Performances
Six polar bears that simply dropped from above? How can this be communicated to the general public? A group of high-school students from BG GIBS – Graz International Bilingual School in Austria have been contemplating just that. The theater group will perform two short plays – Chantal Bilodeau’s IT STARTS WITH ME and Alister Emerson’s SIX POLAR BEARS FELL OUT OF THE SKY THIS MORNING – during this event, which is part of Climate Change Theatre Action 2019 and which evolved in cooperation with the Centre for Intermediality Studies in Graz (CIMIG). These English-language plays will provide points of departure for contemplating and discussing what may be regarded as the most pressing topic of our time.
The young actors are third- and fourth-grade students at GIBS, the bilingual Graz high school. They are taught mostly in English. Thus, performing plays in English has become second nature for these students who, guided by Erica Huber and Eva Koegeler, indulge in improvisation and love to develop their own short plays.
This event contributes to the worldwide network of CCTA 2019 performances of very short plays which pursue the goals of fostering awareness of climate change and of bringing people together to talk about this issue. Nassim Balestrini (CIMIG), Eva Koegeler, and Erica Huber (GIBS) want to build bridges between art and science as well as secondary school and university as part of the effort to discuss climate change.