Yearly Archives: 2013

Meet Our New Off- Broadway Committee

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This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

This summer the BGA launched a new off-Broadway committee to inspire, educate and motivate the off-Broadway community to get greener.

The committee includes George Forbes, President of the off-Broadway League;  Tony Award-winning set designer Donyale Werle; Frances Black from the Alliance of Resident Theatres/NY; Ariel Dupas from the Pearl Theatre; Darren Bluestone from New World Stages ; James Cleveland and Chasmin Hallyburton of Production Core; Jonathan Zautner from the York Theatre; green lighting expert James Bedell; and Jeffrey Shubart and Nancy Beer from the Lucille Lortel Foundation.  And we are happy to welcome Izee Figuroa from the Public Theater to the committee as of this week.<

So far the committee has committed to circulating the new off-Broadway Green Captain kit and to identify a few theatre venues and small companies as early adopters to put the kit into practice.  The kit is based on our successful Broadway Green Captain kit but with additional resources for smaller theatres and with a dual focus on both venue greening and theatre company greening including green hints for offices.

The committee has also planned an off-Broadway Green Design Round Table for October 29th at ART/NY.  The round table will include as panelists set designer Donyale Werle, lighting designer James Bedell, and costume designer Andrea Lauer. Please see the BGA website for more details.

If you or someone you know is interested in joining the BGA off-Broadway Committee please email green@Broadway.org.

 

The Broadway Green Alliance was founded in 2008 in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is an ad hoc committee of The Broadway League and a fiscal program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Along with Julie’s Bicycle in the UK, the BGA is a founding member of the International Green Theatre Alliance. The BGA has reached tens of thousands of fans through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media.

At the BGA, we recognize that it is impossible to be 100% “green” while continuing activity and – as there is no litmus test for green activity – we ask instead that our members commit to being greener and doing better each day. As climate change does not result from one large negative action, but rather from the cumulative effect of billions of small actions, progress comes from millions of us doing a bit better each day. To become a member of the Broadway Green Alliance we ask only that you commit to becoming greener, that you name a point person to be our liaison, and that you will tell us about your green-er journey.

The BGA is co-chaired by Susan Sampliner, Company Manager of the Broadway company of WICKED, and Charlie Deull, Executive Vice President at Clark Transfer<. Rebekah Sale is the BGA’s full-time Coordinator.

Go to the Broadway Green Alliance

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Call for creative practitioners to devise and lead their own creative actions for trees during National Tree Week

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This post comes to you from EcoArtScotland

We received a request to highlight Treeage from Bridget McKenzie.  It’s a call for creative practitioners to devise and lead their own creative actions for trees during National Tree Week 23 November to 1 December.  Treeage might take the form of three levels of remedial action: A&E, the Funeral or the Maternity Unit.

She suggested the image, and you can find more about the project here.

To share your plans and activities, you can choose to:

  • sign up to the Facebook event for Treeage week, and/or the event page for Remembrance Day for Lost Species on 30th November
  • join the Treeage Flickr group to post photos
  • use the Twitter hashtag #treeage
  • Use the National Tree Week posters and post an event on their event map

This is a joint idea devised by Beuysterous (Bridget McKenzie) and Feral Theatre (especially Persephone Pearl).

ecoartscotland is a resource focused on art and ecology for artists, curators, critics, commissioners as well as scientists and policy makers. It includes ecoartscotland papers, a mix of discussions of works by artists and critical theoretical texts, and serves as a curatorial platform.
It has been established by Chris Fremantle, producer and research associate with On The Edge Research, Gray’s School of Art, The Robert Gordon University. Fremantle is a member of a number of international networks of artists, curators and others focused on art and ecology.
Go to EcoArtScotland

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Ask A Broadway Green Captain: Adinah Alexander of Kinky Boots

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This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

Adinah Alexander at the opening of Kinky Boots.

Q: When did you first hear about the Broadway Green Alliance?

A: I first heard about the Green Alliance when my PSM sent an email out saying the company was looking for a Green Captain.  I just thought, sure…and then after my first meeting I realized how little I actually know and how much I can do, in my small way, to make things better in my small part of the world.

 

Q: Did your current theatre already have any greener practices set in place?

A: I believe The Hirschfeld Theatre had green practices already in place.  There are recycling bins throughout the building.  The sound department recycles batteries and I know that Jujamcyn is committed to a greener theatre environment.  The company was given a reusable lunch bag with a water bottle and food containers as a welcome gift when we started our run.

 

Q: What things would you like to do in your everyday life that are “greener”?

A: When I went to my first Green Alliance meeting, I realized that I have only the most rudimentary knowledge of recycling practices.  I was awed by some of the other Green Captains and the extent of their understanding of what can and can’t be recycled.  I would like to get my company to be more conscious about using disposable water bottles, coffee cups and plastic utensils.

 

Q: What specifically interests you about being “green”?

