Thursday, January 29, 2015
Broadway Goes Green on February 4
The BroadwayBlog: Kermit the Frog used to sing, “It’s not that easy being green.” He must have lived in New York City, where it can be a challenge to responsibly dispose of electronics. Fortunately, the Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is sponsoring an E-waste drive for the theater industry and fans on Wednesday, February 4 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Gershwin Theatre Breezeway at 222 West 51st Street
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
I am one hundred percent in favor of this! In general, theatrical productions use a lot of resources that can be recycled, but are not. As a stage manager, I use a ton of paper. This is to the point that every time I print out a new script I say to myself, “well there goes another tree.” For a while now I have been thinking, “is there a way that I could use less paper?” That is why last night I called a playground performance from an iPad. The only paper that was printed for the majority of the production was 10 pages for reference material if the iPad were to crash. Having now gone through the process, I would saw it was totally easier and more efficient to use the iPad. I literally had the whole production at my finger tips and didn’t have worry about weather I had printed something and put it in my book, or worry about turning pages. I would totally recommend stage managers using iPads, and I know that I am going to use it more in my work.
Look at this. Theatre deciding that after 4,000 years of traditions and history that they are going to go green. Because it's totally possible with the new and advanced technology we've created. I love the idea of renewing our world with more eco-friendly equipment and supply that will benefit everyone and everything as a whole. However, I don't know exactly what the "Broadway" intentions are at this point but I really hope that are steering in the right direction with this going green idea. There are so many electronic that could be disposed of. Especially with all the updates and new equipment we're being supplied, no one wants the old technology anymore. And if these companies can put those parts into better use, than I think this going green idea will not be understated. It just seems that the going green companions in the world are not being as successful as they could be. I wish people cared more able the environment, but since they feel safe fewer people are taking action. I hope this going green can make a change and make our world a better place.
This is such a great movement that New York is making! I cant even imagine how many electronics are thrown away every day given how many people live in the city, and I hope that people will actually follow this new law. It is especially great that they Electronics Recyclers International will wipe all of the data so you wont have to worry about someone stealing it after it’s been donated. It wound be fantastic if more cities followed New York and made throwing away electronic illegal because not only can some parts of electronics be dangerous over time, but there are so many people who would be willing to take someone’s old phone or television or computer, especially people in third world countries. It would be great to see this progress into a charity movement. The thing that is confusing about this article is that you cannot donate things like light bulbs and batteries and they do not specify if these things are included in the law and how New Yorkers are to dispose of them if it is.
This is great to hear! I think that it is great to make going green a high priority in entertainment, Usually we think of going green as only applying to cars, factories and, technology. I've often see a lot of things about theatre that can be cut back on or innovated to be less wasteful. I think Time is the main cause of theaters being so wasteful. That fact that shows are constantly being moved out and then back in again often cause us to get caught in the moment. The ways brought up in the article seemed very though out and could potentially be very useful to the world as well as our profession. I hope that many theaters choose to convert to a green way of producing shows and running their companies. If companies all around new york are able to do this i think that it could have a great impact on America and the world.
It’s so cool that Broadway is having this green initiative. Theatre is really bad when it comes to being green a lot of the time, but that’s just because of the nature of what we do. It would be great if in the long term more energy efficient and conservative measures could be applied to theatre, but I don’t think that’s going to happen for a very long time. For now though, I think having a green day is a great idea, and will definitely help offset some of the not so green practices that we have in theatre. It would be interesting to find out what’s going to happen to the equipment that’s donated. I think that a lot of stuff is going to be stripped down and used for parts and materials, but it would be cool to think that some equipment that’s not super old could be restored and make it’s way into high school theatres, churches, or local community centers that don’t have the budget for nicer equipment but still put on plays for the community.
There are a few reasons why this is probably one of the smartest paradigm shifts in modern entertainment. The first are financial, when you start to go green you earn a bragging right of sorts that will allow whatever you do to be just that more impactful. For instance, when your theatre has gone green, you can post that in the program notes, you can announce it as people are getting to their seats, and you can politely ask people to donate to the cause of being green. If that doesn’t sound appealing, at least you are benefiting from the cost effectiveness of recycling whatever is practical. Other benefits are much more global, an much more valuable as such. When the entertainment industry goes green, all of the materials and resources used by that industry (a considerable amount) go back into the cycle. Dependent on the efficiency of the recycling process, that could be a huge amount of raw resources going back into the loop that would otherwise be wasted. Whatever your standpoint, it is a good thing.
As I think everyone who embraces the entertainment industry knows we are by far the most wasteful in our work than just about any other job industry. We throw away sets constantly, only to replace them with new ones, use tons of electricity to create lighting for performers to act in, and then often use one time props like food and waste them entirely just for small theatrical effects. If any other work industry was as wasteful as us I’m sure the world would be in outrage, but since we waste in order to create experiences and sensations that people connect with our wasteful behavior is often overlooked, but as participants in this behavior I think it is important we try to find a way to give back. Even if its miniscule in comparison to the waste the industry creates I think Broadway’s gesture to help the world be more green by recycling electronics at theaters is a step in the right direction that will hopefully help us be more waste conscious of ourselves and improve are practices in more efficient and considerate ways.
This is so cool! As an avid supporter of green practices, I think Broadway Green Alliance is really onto something here and is heading in the right direction. Electronics are one of the most difficult things to recycle responsibly, as they contain heavy metals and can be extremely detrimental to environments if they are not recycled correctly. Additionally, the raw materials in electronics are valuable and, if properly recycled and cared for, can be put back into other electronics with decreased loss to the environment. Especially in the theatre business, where so much of what we do is either short-term, like scenery, or goes out of date as new technology becomes mainstream (as cables and electronic systems do). Generally, it is not a very environmentally-friendly business—but properly recycling old electronic goods can make a big difference. I am really excited to see firstly that something like the Broadway Green Alliance exists, and secondly that they are working to help make the theatre business a cleaner, greener one.
It is crazy to think that it has taken this long for a innovation such as this to occur, but I am ecstatic that there is progress being made in the "Green" world. Within this industry, it is easy to entirely overlook the importance of treating our earth well because we are often busy dealing with what we deem to be more important tasks at hand. However, now that the industry is becoming increasingly more reliant upon technology- self-tape submissions, skype-audition sessions, sending scripts via email, etc.- it is more important than ever for the industry as a whole to step up to the plate and take the green route. I think this is a brilliant idea, and not only does it help the earth to become a cleaner and more sufficient place, but it also brings awareness to the often wasteful society we live in today.
Post a Comment