Land Acknowledgment

Before I begin, I wish to recognize that I currently stand on the beautiful ancestral lands of the Shawnee and Osage Tribes. For many years, the Shawnee and Osage people cultivated, cared for, and depended on this territory. I am honored and grateful to be on this land today.

Bright Screens in Dark Times

In the year 2000, it became obvious that the Earth is quickly approaching an environmental crisis of disastrous proportions. In response to this, individuals and businesses across the globe made an effort to decrease their waste by pursuing environmentally friendly and sustainable practices. Grocery stores are introducing reusable shopping bags, coffee shops are eliminating plastic straws, and movie theatres are recycling 3D glasses.

The theatre industry’s effort to green-ify has eliminated a lot of waste, but their expenditure of resources is still extremely high compared to other industries. Think of the many costumes and set pieces that get tossed in the trash after a show closes, of the enormous amount of electricity necessary to get those high-wattage stage lights up and running, of all of the paper used for flyers, posters, programs, and scripts. With this amount of waste, it’s no wonder Graham Eatough, director of Suspect Culture Theatre, called the theatre the “eco-vandal of the entertainment world.”

Now, in the year 2020, it is clear that in-person theatre will be unsafe for a long, long time. This means a devastating revenue plunge, causing many to go out of business. For those theatres who are still operating, they’ve moved their seasons completely online. While this new method of theatre comes with its challenges, the benefit for our environment is undeniable.

Online productions have next to zero associated wastes. There’s no need to build and strike elaborate sets, costumes can be easily found from anyone’s home wardrobe, scenes are lit by home lighting fixtures, program notes and additional materials are more conveniently sent through email than as paper through the post, and audience members can tune in from around the world without contributing to commute-related emissions.

The havoc COVID-19 continues to wreak is in no way minimized by the slight environmental advantage of completely online theatre, but in times like this it’s important to find some bright points. When in-person theatre is safe again, theatre companies will be more prepared to create their art in a minimalistic, environmentally conscious way.

So, what can environmental consciousness look like in in-person theatre? Large costume and props collections can periodically be sold off to others who can reuse it and can be kept available to other theatre companies and groups for a simple cleaning fee. Theatres can also replace their lighting rigs with LED bulbs. LED bulbs are known to be better for the environment, as 95% of the energy in LEDs is converted into light and only 5% is wasted as heat; saving a significant number of kilowatt hours, lowering electrical usage and total fossil fuel emissions.

There are countless other ways for theatres to move towards a green future, and this time online, while terrifying and calamitous, will give many the space to come up with innovative Earth-saving ideas for when we all reunite on the stage.

Aggie Woodbury (she/hers)

DSF Digital Internship Participant

Carnegie Mellon University ’20

BFA Drama, Dramaturgy