Sustainable Theatre

Mo'lelo Theatre Company and their Green Theatre Tool Kit

2010-05-04T22:38:00.000-07:00

So this is an organization that I've been meaning to link to for a while. The Mo'lelo Theatre Company, based out of San Diego, has been doing some very impressive work in 'green' theatre for the last few years, and have compiled a large amount of useful information, some of which has made it as far as Broadway. This article has more of the details.

Great stuff, and an excellent reminder of how progress towards sustainability is possible on a variety of scales. Also, note the figure on how switching to rechargeable batteries has saved Wicked $26,000 a year; that's ecological-economic synergy at it's best.

New Links

2010-04-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

Short post. Changed the link to >100k to CRADLE(Arts), the link of their spiffy new home. Also added a brand new link to the Broadway Green Alliance, who are doing some very, very cool things.

Ubisoft Goes Green

2010-04-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

So this bit of news actually isn't related to theatre; it comes from the video game industry. But I consider the two businesses to be more related than typically thought, and aside from that, I think this is an excellent example of intersection between environmental and economic spheres.

Games publisher Ubisoft has publicized that they are making the move to eliminate the paper manuals that are packaged with all of their games and have been a mainstay since the beginning of the industry. In place of these paper manuals, Ubisoft plans to supplement the in-game tutorials that most software developers create these days with online PDF manuals. According to Ubisoft, this move will obviously reduce energy and paper consumption, as well as offer more 'robust' manuals through their online service.

Now, I think this is just great. It's a no-brainer that eliminating paper manuals will save resources. We continue to stumble towards a nearly-paperless society, and I think that's a very good thing. The really interesting thing to me is just how divided the opinion of gamers has been over this news. There's plenty of grumbling over the disappearance of the manuals, from perceived inconvenience to complaints that 'games have always had manuals.' This illustrates the important and unfortunate point that there are large segments of the population that are in favor being ecologically sustainable, but only so long as it has no negative impacts on their quality of life, or indeed, really creates no change in their life whatsoever. This honestly isn't so surprising.

But the other fascinating thing is how commonly the point is raised that Ubisoft most likely stands to save money with this new policy, although the company hasn't officially released any concrete figures in that respect. That in itself, not surprising. But what I find so intriguing is how this fact is almost uniformly treated as evidence of Ubisoft being duplicitous, self-serving, or engaging in green-washing. Even more-or-less serious gaming journalists have had a sort of 'Aha! Gotcha!' response.

Here's my basic problem: The underlying assertion here is that if a company's green policies also end up saving the company money, this is somehow evidence of the company selling out. It's a subtler example of the negative assumption that progress in environmental sustainability is always made at some other cost, it either being economically or in quality-of-life considerations. This is a dangerous assumption; it discourages synergistic problem-solving that can simultaneously address a multitude of separate concerns, and can ultimately serve as a barrier to progress towards true sustainability.

I think what is the root cause of most of the un-ease (aside from a basic dislike of change of any kind) is the perception that the consumer is now getting less. That they will be paying the same amount of money for less product, essentially a combination of the two points I've addressed so far. And while this may be true in the most basic of senses, I think there also has to be a reckoning with the actual reality of the situation: There is a tiny and increasingly shrinking segment of the population that will be buying these games and yet have no access to Internet-based resources, connectivity is simply too wide-spread these days. Secondly, even taking that aside, most manuals will be flipped through once or twice, only to be tossed in the trash or to sit in a plastic box for the foreseeable future. These are not long-term reference documents we're talking about here. What this means is that gamers troubled by this change are complaining about 'getting less' in the most crass and visceral sense, that they didn't even need it, but they're mad as hell that they're not getting it anymore. This is to me, ultimately, the truly frightening and disturbing face of consumerism.

USITT 2010 Afterthoughts

2010-04-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

So even though it's been a couple weeks since the 50th United States Institute of Theatre Technology Conference wrapped up in Kansas City, I'm still going to take a bit to review my time there.

First impressions: Still great, still a lot of fun, just as much as I remember it being the year before. The section of the conference expo devoted to design submissions seemed particularly robust this year, with some great retrospectives on some noted designer's bodies of work, as well as some fun exhibits of theatre technology throughout the years.

