With the increasing urgency to address climate change across the globe, it is imperative that we as theatre makers address our role in environmental degradation.
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Discussing this topic does not come easy, mostly because theatre has so little impact on the environment when compared to entities like oil companies and the fast fashion industry. Nonetheless, theatre is a worldwide community and the practices we’ve grown accustomed to, especially in Western theatre, have become problematic in the face of climate change and environmental justice. While there may not be thorough statistics that document our environmental footprint as an industry, we can deduce that our practices are not in harmony with our environment, and our methods of producing theatre contribute to environmental degradation around the world.
ways in which theatre contributes to environmental degradation…
carbon emissions
Travel is one of the biggest contributing factors to the theatre industry’s carbon footprint (Climate change on the stage). Shipping materials, transporting design pieces, and routine travel between rehearsal and performance spaces all factor into the total carbon emissions needed to produce a piece of theatre. According to How Bad Are Bananas? (affiliate), driving 1 mile in an average U.S. car would typically produce 850 grams of carbon (Berners-Lee, 2011). That could mean an average of 306 kilograms of carbon per person for a typical 6-week production period. When we factor in the transportation of design elements between rehearsal and performance spaces, as well as shipping and handling of materials needed to build a production, and the manufacturing of those materials, we come to realize that carbon emissions are a large side effect of producing theatre.
energy consumption
Most productions have either electric lighting fixtures, electronic sound effects, or both. More often than not, these electronic systems use hundreds of lighting and sound instruments in order to provide an engaging theatrical production to their audiences. Both design elements are crucial to the experience of live theatre, and choosing to use electronic versions (as opposed to using the sun and foley tables) comes at a cost. Electricity generation is one of the leading causes of carbon emissions around the world (Berners-Lee, 2011), and a typical theatrical production requires a lot of electricity. A typical light plot can have upwards of 100 instruments used throughout a show. On top of that we have to take into consideration the sound and lighting fixtures used for backstage and front of house. While theatre establishments are not the worst perpetrators of energy consumption according to a study done in NYC (Bonczak et al.), our current habits do not include energy efficient practices.
resource consumption
When we buy new materials, be it lumber, fabric, or foam, we are creating a demand for those materials to continue to be harvested and manufactured. Not only does this also contribute to our carbon footprint, because of the heavy machinery used in harvesting, assembling, and transporting new materials, it also directly affects the environment because harvesting natural resources is often synonymous with destroying natural habitats. When a theatre chooses to purchase new materials instead of buying secondhand or using what’s in stock, we contribute to habitat destruction and pollution in regions across the world.
waste
While many theatres practice salvaging set pieces and costumes for budget purposes, much of the materials that go into making a show get tossed after closing. Moreover, the materials that get tossed are not disposed of properly, which contributes to environmental degradation and climate change. A piece of biodegradable wood not recycled and tossed into landfill will take over four times its natural lifespan to decompose, because landfills are not the correct environment for biodegradable and compostable materials to complete their lifecycle (Rathje & Cullen, 1993. Rubbish! (affiliate))
A lack of knowledge and enthusiasm surrounding environmental responsibility leads to shows being designed in a way that does not utilize secondhand materials from previous shows. Similarly, most shows are not designed with a life beyond closing, meaning many designers do not consider what will happen to their materials once the show is over, so they do not design their pieces in a way that can be salvaged for use on future productions.
solutions…
The truth is that the issues discussed here are more intricate than can fit into a single blog post, and their solutions take on the same nature. While the complex solutions to these complex issues may seem daunting, they also present an opportunity for what Tanja Beer and Dominique Hes call “eco-creativity”: rejecting the idea that sustainability in theatrical practice is “limiting”, and instead embracing ecological responsibility as an opportunity for creative expansion (Beer & Hes, 2017). Discussing tangible solutions for reducing our environmental impact and the creativity they necessitate will take much more than a single blog post, which is why I’ve decided to write multiple articles on the topic. Through a blog series, I will detail the narrative of a greener theatre community and highlight those individuals and companies working to push the industry towards a more eco -conscious existence.
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for further reading…
- Beer, Tanja, and Dominique Hes. “Sustainability in production: Exploring eco-creativity within the parameters of conventional theatre”. Behind the Scenes: Journal of Theatre Production Practices. Vol. 1, Issue 1. 2017. Academia.edu.
- Berners-Lee, Mike. How Bad Are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything. Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2011. Print.
- Bonczak, Bartosz, et al. “NYC Energy and Water Performance Map.” NYC Energy & Water Performance Map, NYU Urban Intelligence Lab, 2018, energy.cusp.nyu.edu/.
- “Climate Change on the Stage: N.L. Theatre Companies Working to Address Carbon Footprint | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 10 Feb. 2020, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/theatre-companies-climate-change-1.5452722.
- Earth Talk. “Do Biodegradable Items Degrade in Landfills?” ThoughtCo, Feb. 11, 2020, thoughtco.com/do-biodegradable-items-really-break-down-1204144.
- Rathje, William L, and Cullen Murphy. Rubbish!: The Archaeology of Garbage., 1993. Print.
affiliate links:
- Buy Rubbish!: The Archaeology of Garbage: https://amzn.to/3ktnv34
- Buy How Bad Are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything: https://amzn.to/2XQfn31
