Bga

Broadway Green Alliance’s The Green Design Symposium

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

The Green Design Symposium took place on 20 March 2014.
It was a panel of experts discussing why and how to green up theatre designing.
Dr. Allen Hershkowitz of the NRDC gave the opening remarks about why it is important to go green this Earth Day.  Then a panel of experts talked about ways to be more eco-friendly when designing sets, costumes and lighting for theater. The panel included Donyale Werle winner of the 2012 Tony Award for excellence in stage design (or whatever they call it) for her up-cycled set of PATS.  Following the presentations the attendees broke up into smaller groups to network and discuss questions and issues in the topic areas. Lastly we had a robust Q and A to end the event.
The event took place at the Westside Theatre, upstairs, 407 West 43rd St. from 7-8:30 pm.

———-

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

Powered by WPeMatico

Announcing the Spring Textile Drive

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

Please join Broadway Green Alliance for their Spring Textile Drive on April 23rd!

Duffy Square
Wednesday, April 23rd
11-3pm

More information coming soon!

BGA Volenteers with MOTOWN Green Captain Marva Hicks.

———-

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

Powered by WPeMatico

Pop Up Repair: Brooklyn March 12-30

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

———-

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

Powered by WPeMatico

BGA 5 Year Report

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

In June 2008, over 250 theatre professionals from every part of the community gathered for a Town Hall at the Gershwin Theatre to discuss their nascent efforts to green Broadway. At that time, there was no place to go to find out how to make better environmental decisions on what paints to use for sets, which lighting instruments were more energy-efficient, or how a production could use rechargeable batteries or focus on recycling when closing. Working with the support of Dr. Allen Hershkowitz and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), participants from that Town Hall formed a group called Broadway Goes Green, which was launched officially in November 2008 by leaders in the theatre community and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Today, as we celebrate our milestone fifth anniversary, we are known as the Broadway Green Alliance and are a thriving organization disseminating information on greening theatre from front-of-house to backstage, from Broadway to all across the country and around the world. 

The Broadway Green Alliance educates, motivates, and inspires the entire theatre community and its patrons to  implement environmentally friendlier practices.

Click here to download BGA’s 5 Year Report.

 

———-

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

Powered by WPeMatico

Re-Use Your Party Dress and Donate for Prom Night

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

Have a fancy dress you no longer wear or fit into? Want to help send a girl to her prom in style?

Local 1 member Annie Miller is collecting used party dresses to be donated to the Orange Ulster County BOCES Special Education Program. She is teaming up with Broadway’s Green Captains to get the word out that the Broadway community can help make these girl’s dreams come true.

The dresses collected will be altered for the girls to wear to their senior prom for those that cannot afford to buy a dress.  The IRS allows deductions up to $500 for clothing donations without a receipt. BOCES can give receipts for dresses donated that cost more than $500.

Please email Annie at dimanddoll00@gmail.com or drop off your dresses at the BGA office, 1560 Broadway, Suite 1312.

Please help every girl feel like a Cinderella on her prom night!

———-

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

Powered by WPeMatico

Video: NFL Green, Verizon Green & BGA Tackle E-Waste In Times Square

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

———-

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

Powered by WPeMatico

Press Release: 5th Anniversary and Launch of NRDC Theatre Greening Advisor

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

BROADWAY GREEN ALLIANCE

THE BROADWAY COMMUNITY’S ONGOING INITIATIVE

TO HELP BROADWAY BECOME GREENER

BroadwayGreen.com

CELEBRATES 5 YEARS

AND LAUNCHES NEW

NRDC THEATRE GREENING ADVISOR

BroadwayGreeningAdvisor.org

New York, NY – (January 27, 2014) – The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is proud to announce the celebration of its fifth year and the launch of a new online Theatre Greening Advisor. The BGA is an industry-wide initiative focused on enhancing Broadway’s environmental profile by adopting preferable practices and promoting awareness in the creation and presentation of Broadway shows.

In collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the BGA’s early goal was to assess theatre production and disseminate information about environmentally preferable options to the Broadway theatre community including producers, theatre owners, designers, managers, design shops and others. Collectively, the Broadway community has achieved meaningful accomplishments during the first five years of this long-term initiative, including the shift to energy efficient lighting throughout the Great White Way. As a result of this work, Broadway is now a leader in environmental sustainability in the global theatre industry.

Taking this good environmental work to the rest of the country, the BGA and NRDC are now launching the NRDC Theatre Greening Advisor—an online guide to help theatres across the country implement environmentally intelligent practices. More than two years of work has gone into the creation of this unique online environmental resource for the theatre community, and it is arguably the most comprehensive theatre greening information database in existence. The BGA and NRDC are making the NRDC Theatre Greening Advisor available at no cost to all theatre production worldwide.

The new BGA Greener Lighting Guide, designed to help compare greener stage lighting instruments, will be linked to the NRDC Theatre Greening Advisor and both are scheduled to launch today, January 27th, 2014.

BROADWAY GREEN ALLIANCE ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE:

BroadwayGreen.com

Broadway theatres have replaced all their marquee and outside lighting with energy-efficient bulbs (over 10,000 bulbs!), saving approximately 700 tons of carbon emissions per year; switched to more environmentally preferable cleaning products and appliances; and established recycling, water filtration and energy efficiency programs.

Broadway shows now have a BGA liaison, or Green Captain, at nearly all shows, bringing greener practices backstage.  Green Captains come from all aspects of productions, and sometimes even the star of the show participates in this important role. Bryan Cranston, Alan Cumming, Hugh Dancy, Montego Glover, Harriet Harris and Carol Kane have all served as BGA Green Captains.

Running shows are saving money through reduced waste.  Many shows now use rechargeable batteries in microphones and flashlights, keeping thousands of toxic disposable batteries from the waste stream every month.  Wicked went from using 38 batteries every performance to using only 96 rechargeable batteries in a year!   Many shows also print their own cast-change stuffers — on recycled paper — saving reams of paper as well as money.

Events and initiatives held by the BGA are now part of the fabric of Broadway, including  semi-annual electronic-waste and textile recycling events in Times Square and a free binder exchange (operated in partnership with Actors’ Equity Association) where anyone can pick-up or drop-off binders for use in readings and rehearsals. This keeps binders out of the waste stream and encourages re-use. Over the last five years, the BGA has collected over 15 tons (31,000 pounds!) of e-waste, and nearly 10,000 pounds of textiles.

Outreach programs have brought the BGA to theatres throughout the United States, at colleges, off-Broadway and regional and touring venues.  Internationally, the BGA is a founding member of the International Green Theatre Alliance.  The BGA reaches theatre professionals and audiences through its website filled with information and resources, and through social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Today, the BGA also launched the BGA Greener Lighting Guide, in partnership with PLASA.

NRDC THEATRE GREENING ADVISOR

BroadwayGreeningAdvisor.org

The NRDC Theatre Greening Advisor is a free online guide to help theatres across the country to implement eco-intelligent practices. The tool provides BGA members with valuable and detailed information on all elements of greener theatres and productions. The NRDC Theatre Greening Advisor supports the work of all six Broadway Green Alliance committees with extensive resources for greener efforts related to Pre/Post Production, Production, Venues, Touring, Education, and Outreach. This guide helps theatres continue to commit to energy efficiency, recycling programs, waste reduction, water conservation, smart paper purchasing and use, and other smart operations. In doing so, theatres and productions across the country are helping to keep our nation’s air and water clean, reduce their contribution to global warming, protect biodiversity, and reduce toxic chemicals use, while seeing cost saving benefits.

“In the past five years, the Broadway Green Alliance has become a part of nearly all Broadway productions, and now is working with Off-Broadway, regional theatres, colleges, and many other venues and shows in and outside of the United States,”  says Charlie Deull, co-chair of the Broadway Green Alliance.   “We are grateful to the NRDC for its work on the NRDC Theatre Greening Advisor, which will be a valuable tool for the many BGA participants and allies working to make theatre, and the planet, greener.”