The show floor had all the usual exhibitors, along with some new faces. A few trends I noticed this year: I may be totally off-base with this, but there seemed to be more exhibitors selling modular seating and stage flooring units. I connected this with one of the USITT sessions specifically dealing with creating modular performance spaces. I'm spinning out this hypothesis probably further than it should actually go, but I'd still place a solid bet that as we continue to weather this financial downturn, and capital investments dry up, more theatre companies and performing arts venues are going to be looking for ways to do more with the spaces they already have. It's a small silver lining to a very dark cloud, but the economic crisis could spawn significant innovation (in addition to the far less fortunate budget cut-backs, lay-offs, and company closings.) New LED instruments continue to hit the market. I'm really excited about the possibilities of these new instruments, I just wish the price point wasn't such high-hanging fruit for most smaller companies. Of course, these days, any new equipment at all can qualify as 'high-hanging fruit'...

Interestingly enough, the tech-related sessions seemed a little anemic this year. On the flip side, there were more sessions related to topics like marketing, audience-building, making your budget stretch, economic strategies for weathering the downturn, etc. Not too surprising, really. My feelings about these sorts of sessions (at least the ones I attended, which was most) were that there were a few truly good ideas scattered amongst what amounted to some very basic discussions. Those ideas (most of them centering around how to creatively embrace new information technology instead of fighting or ignoring it) were still completely worth hanging around for.

There was also the return of the 'Healthy Technician' session, as well as a new session suggested last year that dealt with diagnosing and dealing with psychological burnout. I'm very glad to see the evolving discussion of how theatre professionals can lead healthy, happy personal lives while still maintaining the quality of their work. It's a topic that is too easily ignored, and I think there's a very insidious assumption that pervades the industry that wanting to live healthy, not overwork yourself, do things like live in one place more than a few months at a time, raise a family, etc., means that your drive and dedication is somehow lacking. Or worse, that there's assumed choice between having either these things or success in your field. This is not a unique concern to the theatre industry, but it is still particularly notable. I see signs of change, and it's about time.

If USITT is any indication, the theatre industry is still slowly but steadily embracing the 'Green Movement'. There were not one but two sessions purely devoted to improving the environmental sustainability of theatre companies. And I saw several booths on the show floor that prominently displayed the 'green-ness' of their products. First blush, it's great that environmentalism is finally starting to become mainstream in the industry. The downside is that, like in any other part of the environmentalist movement, you have to wade through a sea of misfires and misinformation to get to the hard data and innovative ideas. Theatre has the same vulnerability to green-washing as any other industry. But that's just a natural step in it's evolution. Everything has to start somewhere.

Potential Styrofoam Substitute on the Horizon

2010-04-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

So a few bright young folks over at the start-up Ecovative Design have come up with their own entry into the Styrofoam alternatives market, and it's derived from a novel source: mushrooms. Turns out the natural microfibers found in your average fungi can be turned into some highly efficient packing material. This is potentially great news for scenic designers and carpenters who are guilty about the use of Styrofoam on stage (myself included). Styrofoam is amazingly useful in the theatre! It's a material that's lightweight, incredibly easy to shape, takes a variety of surface coatings, and it's cheap. It just happens to also be toxic and non-biodegradable. Some experiments I've been a part of years ago looked into the use of cornstarch substitutes, without much success. This was mostly due to the water solubility of cornstarch making it very difficult to paint or otherwise treat, and also it's difficulty to shape due to its fiber structure. But this new material may be able to solve some or all of these issues. After having some back-and-forth with the developers, I've learned that the material has a very low solubility and is easy to shape. I'm eager to actually experiment with some test samples! The bad news is that it may be a while before Ecovative is manufacturing the shroom foam in sizes and shapes that are ideal for set construction. They're still working towards mass production, and they understand the truth that most of their initial profits will come from producing custom packaging. Still, it's a promising bright spot on the horizon.

Green Materials

2009-11-15T22:44:00.000-08:00

Mini-post, but check this out. I read about materials like this and the first question that comes to mind is, "How does it hold a coat of paint?" But if it really functions like wood, then that's super exciting. Cheap AND biodegradable? Why yes, thanks!

