward works at the West Tisbury school, which she said came in handy in constructing the narrative arc for Gene Play.

“I used the same structure I use for my sixth graders at West Tisbury,” she said. “Introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement.”

The cast for Monday night’s reading includes Paul Munafo, Anne Thompson, Chelsea McCarthy, Scott Barrow, Arnie Reisman, Amy Barrow, David Stephens, Mary Budzn and Paul Doherty.

Showtime is at 7:30 and there will be a Q&A after the show.

For more information, visit mvplayhouse.org.