HowlRound Theatre Commons: My organization, Notch Theatre Company, seeks to engage communities that our brick and mortar theatres are not reaching—connecting in their neighborhoods, in their language, and around the issues that matter to them. Our nation seems stalled in an ever-polarizing inability to engage in productive dialogue, and I believe this requires us artists and cultural workers to find ways of being in proximity to communities with which we might not normally interact. This includes bringing the theatre experience to geographically marginalized and rural communities.
5 comments:
My favorite part about this (besides the fact that it is occurring in the first place) is that the local community and policy-makers are involved in the entire process, from beginning to end. This no longer a far-away problem, or an issue for just a select few. It is a global issue and will affect us all. This grand scope may seem impossible to tackle, however, which is where breaking it down to a personal level can be really effective. It is also very important that these works are serving as a record of how much public land has been destroyed and given away in the history of this country. Last year we took a class about eco-performance and its importance in today's society. In general, we explored how performance can be used in environmental, social, and political ways. This includes commentary, criticism, and evaluation of how we have chosen to interact with the world around us and the effects of our actions. This movement has combined many of these tactics and goals, and will hopefully be effective in its persistence and commitment to educating its audiences in the issue itself, and on how we can all take part in rectifying it.
It’s really nice to hear about this happening. I feel as though often people get lost in older theater and trying to create their own best recreation of something, that we often forget the whole point of why we are doing it. The best theater is the theater that's never been done before, and it's amazing to hear about this continual show that is so unique to each place and group. This play has a purpose that affects people who don't even watch the show. By creating this piece, they are creating a domino effect of conversation and bring issues to the front of people's brains in an entertaining matter. To be able to combine helping the ecosystem with a bit of art is an incredible thing to do, and inspires me to look around and really try and create pieces on subject matter that I don't initially think to myself “Oh, Theater”. I would love to go and see one of these pieces, and evcen see a rendition of it on other social issues in Pittsburgh.
I’m slightly uplifted by this article and overwhelmingly devastated. It’s amazing how this group is implementing itself into the societies these new policies are affecting instead of simply assuming how they feel about it. At the same time it’s so difficult to keep track of all of the alarming stuff going on in the oval office. I keep being stunned when reading about devastating policies being introduced and implemented every day. The selling of public lands to oil companies seems to be another piece of this. Let alone the ecological tragedies, the price also seems a little ridiculous. For 2$ an acre the cost of cmu alone could cost you at least 35,000 acres in one year. For a country in so much debt how will selling an asset for way below market value help. Hello! Gas companies can afford more money, much more in fact. It seems like the U.S. has given up on respect, from itself and from outside countries.
Something about this article made it thrilling to read. While Chantal Bilodeau opens by clarifying that there is no celebration as there is no monumental victory to speak of, Ashley Teague instills a heavy feeling of responsibility on the part of theatre artists. The responsibility of forwarding socio-environmental change is not so far fetched as it initially seems. The arts are a space to be radical, demanding, progressive, and uncensored in ways that more guarded facets of society are unprepared for. So of course, when faced with this horrific agreement on the part of the Trump administration to hand over acres and acres of public land to gas and oil companies, it is our responsibility to say something about it. The message that theatre is power hugely resonated with me. In the past year, I’ve seen and worked on numerous new works that grapple ambitious social, political, and environmental messages and been totally blown away by some small-scale productions driven by highly-motivated artists. The reality is that in our current national climate, all artists have to be fierce advocates for something, no matter what it is.
I think this is really cool because theater is very little connected to the environment and the outdoors in most cases. However this project is all about the environment and making sure it is preserved for future generations. My mom is an environmental scientist and when I chose theater as my major I had no idea if I could contribute to the ongoing effort to preserve the earth with the tools I am learning here. However this project would give me a chance to do just that, I could do theater but also help the environment. I also think it is so sad that the government is ready to give away so much of the land that it is protecting. In like fifty years there will be nothing left and then our planet really will die. I think it is dumb that the government isn't thinking of the repercussions for future generations because it has been scientifically proven that they will be drastic.
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