“The single most important thing we can do to help save the planet is to change cultural assumptions and attitudes about how we should relate to Planet Earth,” says Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council who helped to co-found the BGA. “By promoting energy efficiency, recycling programs, waste reduction, water conservation and other smart operations, theatres and productions will help keep our nation’s air and water clean, reduce their contribution to global warming and achieve cost saving benefits at the same time.”

# # #

THE BROADWAY GREEN ALLIANCE (BGA) educates, motivates and inspires the entire theatre community and its patrons to implement environmentally friendlier practices.  The BGA (formerly Broadway Goes Green) was launched in 2008 as an ad hoc committee of The Broadway League and has become a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The BGA brings together all segments of the theatre community, including producers, Broadway and Off-Broadway theatres in New York and around the country, college drama programs, theatrical unions and their members, and related businesses. Working closely with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the BGA identifies and disseminates better practices for theatre professionals and reaches out to theatre fans throughout the country, and through alliances, internationally. www.broadwaygreen.com.

facebook.com/BroadwayGreenAlliance, Twitter: @broadwaygreen.

THE NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.4 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, and Beijing. Since 2007, NRDC has been a world leader in entertainment and sports greening. NRDC is a principal environmental advisor to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Recording Academy, as well as a founding partner of the Broadway Green Alliance. www.nrdc.org

Contacts:

Broadway Green Alliance:

Rebekah Sale, rsale@broadwaygreen.com

Natural Resources Defense Council:

Jenny Powers, jpowers@nrdc.org

Broadway League:

Elisa Shevitz, eshevitz@broadway.org;

Erica Ryan, eryan@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

Powered by WPeMatico

Welcome to the BGA Greener Lighting Guide

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

Welcome to the BGA Greener Lighting Guide, a compilation of manufacturer provided information about live performance lighting instruments. This guide is designed to help you decide which lighting instruments are environmentally preferable.

Background

In recent years, many manufacturers have introduced new lighting instruments, promoting the environmental benefits of their products.  The nature of the “green” claims varies greatly, with no common basis for evaluating products or for comparing greener alternatives.  Developed in partnership with PLASA, the BGA Greener Lighting Guide is intended to serve as a source for high-level and detailed information about “greener” lighting instruments.

Broadways Green Alliance’s goal is to make comparing potential greener alternatives simpler and faster whether for a producer, a technical director, or a lighting designer. As live entertainment interest in greener alternatives increases, decision makers need access to clear and concise information about lighting instruments and environmental claims.

This guide will evolve as manufacturers populate it with more data. More than anything this reference will reflect the needs of you our readers. So tell us what you think by email.

Are you a manufacturer who wants to get involved? Sign-up your products here.

For information on how the Guide is organized and how to use it, click here.

———-

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

Powered by WPeMatico

Staging Sustainability Conference – Feb 2-5

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

There is still time to register for the Staging Sustainability Conference!

Staging Sustainability 2014: People. Planet. Profit. Performance will be an international conference from February 2-5, 2014 hosted at three exciting downtown Toronto venues — the MaRS Discovery District, 99 Sudbury, The Theatre Centre —and streamed to satellite locations across Canada.

Staging Sustainability 2014 will introduce you to ground breakers working across Canada, on Broadway, in London, in community gardens—as well as all points in-between—to remake the way we work in the performing arts. It will be the largest gathering of innovative sustainability practitioners in the world to focus on ways in which performance can positively affect our planet. We invite performing arts professionals including producers performers, technicians, funders, decision makers—and anyone interested in how the performing arts can support sustainability efforts—to attend Staging Sustainability 2014.

Performance has always been about how the work affects people. Now we are ready to look at how our performances can affect a sustainable world.

