Mexico City Goes Green!

This article was imported from: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mexico-city-closes-vast-trash-dump-203831513.html

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico City will close one of the world's largest garbage dumps by Dec. 31 and will instead turn the garbage from millions of people into reusable materials and energy, Mayor Marcelo Ebrard announced Monday.

Some 700 trucks that carry garbage to the Bordo Poniente will no longer be admitted as of Monday, and all operations will cease by the end of the year, Ebrard said.

Trucks will still enter the recycling separation plant and a composting plant already on the premises.

The city that once dumped 12,600 tons of garbage daily already has cut the amount in half this year through recycling and composting, said government undersecretary Juan Jose Garcia Ochoa.

The concrete giant Cemex SAB has agree to buy 3,000 tons daily to turn into energy, Garcia said. The city is seeking other landfills to dump the remaining garbage in smaller amounts while it institutes a new recycling program in the new year.

Built on a dry lake bed partly to handle the rubble from the devastating 1985 earthquake, Bordo Poniente has taken in more than 76 million tons of trash.

Closing the dump will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 2 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, according to the city government.

Ebrard said the city is implementing strict measures to stop illegal dumping at the site and to process materials into compost. It will also embark next year on a major project to harness the methane gas produced at the dump into energy, he said.

Ebrard said the city also plans to open a new plant to recycle construction waste into building material.

The Mexican capital itself has about 8.8 million residents, but its metropolitan area holds more than 20 million.

The city has been working for years to turn one of the planet's biggest and messiest waste management systems into the greenest, at least in Latin America.

Three years ago, the city recycled only 6 percent of its garbage. Today, that number is close to 60 percent, having grown substantially in the last year, Garcia said.

The city says it is also negotiating with 1,500 pepenadores, or scavengers, informal workers who traditionally have been a key part of Mexico's waste-management system. They living at dumps and scavenge and resell material.

Pablo Tellez Falcon, who heads the scavengers guild, said 300 of them worked at the Bordo Poniente landfill and that he will negotiate for a written agreement with the city government so they don't lose their livelihoods.

He said the city and the scavengers have only had a spoken agreement until now.

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Now that is pretty inspiring! 

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In Honor of December

Oooh!  Baby Its Cold Outside!  Welcome back to the Greener Blog! Its been a while since we have conversed, but don't worry, we will be rectifying that situation from here on out!  

Since it has been since summertime that our last blog was posted, I wanted to share this interesting blog with you about 6 ways to stay warm in the winter as green as possibly, and also a link to The Salvation Army about how you can donate your gently used coats, blankets and clothing, so that others can also stay warm too!

This link is posted by Eco Friendly and offers 6 ways to save the environment and money while keeping your home nice and toasty throughout the winter months:
http://www.ecofriendlymag.com/sustainable-transporation-and-alternative-fuel/six-greener-ways-to-keep-warm/

This is a link to the Salvation Army Website where you can schedule a pickup of your donation items or find out about local drop off spots: http://www.use.salvationarmy.org/use/www_use.nsf/vw-text-dynamic-arrays/B126E05AEAE85714802572E300062069?openDocument&charset=utf-8

To give you an update about where Planet Connections Theater Festivity is at the moment, we are having our first Leadership meeting this Sunday!  Very excited about starting up for 2012, which looks like its going to be a very big year!  We are already starting to check out new partnerships, and opportunities, and we are taking suggestions!

I have come across a wonderful little secret of a catalog called "Uncommon Goods".  This catalog features great gifts that are made from recycled and sustainable resources!  They have creative gift ideas and you can rest assured that your purchase is Earth-Friendly.  Find them here: http://www.uncommongoods.com/

If you have come across a company that you, your family or your friends is part of, or that you regularly buy products from, please let us know!  We are particularly focused this year on American Charities or Companies that are focused on people of minimal fortune in the USA.  Although we are definitely not X-ing any company that seeks to provide improvement to the conditions to those in need in other countries, I think Home is a good place to start!

I realize that may sound a bit selfish, as there are needy people all over the world, and I may make some people angry by trying to focus our energies on the roots of this society, but I know from an experience I had as a seven year old, caught in a riptide in California, that a drowning person cannot save another drowning person.  Only a person who has complete control of their faculties and senses can reach out their hand to pull you out of the depths and onto dry land.

We will be seeing you soon!  We definitely appreciate the comments!

POETIC THEATER PRODUCTIONS goes GREEN!

Poetic Theater Productions goes green with the production of GOLIATH in the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity! 