Energy Auditing for Theaters

2009-09-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

So I've been absent for a while. It's an unfortunate truth that taking time out to examine a set of 'best practices' for theatre is often complicated by spending all this time doing theatre... *sigh*

But enough excuses. I do have some exciting news to share. Some of the exact details still have to be ironed out, but it looks as if the energy auditing program of the John Van Duzer Auditorium, the main stage for Humbold State's Department of Theatre, will become a reality.

To give some background on this project, this is part of an on-going effort of myself and other students, faculty and staff from the department to update our stage lighting system and reduce our energy consumption. To this end, we are attempting to integrate long-range energy auditing into the space. The intent is not only will this data help in implementing our own energy solutions, but that this project may also be helpful in providing information to other theatre companies that are also interested in monitoring their energy consumption.

The above-average complexity of the electrical system in the JVD (typical of many playhouses) creates unique challenges for energy monitoring. Because of this, we've started to create partnerships with Green Campus, a student-run energy conservation group, and the Redwood Coast Energy Authority. The hope is that within the next couple weeks, we will be able to have a consultation with a professional from the Authority, which will be an open event to students from Green Campus as well as students and faculty from our own department. The end result will hopefully be a plan for moving forward with an actual energy auditing program. I'll be sure to update this site as this project continues.

Just How 'Regional' is Regional Theatre, Anyway? - Part 2

2009-07-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

There are some thoughts that have been banging around in my head since my post on Mike Daisey's work, "How Theater Failed America." To bring up to speed, Mike's piece makes the argument that the increasingly corporate structure of theatre in America, coupled with NYC and LA functioning as nexuses for professional artists, is dooming regional theaters to a slow death by dwindling, aging audiences served by an equally dwindling population of nomadic professionals.

There's no doubt that many of Mike's points resonate deeply with me. I don't think there's a single professional working in theatre that isn't concerned about the imminent fate of the industry. But there are also discussions happening here on the Web that remind me that, like most things, this is a complex situation with many possible perspectives.

Check out this theatre blogger from the DC area who a while back posted a long response to Daisey's piece. The response is itself well worth reading, but if you scroll down the comment list for a bit, you'll find a long comment from a poster named "Philip", who claims to have worked in the industry for over 40 years and takes a very contrary view.

Definitely read it for yourself, but to sum up Philip's argument, he believes that it is disingenuous to accuse artists from NYC or LA who work in other locales of being less artistic, committed, or their art being less worthwhile because they don't live in the places their work is being produced. He continues to say that great art is great, irregardless of the exact connection between an artist's residence and where their art is viewed. Also, he states that many artists continually meet up and collaborate, despite a model that discourages the formation of stable companies.

First, while I hesitate to assume, I believe the fact that the poster has been working in the business for 40 years implies a certain attachment to how professional theatre 'has always been done.' But secondly, his arguments are well-reasoned and worth listening to. I know very well that my own ambitions don't include migrating to LA or NYC in order to make a name for myself so I can work all over the country, but for many young people in the industry, that may be EXACTLY their dream, and not just because of the notion that they 'have to.' Who would I be to belittle that? For another example, we have a venue here on the North Coast that regularly hosts touring shows, and due to knowing the technical director of the company, I've had plenty of opportunities to see these shows both backstage and in the audience. It's certainly not the lifestyle I'd chose for myself, and while quality and spirit varies, I've seen many good shows where the performers and crew are giving everything they can, which is too much for me to discount their work as lesser because it isn't local. It's just different.

The point I'm steering towards here is that I believe it may be a mistake to reduce the issues currently facing theatre to a simple dichotomy of a 'local vs. nomadic' mode of production. I'd like to believe that theatre is expansive enough to warmly encompass both, for the special gifts that both offer. And that the failure of vision occurs when the dominant belief is that one way is the 'only' or 'right' way to produce theatre.

The long history of the profession, in the West and otherwise, seems to show me this as true. James Burbage built the theater whose timbers became the Globe in his community of Shoreditch at the same time minstrels and troupes of players wandered all of Europe. Let those who want to wander, wander. And let those who want to share their gifts with the community they call home do so. A truly sustainable theatre should be able to sustain both.