A: I became more interested in being green when I realized literally how much garbage I was creating.  I made a personal commitment to be more aware and use fewer prepackaged foods, etc.  I discovered a website called “reusit.com”  I purchased all kinds of reusable, washable items to replace disposable items and I stopped buying packaged foods.  I bring my own cotton bags to the grocery store, buy in bulk and always have real utensils, food containers, cotton bags, etc. on hand so that I don’t have to rely on disposable items.

 

Q: What is the most frustrating thing about being a Green Captain?

A: The most frustrating thing about being Green Captain is getting people to step out of their comfort zone, just a bit, and literally walk those extra few steps to put garbage in its proper place.  Also I watch people come in every day with coffee and food that they have purchased.  It only takes a few extra minutes to prepare your own food in a reusable container and to carry your own coffee container, mug, water bottle.

 

Q: What is the best thing about being a Green Captain?

A: Well..the best thing is that I am learning so much about what is possible in terms of recycling.  I volunteered at the e-waste drive in Duffy Square and was amazed at what was recyclable. I learned that there are many things that I have been putting in the trash that can be recycled. I am also excited about the upcoming Textile Drive.  I can donate all my old clothes and linens and not just throw them away…I had no idea that was possible.

 

The Broadway Green Alliance was founded in 2008 in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is an ad hoc committee of The Broadway League and a fiscal program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Along with Julie’s Bicycle in the UK, the BGA is a founding member of the International Green Theatre Alliance. The BGA has reached tens of thousands of fans through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media.

At the BGA, we recognize that it is impossible to be 100% “green” while continuing activity and – as there is no litmus test for green activity – we ask instead that our members commit to being greener and doing better each day. As climate change does not result from one large negative action, but rather from the cumulative effect of billions of small actions, progress comes from millions of us doing a bit better each day. To become a member of the Broadway Green Alliance we ask only that you commit to becoming greener, that you name a point person to be our liaison, and that you will tell us about your green-er journey.

The BGA is co-chaired by Susan Sampliner, Company Manager of the Broadway company of WICKED, and Charlie Deull, Executive Vice President at Clark Transfer<. Rebekah Sale is the BGA’s full-time Coordinator.

Go to the Broadway Green Alliance

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Near Now launch Internet of Growing Things Commission

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This post comes to you from EcoArtScotland

Thanks to James Brady for sharing this,

Near Now are delighted to announce the launch of Internet of Growing Things, a collaborative research opportunity for two individual UK based practitioners to develop new work focused on food and future agri-cultures.

Deadline Monday 11 November 2013

Near Now launch Internet of Growing Things Commission – Near Now.

ecoartscotland is a resource focused on art and ecology for artists, curators, critics, commissioners as well as scientists and policy makers. It includes ecoartscotland papers, a mix of discussions of works by artists and critical theoretical texts, and serves as a curatorial platform.
It has been established by Chris Fremantle, producer and research associate with On The Edge Research, Gray’s School of Art, The Robert Gordon University. Fremantle is a member of a number of international networks of artists, curators and others focused on art and ecology.
Go to EcoArtScotland

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Conference about efficient, liveable and sustainable cities

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This post comes to you from Culture|Futures

Today cities consume an estimated 75 percent of the world’s energy, and emit more than 80 percent of greenhouse gases. By the year 2050 approximately 75 percent of the world’s population are expected to be residing in megacities. With an estimated increase of the global population to nine billion, the future cities of the world face great challenges.

future-cities-konf2013

This is the focus of a ‘Future Cities’ conference to be held at the Danish parliament in Copenhagen on 7 November 2013 at 12am–5pm. The conference will cover topics such as the green cities of Europe, the intelligent energy-grid and megacities future use of big data as smart cities.

One of the speakers is Claus Bjørn Billehøj who works for the City of Copenhagen to insure sustainable, green growth and realise Copenhagen’s ambition of becoming the world’s first carbon neutral capital by 2025.

The conference is free and open, but registration is mandatory due to security requirements. It is organised by The International Committee of Radikale Venstre.

» More information: futurecities2013.dk

Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.

The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.

Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people’s eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector’s stories maintain the trust of people and society.
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Community Wind Turbine

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This post comes to you from EcoArtScotland

We received the Achiltibuie_Wind_turbine_planning_letter via a colleague and friend. The letter is asking people to write in support of a planning application for a community owned wind turbine.

The small community on Coigach North of Ullapool is located in a ‘world class environment.’ It’s faced with a number of challenges which are described, but has also been organising itself, also described, with a view being more sustainable. The letter is about the economic sustainability that will be generated by installing one community owned wind turbine – a project involving a capital outlay of £2 million being undertaken by a community of about 100 people. But interestingly reading the letter that sustainability is evident in the community organising that has been going on over a reasonable period.

