Eco-Conscious - Please Park Here!

On a recent trip home to visit my family outside of Boston, I went to the mall and found this:

Curious, I looked closer.  This is the sign marking this parking spot:

WOW!  The mall was reserving parking spaces close to the entrance for fuel efficient vehicles!  They were rewarding green behavior (instead of punishing not-green behavior).

This made me think: what is the equivalent in theaters?  Early seating for eco-conscious people?  Front row reserved?  What kinds of "green" behavior are we looking for from ourselves and our patrons?

How can we incentivize eco-friendly behavior among theatre goers?  Add your suggestion to the comments section!

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One Person's Trash is Another Person's Lobby Decoration

 When the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity opens on June 1, you'll see displays in the lobby about different aspects of modern living that may not be so earth-friendly. Inspired by the fabulous blog, Tiny Choices, we're hoping to give everyone who walks through some ideas about how to make tiny choices in their own lives to be a little more green.

Treasures found at Materials for the Arts! (except for the Metrocards)

We decided to challenge ourselves to make these signs out of as many repurposed elements as possible.  In fact, the only new thing we used was glue!  Here are a few pics of materials found - primarily at Materials for the Arts and also from our own, uhm, collections. (I'm not a hoarder!)

paint chips + bubble wrap packer = ??

What will these plastic bags become?

 How will these materials be re-envisioned?  You'll have to come to the Festivity to see it first-hand!

Sneak peak!

Got ideas for how we can re-use these materials?  Let us know in the comments!

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Breaking News!

Just in time for the Rapture!

We are now on Facebook.  

Visit us.  Like us.  Make us feel good before we vaporize.

INSPIRATION ALERT: Green New Yorkers Tristin & Tyler!

Ok, I have been wanting to write about this powerhouse duo for quite some time.  If there's anything that gives me hope for the future of the earth it's these two amazing kids (and their incredibly supportive and inspirational parents!!)

Tristin & Tyler (photo source: official Facebook page)

Tristin and Tyler are twin brothers who "go on New York City adventures in their new show Tristin and Tyler's Tales from the City! Each episode is a GREEN learning adventure for kids and parents!"  

I love the energy and vivacity with which they approach all of their eco discoveries and the passion they have for making a green lifestyle the lifestyle.  One of my favorite episodes is Umbrella Rags to Riches where they interview Catherine Charlot, fashion designer and owner of Himane, who upcycles discarded umbrellas into haute couture. 

Their infectious energy and curiosity always leaves me feeling like anything is possible.

Check out Tristin and Tyler today!  Are there inspiring NYC green stories that they haven't covered yet?  Leave your suggestions in the comments section!


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The Henry Miller Theater Green Face Lift

Green is getting GREENER!

The Henry Miller Theater has recently underfone an eco-concious face-lift, in which it will not only save resources, but also ultimately some money (yet another incentive to go green). The standards laid out by the LEED have not only lowered operating costs, but also drastically increased its overall value. This is a considerable improvement since the theater closed in 2004. Unique features of the building include; carbondioxide sensors to determine air quality, locally sourced marble, and Forest Stewardship Council certified wood products. The green industry has expanded drastically the past two years. Since 2008 there is a projected $48 Billion dollar increase in green projects. The Henry Miller, being the first theater to be LEED certified, has decreased pollution in four distinct ways. Energy has decreased by 24%, C02 emissions decreased by 33%, water use decreased by 40%, and solid waste was diminished by 70%. To top off the positive aspects of this transformation, The Henry Miller will be given a tax waiver from the city for it's efforts. So ultimately being green PAYS OFF!!!

Thanks to Greendiary for highlighting the Henry Miller Theater!

What's your favorite green performing arts space? Let us know in the comments section!!

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Crossroads Theatre Project: Starting off on the right carbon footprint

Saving money and trees with paperless marketing
by Shawn C. Harris (playwright and producer of Tulpa, or Anne&Me)

image credit: Chris Tyler

Imagine marketing your event without printing a single postcard, flyer, or business card. Imagine promoting your play strictly through social media, e-mail, and talking to people face-to-face.

This is exactly what Crossroads Theatre Project is doing for the world premiere of our first play, Tulpa, or Anne&Me.