Also, I'd like to offer these final words that Philip shared:

In conclusion, I have been in this business, man and boy, for over 40 years and all during that time various individuals have decried the imminent demise of theater, it’s mediocrity and its corporatization. I am glad for everyone of those prognosticators of doom, for they shake the tree and keep us awake to the pitfalls inherent in the juxtaposition of art and income.

I am immensely fond of this statement. Amongst other things, it reminds me that theatre has almost always been a profession that has suffered, been marginalized, threatened with extinction, yet we're still here. We're impossible to get rid of.

Aha! - Mo'olelo's GREEN Guidelines

2009-07-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting story about the Mo'olelo Performing Arts Company, based out of San Diego, and their GREEN Theatre Categories & Sustainable Guidelines that they first developed and adopted back in 2007. Some of their new practices are quite innovative, others more basic and really just common sense now-adays (like having plenty of recycling bins available.) But what I think is of particular interest here is that Mo'olelo adopted a clear and systematic approach to these issues. They've committed to their new practices in writing and treated their company as a whole organism, paying specific and organized attention to every aspect of their resource consumption. This is significantly different from a more haphazard and piecemeal implementation of ecologically-friendly practices. In the latter, not only is progress hampered by potentially missing opportunities for improvement that would be caught by a more detailed analysis, but there's also the very real possibility of backsliding, due to new practices being implemented informally by individuals without total buy-in from the complete company.

Also of note, Mo'olelo was able to develop these guidelines with help from a grant offered by TCG's Aha! Project, which offers grants to member theaters to develop and then implement innovations in theatre production. The blog for this program is worth checking out just for the exposure to some new and exciting ideas.

Just How 'Regional' is Regional Theatre Anyway?

2009-07-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

Since yesterday I threw up some links related to the ecological side of theatre production, today I thought I'd discuss some articles and sources dealing with socio-economic issues.

First, there's this article, The Empty Spaces written by Mike Daisey (who also turned the same article into a one-man show entitled How Theater Failed America.) Warning: while it makes many sound and searingly insightful points, Mike doesn't pull any punches in his discourse, and the picture he paints of theatre in the USA is exceptionally bleak. It's a must-read, but not when you're trying to savor your good mood. While the whole article is worthy of discussion, there is this particular section I wanted to cite:

The institutions that form the backbone of Seattle theater—Seattle Rep, Intiman, ACT—are regional theaters. The movement that gave birth to them tried to establish theaters around the country to house repertory companies of artists, giving them job security, an honorable wage, and health insurance. In return, the theaters would receive the continuity of their work year after year—the building blocks of community. The regional theater movement tried to create great work and make a vibrant American theater tradition flourish.

That dream is dead. The theaters endure, but the repertory companies they stood for have been long disbanded. When regional theaters need artists today, they outsource: They ship the actors, designers, and directors in from New York and slam them together to make the show. To use a sports analogy, theaters have gone from a local league with players you knew intimately to a different lineup for every game, made of players you'll never see again, coached by a stranger, on a field you have no connection to.

The trends that Mike Daisey refers to are worrisome, and have been cause for concern for most theatre professionals to one degree or another. One of the great promises of the regional theatre movement was, as Mike alludes to above, the possibility for artists to work where they live, in their own communities, instead of being forced to migrate to New York in order to make a name for themselves and then wait to be shipped out on their next contract (or abandon their theatrical ambitions and jump ship to LA...) I believe that there is something visceral about this issue. I know for myself, I have little desire to live and work out of New York or LA, and there is something deeply depressing about the thought that the only avenue to having a stable career in an established community may end up being a job in higher education.

At the same time, it is important to note that even Mike allows that there are legitmate reasons for these trends. Artistic directors and other administrators of regional theaters constantly struggle to keep the doors open by whatever means possible, and at the elevated level of the regional theaters, competition over limited funding is ferociously intense. There is this article from the New York Times (which references Mike Daisey's work and examines many of the same issues) where the artistic director of the Guthrie was quoted as saying that in the world of regional theatre, "You either grow or you die." I don't reference this source as a justification, rather just an argument that these conditions are systemic in nature, and not simply due to 'short-sighted and corrupt' regional administrators we can shake our fists at.

