WHAT IS ECO-THEATER?

Guidelines for writing/creating through a CLIMATE JUSTICE LENS:

• Assumes that the climate crisis is our global reality, not an isolated issue.
• The climate crisis and climate impacts are present in the world of the play, but are not necessarily the central action of the play.
• Re-imagines how relationships between humans (and between humans and non-humans) shift because of the climate crisis.
• Centers the knowledge, experiences, perspectives, and power of people or communities who are most impacted by the climate crisis but least responsible for causing it.
• Characters are not limited to fear, anger, sadness; they can also experience humor, pleasure, joy.
• The play acknowledges grief and loss, but includes tangible hope.
• The playwright/theatermaker views the world that they’re creating-- including the land, water, people, and other species-- as interconnected, interdependent, and ecocentric. This worldview is not necessarily a message conveyed in the action of the play, but a perspective to hold while writing/creating.

NOTE: The concept of a Climate Lens came out of an informal "think tank" of climate-focused artists based in NYC that we were a part of, in addition to our friends Chantal Bilodeau, Una Chaudhuri, Katie Pearl, Roberta Levitow, and Sarah Cameron Sunde. The above guidelines are our own, but they are inspired by the work of this group and the original ways we collectively defined "Climate Lens". Thank you, friends!

We often use these three tools to make our work: