Climate Change Theatre Action 2019 took place September 15 – December 21, 2019 to coincide with the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Spain (COP25).
Over 220 presenting collaborators in 28 countries produced events, engaging over 3,000 artists and reaching an audience of roughly 26,000 people. In the United States, over 150 events were presented, reaching all 50 states for the first time. The fifty short plays were presented a total of 1067 times, averaging 22 productions of each play. Somewhere between one and 700 people attended each of these performances, which occurred not just at theaters but also at universities, in elementary schools, parks, community centers, churches, and public squares, and even on kayaks.
Read Thomas Peterson’s article about the project on Artists & Climate Change.
The plays are published together in Lighting the Way: An Anthology of Short Plays About the Climate Crisis available in paperback and ebook from Lulu Publishing. The anthology is also available from your domestic Amazon.
Theme
For the first time in 2019, we introduced a theme for the festival: “Lighting the Way.” We asked our playwrights to give center stage to the unsung climate warriors and climate heroes who are lighting the way towards a just and sustainable future. These could be individuals or communities fighting for justice or inventing new technologies; animals, plants, or spirits imparting wisdom; or a part of themselves they didn’t know was there.
Participating Playwrights
Hassan Abdulrazzak • Elaine Ávila • Chantal Bilodeau • Yolanda Bonnell • Philip Braithwaite • Damon Chua • Paula Cizmar • Hanna Cormick • Derek Davidson • Sunny Drake • Clare Duffy • Brian Dykstra • Alister Emerson • Georgina HL Escobar • David Finnigan • David Geary • Nelson Gray • Jordan Hall • Kamil Haque • Monica Hoth, translated by Georgina Escobar • Zainabu Jallo • Vinicius Jatobá • Vitor Jatobá • Marcia Johnson • MaryAnn Karanja • Andrea Lepcio • Joan Lipkin • Philip Luswata • Abhishek Majumdar • Julie McKee • Giovanni Ortega • Mary Kathryn Nagle • Lana Nasser • Yvette Nolan • Matthew Paul Olmos • Corey Payette • Katie Pearl • Shy Richardson & Karina Yager • Kiana Rivera • Madeline Sayet • Stephen Sewell • Lena Šimic with Neal & Sid Anderson • Caridad Svich • Elspeth Tilley • Peterson Toscano • Mike van Graan • Meaza Worku • Marcus Youssef • Nathan Yungerberg
Producing Collaborators
Universities & Colleges
Allegheny College (Meadville, Pennsylvania, USA)
Appalachian State University (Boone, North Carolina, USA)
Arizona State University (USA)
Ateneo de Naga University (Naga City, Philippines)
Augustana University (Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA)
Bard College Berlin (Germany)
Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music (Massachusetts, USA)
Brandeis University (Waltham, Massachusetts, USA)
California State University, Bakersfield (USA)
California State University, Fullerton (USA)
Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA)
College of Charleston (South Carolina, USA)
Columbia University (New York, New York, USA)
Creighton University (Omaha, Nebraska, USA)
CUNY Graduate Center (New York, New York, USA)
Douglas College (New Westminster, Canada)
East 15 Acting School (Southend on Sea, United Kingdom)
Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, Florida, USA)
Edge Hill University (Liverpool, United Kingdom)
Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (Kingston, Jamaica)
The George Washington University (Washington, DC, USA)
Graceland University (Lamoni, Iowa, USA)
Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, Minnesota, USA)
Hamburg University (Germany)
Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA)
Iowa State University and The EcoTheatre Lab (USA)
Ithaca College (New York, USA)
Kean University (Union, New Jersey, USA)
Kennesaw State University (Georgia, USA)
Lawrence University (Appleton, Wisconsin, USA)
Massey University (Wellington, New Zealand)
McGill University (Montreal, Canada)
Metropolitan Community College (Omaha, Nebraska, USA)
Michigan State University (USA)
Montclair State University (New Jersey, USA)
North Dakota State University (USA)
NYU Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)
Okaihau College (New Zealand)
Ohio State University (USA)
Palomar College (San Marcos, California, USA)
Pomona College (Claremont, California, USA)
Presbyterian College (Clinton, South Carolina, USA)
Quest University (Squamish, Canada)
Ramapo College (New Jersey, USA)
Scariff Community College (Clare, Ireland)
Siena College (Albany, New York, USA)
Skagit Valley College (Mount Vernon, Washington, USA)
Southern Utah University (Cedar City, Utah, USA)
SUNY New Paltz (New York, USA)
Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)
Towson University (Maryland, USA)
Truckee Meadows Community College (Reno, Nevada, USA)
Unity College (Maine, USA)
University of Alabama (USA)
University of Alaska, Anchorage (USA)
University of Alberta (Calgary, Canada)
University of California, San Diego (USA)
University of Central Oklahoma (USA)
University of Cologne (Germany)
University of Colorado, Boulder (USA)
University College Cork (Ireland)
University of Erfurt (Germany)
University of the Fraser Valley (Abbotsford, Canada)
University of Graz (Austria)
University of Missouri (USA)
University of Montana (USA)
University of New Hampshire (USA)
University of Oregon (USA)
University of Ottawa (Canada)
University of Regina (Canada)
University of Rhode Island, Providence & Wilbury Theatre Group (USA)
University of South Wales (Cardiff, United Kingdom)
University of Southern California (Los Angeles, California, USA)
University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA)
University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia)
University of Virginia (USA)
University of Waikato (Hamilton, New Zealand)
University of Western Australia (Perth, Australia)
University of Westminster (London, United Kingdom)
Warren Wilson College (Swannanoa, North Carolina, USA)
Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri, USA)
West Liberty University (West Virginia, USA)
Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut, USA)
York University (Toronto, Canada)
Theatres, Museums, and Arts Organizations
100 Watt Productions, Ottawa Children’s Theatre (Canada)
Across Oceans Arts (Toronto, Canada)
Amani People’s Theatre (Nairobi, Kenya)
AmaTea (Chernihiv, Ukraine)
The Anthropologists (New York, New York, USA)
The Arctic Cycle (New York, New York, USA)
ArkansasStaged (Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA)
Arlene Francis Center for Spirit, Art, and Politics (Santa Rosa, California, USA)
Arts Yackandandah (Yackandah, Australia)
Artworks Theatre (Waiheke Island, New Zealand)
Bag&Baggage Productions (Hillsboro, Oregon, USA)
Barn Arts Collective (Bass Harbor, Maine, USA)
Bewilderness Theatre Company (Jefferson County, Colorado, USA)
The Big Thing (Heidelberg, Germany)
Blooming Ludus (Seoul, South Korea)
The Blue Room Theatre (Perth, Australia)
Boom Arts (Portland, Oregon, USA)
Brave New World Repertory Theatre (Brooklyn, New York, USA)
Bridport Open Studios (Bridport, United Kingdom)
Broward County, Florida Cultural Division (USA)
BuranTeatr (Brno, Czechia)
Carribean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (New York, New York, USA)
Climate Cafe Collective (Billings, Montana, USA)
Creative Action Unlimited (Albany, New York, USA)
Culture*Park Theatre (New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA)
Dance Limerick (Limerick, Ireland)
Dance Spree (Greenfield, Massachusetts, USA)
Denizen Theatre (Hudson, New York, USA)
Downstage Theatre (Calgary, Canada)
Drama Discourse Society (Auckland, New Zealand)
DramaDogs (Santa Barbara, California, USA)
Dreamweavers & North American Indian Center of Boston (Massachusetts, USA)
Duck Bunny Theatre (Nelson, New Zealand)
Ego Actus (New York, New York, USA)
Entity Theatre (Munich, Germany)
EVN Community Theatre (Nairobi, Kenya)
French Embassy Cultural Services (New York, New York, USA)
Full Circle Theatre Company (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)
Great Falls Word Fest (Massachusetts, USA)
Greenfield Gallery (Massachusetts, USA)
Haque Centre for Acting and Creativity (Singapore)
Humshaugh Theatre Group (Northumberland, United Kingdom)
Imago Theatre (Montreal, Canada)
Institute for the Art and Practice of Dissent at Home (Liverpool, United Kingdom)
Kansas City Actors Theatre (Missouri, USA)
Laban West (Beirut, Lebanon)
La Jolla Theatre Ensemble (La Jolla, California, USA)
La Rosada (Vevey, Switzerland)
Mad Cow Theatre (Orlando, Florida, USA)
Main Street Landing Black Box Theatre (Burlington, Vermont, USA)
Mangrove Creative Collective and City Theatre (Miami Beach, Florida, USA)
Mi Casa Theatre (Almonte, Canada)
Millbrook Playhouse (Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, USA)
National Centre for the Performing Arts (Mumbai, India)
National School of Drama (Tripura, India)
Native Earth Performing Arts & Aki Studio (Toronto, Canada)
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (USA)
Nature Connection Arts Lab (Miami, Florida, USA)
The Nelms House (Smithfield, Virginia, USA)
Neworld Theatre (Vancouver, Canada)
Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater & ARTFARM (Middletown, Connecticut, USA)
Offbeat Coffee Studio (Huntsville, Alabama, USA)
Off Square Theatre (Jackson, Wyoming, USA)
The Open Concept (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
Palm Beach Fine Art Gallery (West Palm Beach, Florida, USA)
盘上海 PAN Shanghai (China)
The Randoms (Brno, Czechia)
Seattle Theatre Works (Washington, USA)
Statera (Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Duino, Italy; Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Superhero Clubhouse (New York, New York, USA)
Switchboard Ensemble (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
Te Manawa Museum (Palmerston North, New Zealand)
That Uppity Theatre (Belgrade, Serbia, St. Louis, Missouri, USA)
Theater in Asylum (Brooklyn, New York, USA)
Theatre Leti (Prague, Czechia)
Theatre Vertigo (Portland, Oregon, USA)
Toronto Cold Reads (Canada)
Triga Creative (Toronto, Canada)
Tryon Little Theatre Workshop (Tryon, North Carolina, USA)
Vampingo Productions (New York, New York, USA)
Individuals
Luz Patricia Cachay Torres (Lima, Peru)
Erica Chenoweth (Anchorage, Alaska, USA)
Martha Clifford & Debbie Lewis (Wyoming, USA)
Alyssa Cokinis (Nanjing and Shanghai, China)
Denise Comba & Olga Rubio Garcia (Brisbane, Australia)
Tom Ford (Boise, Idaho, USA)
Anne Garland (Utiqiagvik, Alaska, USA)
Jean Haskell (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)
Tonya Ingerson (New York, USA)
Eleanor Kipping (Maine, USA)
Julia Levine (Indianapolis, Indiana, USA)
Claire Lipschultz (Sacramento, California and Oahu, Hawaii, USA)
Luke Myers (San Francisco, California, USA)
Uri Noy Meir (Umbria, Italy)
Virginia Rodriguez (Lecce, Italy)
Sarah Safford (Brooklyn, New York, USA)
Jake Stepansky (Austin, Texas, USA)
Shiana Tyler (Phenix City, Alabama, USA)
Lori Vega (Montgomery, Alabama, USA)
Kim Vu (Knoxville, Tennessee, USA)
Alex Wakim (Wichita, Kansas, USA)
Schools and Youth Organizations
Amsterdam International Community School (Netherlands)
Benjamin Franklin High School (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA)
Catlin Gabel Middle School (Portland, Oregon, USA)
Groton School (Massachusetts, USA)
Gutenbergschule (Wiesbaden, Germany)
International School Almere (Netherlands)
Lenape Elementary School (New Paltz, New York, USA)
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)
Perpich Center for Arts Education (Golden Valley, Minnesota, USA)
Sacred Hearts Academy (Oahu, Hawaii, USA)
Sanford School (Hockessin, Delaware, USA)
Sayre School (Lexington, Kentucky, USA)
Sky Islands School & University of Arizona (Tucson, Arizona, USA)
Swiss International School Qatar (Doha, Qatar)
Weilheim Elementary School (Weilheim, Germany)
Wekiwa Springs State Park Youth Camp (Apopka, Florida, USA)
Environmental Science, Advocacy, and Social Justice Organizations
The Arbor Institute (Boulder, Colorado, USA)
Archbold Biological Station (Venus, Florida, USA)
Common Share Food Co-op (Amherst, Massachusetts, USA)
Cumberland Community Forest Society (Cumberlanda, BC, Canada)
Fridays for Future (Vilnius, Lithuania)
Global Social Business Summit (Berlin, Germany)
Green Flea Mumbai (India)
Greening Greenfield (Massachusetts, USA)
Greenpeace (Auckland, New Zealand)
MakeSense (Manila, Philippines)
Munich Feminist Project (Germany)
Racial Justice Rising (Greenfield, Massachusetts, USA)
RUA, Environmental University Network (Lima, Peru)
Sustainability Centre on Waiheke Island (New Zealand)
Faith Groups
All Souls Church (Greenfield, Massachusetts, USA)
First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palm Beaches (Florida, USA)
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Marietta (Ohio, USA)
Philadelphia Ethical Society (Pennsylvania, USA)
The Religious Society of Friends (Winnipeg, Canada)
St. Petersburg Quakers (Florida, USA)
Tampa Quakers (Florida, USA)
Wilshire Baptist Church (Dallas, Texas, USA)
Radio
Arab Women Talking (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Bubble&Squeak Podcast (Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, USA)
KUNM FM (Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA)
WPVM FM & Climate Listening Project (Asheville, North Carolina, USA)