Well, I don't want to dwell in just doom and gloom. In the last few years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the bioregionalist movement, localized economies, and community building, and this has also been reflected in theatre. For an example, there is this very recent piece by David Dower that takes a more cautiously optimistic view of regional theatre and it's future than Daisey. Theatre, like any sub-section of human society, is an incredibly diverse and complex ecosystem unto itself, full of often contradictory attributes and trends. It's tempting to formulate simple opinons and answers, but intricate issues require equally intricate and nuanced analysis.

Additions

2009-07-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

Hello again! So I've added quite a few new things over the last 24 hours. First, be sure to check out the Links section I've added underneath the Blog History. The links found there are all sites well worth visiting. And if you have links to suggest, please do! Secondly, given that the full text of my thesis runs about 90 pages, you might not think that's exactly 'light' reading. So if you're interested in just a quick rundown on what it's about before you go any further, I've added the thesis abstract as its own PDF file to the Thesis Documents section. I've also added a consolidated version of Chapters 2 and 6 to this section. This short version only runs about 20 pages, but includes all of the truly sailient points of the piece. Oh, I've also updated the About the Author section. And while it doesn't offer much beyond what you'll find here, it's worth mentioning that I've created a Facebook page for this site in order to increase networking. Check it out if you have a moment. That's all for now, although with the time I have available this week, look for some more posts in the very near future. Enjoy!

New Links

2009-07-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

So I thought it'd be a great time to list some links to some prominent people and organizations that have been working on much of the same research my thesis has been focused around:

First, the Center for Sustainable Practice in the Arts. This is a newly formed organization that is apparently quite active in training, research, and archiving on ecologically sustainable practices in the arts. They have a great list of links to related sites, and is a substantial information web-hub on the subject.

Second, here's a fellow writing a book on the subject of ecologically-friendly production techniques. He's accumulated a truly impressive collection of research, all worth checking out (for example, this bit on London theatre.)

Thirdly, the Green Theater Initiative is another information web-hub, this one based out of New York.

Finally, here is a link for the newly-created Earth Matters On Stage festival at U of Oregon, Eugene. While the festival places much of it's focus on ecodrama and the presence of ecological issues in playwrighting, it also includes discussion of eco-friendly production.

Obviously, the focus of the above organizations and writers is on ecological issues, but bearing that in mind all of these websites are replete with useful contacts and resources. It's also worth noting two thoughts that occured to me:

First, that without exception, none of these sites were launched later than 2007 (most actually 2008.) Ecologically sustainable production is an idea quickly growing in credit and appeal amongst the larger theatre community. These issues are, mirroring the attention paid to ecological concerns in broader society, swiftly becoming mainstream.

Second, while more and more theaters are doing what they can to improve their own ecological footprint, they often do so while being isolated and unaware of what others theaters have done or are doing across the nation and the world. Many of the above websites state that one of the most notable reasons for their inception was to address this breakdown in communication and informational awareness. This is exceedingly important. Sound decision-making only happens when accompanied by sound informational awareness. And for theatre companies hesitating to implement what may seem like drastic and uncertain changes, they may find their minds set at ease and their path smoothed by learning about what other companies are doing.

2009-06-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well! It's been a while, hasn't it? The last year has seen a lot of ups and downs, but it's also seen the completion of my thesis. I'm putting up a link to a Wordpress host (since Blogger seems to have issues with PDFs), and the full, beautiful text can be viewed here. Whew! It's a relief to have this done and able to see the light of day. But it's a project that's far from over. Any of the many topics I've touched on in this work could easily have an entire book devoted to them. New solutions emerge through discussion and the accumulation of knowledge, and I plan to use this blog as a collection of thoughts and writing that may be of interest. So feel free to read it (just bits or the whole thing if you have the time), discuss it, and most of all, share your knowledge and experiences here.

Sustainable Theatre

Mo'lelo Theatre Company and their Green Theatre Tool Kit

New Links

Ubisoft Goes Green

USITT 2010 Afterthoughts

Potential Styrofoam Substitute on the Horizon

Green Materials

Energy Auditing for Theaters

Just How 'Regional' is Regional Theatre, Anyway? - Part 2

Aha! - Mo'olelo's GREEN Guidelines

More Links

Just How 'Regional' is Regional Theatre Anyway?

Additions

New Links