PURPOSE: The mission of the SUN-MOON-OCEAN youth performance is to create a resonant understanding in our society of how a healthy ocean = human health. Most people logically intuit that a warming global ocean has dire consequences for sea-life, however, they don’t perceive the human consequences! (ie. Disrupting ocean currents and hydro and carbon cycles cause critical weather pattern changes, droughts, etc.)
THE SCENARIO: This performance piece will progress as “implied” cell phone conversations between its 4-5th grader actors. Narrative cues for short monologues will primarily be cell phone ringtones emanating from the theater’s sound system.
MONOLOGUES: The performance begins with an “omnipresent voice.” This voice comes from the ceiling and on all sides of the audience. It does not have a costume and is a low-pitched, adult male voice. The other voices are from youth–actors for the sun, moon, ocean, and planet Earth. Others come from placard-wearing, climate impact-costumes (a house, tractor, life raft, etc.) with a cutout for the actor’s face.
THE OMNIPRESENT VOICE: In the beginning, he doesn’t recognize his role in today’s rapidly unfolding ecological travesty. It represents the privileged, white male, colonial mindset. By the end of the performance, the omnipresent voice does understand, takes responsibility and actions, but no one knows if it’s too late. [Not sure of this ending.]
INTERACTIVE COSTUMES: The water and carbon cycling actors use their interactive costumes as interconnected, group storytelling devices to reveal the physical and chemical ocean mechanisms supporting all life on planet Earth. [left sketches above]
“Fishes Feed Us” As A Model: Conceived, designed, and co-produced by Cynthia Pannucci for her New York City nonprofit, Art & Science Collaborations; its global youth performance was held at the U.N. for World Environment Day (2007). Its theme was the human consequences of collapsing ocean fisheries; with scenario sound cues, handheld graphic object-costumes, and monologue texts sourced from its “Kids Fishes Blog.”
GRAPHIC NOVEL: Participating teens will transform the performance into a graphic novel to amplify the educational and social impact of its ocean health message.
SCIENCE ADVISOR: Senior Scientist, Dr. John Stegeman, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, MA.