A CLIMATE OF CHANGE
WHEN THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CRISIS WE’RE facing appears in mainstream media, it is typically portrayed in one of two ways: either as the inevitable apocalypse, futile to resist and too overwhelming to talk about, or as just another issue to overcome with the right legislative agenda, technological ingenuity, market savvy, and reusable straws. Both of these narratives perpetuate destructive myths, rooted in the same oppressive systems that caused the climate crisis in the first place.
In fact, what we face is more complex and all-encompassing. Punctuated by sporadic superstorms and wildfires, climate change is a slow, permanent warping of everything we count on as stable: solid ground, seasons, birdsong, vegetables, vacations, tap water, the foundations of a house, the fabric of a neighborhood, a parent’s confidence in their children’s future. Climate change is our new reality. To meet it, we urgently need new practices that model a regenerative culture in place of our extractive one.
Though it may not always feel like it, we wield great power as theatre artists. Our work embodies the characteristically human practice of actualizing ideas. We imagine worlds and then build them through collective action. Functioning as a microcosm of society, theatre is uniquely positioned to create the cultural conditions needed for alternative structures of power and economies to thrive. And because the climate crisis demands change at every level, every theatremaker can participate by shifting our practices to center climate justice in our work, regardless of the content of what’s onstage.
To be clear: is not the same as . Climate justice is holistic; it’s about equity and sustainability beyond material considerations. For instance, while reducing the use of plastic is essential, what we ultimately need is to upend the structures of power and systems of production that have