As a fledgling project putting up our very first production, going with paperless marketing was an easy decision for us. With a shoestring budget, we only had enough money to pay for the essentials of staging our play. But Sara and I quickly discovered that our necessity gave us a powerful way to practice green theatre. By completely cutting out paper from our marketing efforts, we cut out a lot of the financial and ecological waste that often comes with making theatre - waste that we don’t need to create but seem to do simply out of habit.

Because we could not rely on a crowd of people showing up to our play because they like our postcard, we had to focus on making real connections with people. This meant leaving our comfort zones and getting in touch with the people who want to see our work -- going to their events, showing our support for them, explaining the connections between our work and the work they’re doing, and going out of our way to reach people in person whenever possible. It’s time-consuming and exhausting, but the deeper connections we made with people is worth it. We’re reaching people who normally would not come to our show or see theatre at all, but they’re interested in what we’re doing and really want to support us.

Putting it that way, that’s what good marketing is all about. I think it’s worth trading off a few hundred postcards for that.

Tulpa, or Anne&Me is playing at the Robert Moss Theater (440 Studios) on June 2 at 6pm, June 3 at 4pm, June 16 at 8pm, and June 19 at 8:15pm. Tickets $18. To purchase tickets or find out more about the play, visit http://planetconnections.org/tulpaoranneme.

Do you have a paperless marketing success story to share? 
Tell us in the comments!

Get Involved: Hudson River Pageant

The Hudson River Pageant is looking for volunteer artists who can help to make this year's event spectacular!  The Pageant is being held on Saturday, May 21 and includes a parade about the environment with 13 site-specific performances in the downtown section of the Hudson River Park.



Artists who participate will be asked to don a cool costume and also, if you'd like, perform in a short 5-minute piece directed by Cindy Sibilsky.

Here are key dates & info:

Tuesday, May 10 6-8pm Costume Fitting
Saturday, May 14 12-4pm Rehearsal
Saturday, May 21 8am-6 or 7pm Pageant! This is going to be really fun, it seems like a long day, but you get to have amazing make-up artists paint your body, be in spectacular costumes, and you'll be dancing to a samba band and then an afro-cuban band. Not to mention that you'll be around incredible artists- costume designers, a singer from Cirque du Soleil (!), musicians from around the world and a ton of wholesome hippies.
**We ask that everyone who is in the parade leave Sunday, May 22 open as a rain date.

If you'd like to sign up, please contact Ines at mail@earthcelebrations.com or call 212-777-7969.

This is a great way to become active in the environment of NYC and to promote your Planet Connections show!  Let us know if you take part!

Green Theatre Collective: Eco-Conscious All The Time!

When Glory Kadigan, founder of Planet Connections, started the Festivity her goal was to have more than just the productions in the show go green.  In fact, her dream is still to see theatres around the country become eco-conscious.

Hal Fickett and the Green Theatre Collective are leading the way!

Hal created GTC as a way to blend his love for the theatre with his curiosity in the green movement.  Green Theatre Collective is one of the countries first eco theatre companies, and seeks to produce sustainable theatre in outdoor environments. Spurred by his desire to create positive change in the environment through art, he hasn't looked back since! 

Green Theatre Collective will be hosting a spring fundraiser Monday, May 23rd from 7-10:30PM in a beautiful loft apartment located in Manhattan at 54 Bleeker Street, Apartment # 5 (corner of Bleeker and Lafayette St.  From 7pm-8pm join them for a cocktail reception with refreshments and home made goodies catered by an amazing GTC friend.  Then from 8pm-9:30pm, enjoy a reading of the stirring play Orange, Hat & Grace written by Gregory S. Moss, which will feature the talent of Cyrilla Baer, Ryan Garbayo and Haley Bond Petersen, and will be directed by Glory Kadigan. Then, stay to learn more about GCT.

There is a suggested donation of 20 dollars for the evening but no one will be turned away.  All proceeds from the fundraiser will go towards our July production of William Shakespeare's play As You Like It. 

CLASS: Sculptural Upcycling

Hey folks,

So after you volunteer with PCTF for Saturday's service project: Meals On Wheels (3 spots left! Sign-up here!), head on down to the Lower East Side's Abrons Arts Center for Sculptural Upcycling from 11AM-7PM.

Official description:

This workshop is taught by professional teaching artists and explores with students of all ages the construction of powerfully conceptual artworks with a low environmental impact.

http://www.abronsartscenter.org  

Have you already dabbled in Sculptural Upcycling?  If so, share your story in the comments section!

(h/t to Meagan!)