———-

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

Powered by WPeMatico

E-Waste Recycling Rally: The NFL is Playing for Keeps and Greening Broadway

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

The NFL is Playing for Keeps

Author: James Gowen

Before the Super Bowl last year, more than 7.5 million households purchased a brand new television before the big game. Whether viewers are watching to catch the big game, the spectacular halftime show, or even for the striking commercials, everyone wants the perfect display to make their viewing a touchdown. If you’re one of these many devoted Super Bowl fans, you are probably searching for deals during Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales. No matter how you watch your favorite team, don’t forget to bid farewell to your old TV sets responsibly.

NYRP Tree Planting     VZW Electronics Recycling Pile

In the United States, more than 80% of TVs are left to be dumped in landfills. Landfill disposal poses a threat to the environment and well-being of the community. Certain televisions may contain hazardous and toxic materials, such as lead, mercury, and arsenic.

Recycling TVs will not only keep this toxic waste out of the ground, but it will also eliminate the need to extract other limited resources. Once a TV is dropped off to be recycled, it is taken to a special facility where it is taken apart and separated for recycled disposal. The glass from the screens, for example, is ultimately used in other products.

Huddle Up!

Landfill interception! Verizon and the NFL simplified this issue by offering an event for all their favorite fans. People were able to bring their old TVs and other personal e-waste to Verizon’s Recycling Rallies on 1/8 in Times Square and on 1/7 in Fair Lawn, NJ. To find a recycling center located near you, please visit  1800Recycling.com.

Enjoy your new devices, but don’t forget to recycle your old ones! Happy shopping!

Greening Broadway

By Rebekah Sale, Coordinator of the Broadway Green Alliance

For the past five years, the Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) — an industry initiative that educates, motivates, and inspires the entire theatre community and its patrons to adopt environmentally friendlier practices — has been working to green-up Broadway. Besides working with theatre owners to replace all of their roof and marquee lights with energy-efficient bulbs, we now have a backstage liaison at nearly every Broadway show, operate a free binder exchange, circulate information on greener, better practices for all areas of theatre, and hold recycling collection drives four times a year.

For Broadway Green Alliance’s next drive, the alliance was thrilled to be partner with Verizon and the NFL Environment Program on a January 8th Electronic-Waste Recycling Rally in Times Square. Take a look at the website, BroadwayGreen.com, for event details as well as lots of resources and useful links.

d5ea47d615498f849db2d09262860782aa505bc84017b277b686faa319123b92

3325b3df02e6e2be06775e8c7e3c460674f6d70a3c021a401e62ff018f7e5ae5

When the Broadway Green Alliance holds electronic waste drives we always save all iPods for our friends at the Broadway Alzheimer’s iPod Drive.  This inspiring program, started by Broadway musician Dave Roth, puts iPods into the hands of area Alzheimer’s patients through the Music and Memory Foundation (musicandmemory.org). The iPods are loaded with music familiar to these patients and what happens when these patients hear the music they remember is amazing.  As Dave explains,

“My mother spent her life devoted to conducting her folk choir in church for nearly 35 years. Unfortunately she has slipped into the fog of Alzheimer’s disease. She has not only lost memories but also the ability to speak. Using Music & Memory’s idea of personalized music, I decided to bring the music back in her life. The results were astounding because she surprisingly was able to recall lyrics and use words that my family and I hadn’t heard her use in years! “

Dan Cohen, the founder of the non-profit Music and Memory, explains:

“Although it doesn’t work for everybody and it is not a cure, it is turning out to be pretty powerful medicine for persons with dementia and others facing cognitive and physical challenges. Re-connecting nursing home residents with “their” music improves mood and enjoyment, increases sociability, enhances cognition, and reduces agitation.”

Dave Roth elaborated:

“Not only does the patient benefit but the families also feel the rewards from the therapeutic process of reminiscing about their loved ones’ favorite music of their past. It brings families together at a time when they already feel the impacting loss of their loved ones. The Broadway community has banded together and continues to ask everyone to donate their new or used iPods and to remember that ‘every used iPod can bring back a lifetime of memories!”

iPods collected at the January 8th event will go to Music and Memory to provide New York area nursing home residents with iPods with personalized playlists. Currently there is a waiting list of hundreds of residents who are waiting to enjoy their music.

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

Powered by WPeMatico