What’s also interesting is that most communities organising around wind turbines are not trying to make them happen. Rather they are trying to resist their imposition by large corporates, land owners seeking to maximise incomes, and centralised national priority planning processes. In other parts of Scotland communities of a similar scale are faced with proposals for 100 turbines surrounding villages. These will be located on private land generating significant incomes for the land owners. These are being pushed through planning by large teams of consultants. The community might be in receipt of some charity in terms of hand outs from the power companies (perhaps mediated by local committees). One model is sustainable, the other is pretty remote from anything that might be called sustainable.

We recommend you read Achiltibuie_Wind_turbine_planning_letter – it is inspiring. 

ecoartscotland is a resource focused on art and ecology for artists, curators, critics, commissioners as well as scientists and policy makers. It includes ecoartscotland papers, a mix of discussions of works by artists and critical theoretical texts, and serves as a curatorial platform.
It has been established by Chris Fremantle, producer and research associate with On The Edge Research, Gray’s School of Art, The Robert Gordon University. Fremantle is a member of a number of international networks of artists, curators and others focused on art and ecology.
Go to EcoArtScotland

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The Phantom of the Opera Makes the Battery Switch

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This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance
By Molly McQuilkin

The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway
(Photo by Joan Marcus)

About two years ago, The Phantom of the Opera officially switched to using rechargeable batteries, instead of disposable batteries, in their continued effort to make their enduring show green and sustainable.  Paul Verity, the head of the sound department at Phantom, says “The biggest issue we had to overcome was space. As in all Broadway theatres, space is always a premium. That was certainly compounded by the fact that Phantom has been running for twenty-five years. Other than space, we just needed to lay out the routine for storage and recharging.”   He continues, “It certainly is more effort. With disposable batteries you open a box and toss them in another box after they are used. Dealing with rechargeables is neither time-consuming nor difficult, but it takes more effort.”

To get the rechargeable program up and running, the sound department had to purchase chargers, the rechargeable batteries (about 144), storage cabinets and some more power strips. The total of these purchases was approximately $1,516.  Paul says they have had to replace a couple of chargers, but overall, these investments should last about eighteen months until the batteries need to be replaced. Compare this to the $14,775 the show would’ve spent on 39,936 disposable batteries during this same eighteen-month period – a huge savings in cost and a huge reduction of waste!

Paul is not sure if the rechargeable battery switch will always be completely beneficial for short-running shows: “If it is in a venue that has the same sound team from show to show, then sure. It really become a question of cost. If it does not at least break even, then it becomes a hard sell to the producers.” But with long-running shows, and shows with smart producers and employees that have a passion for recycling, as Paul puts it, “It saves money and reduces waste. A win-win.”

 

The Broadway Green Alliance was founded in 2008 in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is an ad hoc committee of The Broadway League and a fiscal program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Along with Julie’s Bicycle in the UK, the BGA is a founding member of the International Green Theatre Alliance. The BGA has reached tens of thousands of fans through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media.

At the BGA, we recognize that it is impossible to be 100% “green” while continuing activity and – as there is no litmus test for green activity – we ask instead that our members commit to being greener and doing better each day. As climate change does not result from one large negative action, but rather from the cumulative effect of billions of small actions, progress comes from millions of us doing a bit better each day. To become a member of the Broadway Green Alliance we ask only that you commit to becoming greener, that you name a point person to be our liaison, and that you will tell us about your green-er journey.

The BGA is co-chaired by Susan Sampliner, Company Manager of the Broadway company of WICKED, and Charlie Deull, Executive Vice President at Clark Transfer<. Rebekah Sale is the BGA’s full-time Coordinator.

Go to the Broadway Green Alliance

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New Perspectives on Ecological Performance Making, London

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This one-day symposium will bring together researchers, practitioners and students for a discursive investigation of performance approaches that explore the human relationship with the natural world. The recent Readings in Performance and Ecology (2012) and Performing Nature (2007) acknowledge that ‘conventional theatre’ may not be as well positioned to intersect with ecology as other forms of performance. Other paradigms such as eco-activism, bicycle performances, outdoor audio-walks, landscape performances, allotment performances, live art and site-based participatory performance offer unique opportunities for audiences to intimately engage with the living world and interact directly with the material environment. Recent examples of practice include Simon Whitehead’s work, Townley and Bradby’s The Bowthrope Experiment, Earthrise Repair Shop, Platform’s Oil City, the work of Fevered Sleep and FanSHEN’s Green and Pleasant Land. This symposium will assemble key people in the field of Performance and Ecology to explore how new paradigms can be developed from a number of different perspectives and expertise on the subject.

Hosted by the Theatre Applied Research Centre, confirmed participants include Wallace Heim, FanSHEN, Julie’s Bicycle, Sally Mackey, Ian Garrett, Harry Giles, Stephen Bottoms, Dee Heddon, Carl Lavery, Dead Good Guides, Peter Coates, Silvia Battista, Eve Katsouraki, Gareth Somers, Sarah Hopfinger, and Baz Kershaw.

Lunch will be provided along with tea and coffee.

Book Now: New Perspectives on Ecological Performance Making Tickets, London – Eventbrite.