What attracted Poetic Theater Productions to produce a show within the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity was the festivity’s focus on eco-friendly/socially conscious not-for-profit theatre.  The festivity’s mission makes sense: theater ought to be more about filling a need, addressing important, relevant issues in today’s world, both on the stage and in its application. Here are some of the ways GOLIATH was eco-friendly and socially conscious:

GREEN Auditions at the eco-friendly Wild Project theater
The wild project is a production company and venue for contemporary theater, film, and visual art. They hope to bring the community together by providing inspiring and entertaining art from emerging artists, exploring green technologies, and finding innovative ways to help our world and each other.  Inspired by our participation within the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, the Wild Project chose to support our production of GOLIATH as our sponsor.  We held our auditions in the Wild Project theater- a space that utilizes skylights for natural lighting, has a garden on the roof to help with insulation, water efficient flushing options in the bathrooms, organic eco-friendly cleaning supplies, and solar panels for all the non-theater lighting.  It was a fantastic place for our auditions and a great way to start off our eco-friendly production of GOLIATH!

Laptops and Smart Phones Rather Than Printed Rehearsal Scripts
We started the process by trying to reduce paper waste as much as possible.  While the script still underwent some changes we utilized handheld smart phones and laptop computers to avoid printing copies of the script that would be used for only one or two readings or rehearsals.

 

Found Design Elements

Goliath’s Director (and Co-Artistic Director of Poetic Theater Productions) Alex Mallory envisioned a minimalist design utilizing items that one could find on the street.  The full scenic design included three milk crates and a few pages from the New York Times.  The minimalist approach that only utilized re-purposed elements was eco-friendly, cost-efficient and was the perfect non-obtrusive complement to the poetic text of the show.

Our awesome Associate Producer, Eden Jeffries, with set (and back-up) in tow!

Using the real uniforms

As NYtheatre.com describes so well, GOLIATH “is the story of a young soldier, David, who heads off to the Iraq war to become the man others expect him to be, and loses the man who he wants to become in the process.”  David’s father is a Vietnam veteran, David’s drill sergeant also plays an integral role in the show.  Instead of designing and creating new costumes we followed our costuming consultant Sydney Gallas’s advice to go to Kaufman’s Army & Navy where we were able to rent a real uniform that was used in Iraq, a jacket used in Vietnam, and a real drill sergeant’s uniform.  Using these items was not only the eco-friendly route, but added a somber reminder that these characters being portrayed in the show represent men and women who serve our country.

Dontonio Demarco (rear) and M. Scott Frank (front) in real ACU uniforms rented from Kaufman's Army & Navy

Support for the men and women serving abroad: VFW’s Operation Uplink

Throughout the run of GOLIATH we encouraged our audience to donate to Operation Uplink, a program of Veterans of Foreign Wars that enables troops stationed overseas to call home free of charge through sponsored “Free Call Days”. This program is funded entirely by donations.  In addition to funds donated by our audience members, all proceeds from the sold-out June 11th performance of GOLIATH (50% of all ticket sales) will be donated to the program. The mission of VFW is to foster camaraderie among United States veterans of overseas conflicts, to serve our veterans, the military, and our communities, and to advocate on behalf of all veterans. In addition to raising awareness of this extremely important program run by the VFW, we were able to raise hundreds of dollars to support the program, enabling many of our soldiers to call home and talk to their families.

Warrior Writers

Before each performance of GOLIATH poets and artists from our community including Quinn Warren, Wade Ray, Elliott D. Smith, Akua Doku, Joseph Reese, and Urban Word NYC youth poets Ishmael and Mega presented original poetry as well as poetry by current and former members of the armed service through the Warrior Writers Project: an organization that brings together recent veterans and current service members to be in creative community and utilize art-making processes to express themselves. This was an important element to us as it gave us an opportunity to share the words of veterans on our stage and to prepare our audience for the topics touched upon in GOLIATH.

You can read some of the poetry we presented on the Warrior Writers website.
I Am Who Survived Forgive Me by Aaron Hughes
6 Marines in the Picture by Cloy Richards
You Are Not My Enemy by Drew Cameron
Blood Sweat and Tears by Cloy Richards


Urban Word NYC
On June 7th and 16th we featured poetry performances from Urban Word NYC poets Ishmael and Mega.  Urban Word NYC champions the voices of New York City youth by providing platforms for critical literacy, youth development and leadership through free and uncensored writing, college prep and performance opportunities.  As we continue to expand out community as Poetic Theater Productions, it is important to us to hear the words of talented up and coming youth and to introduce Urban Word NYC’s amazing program to our audiences. We hope to explore more ways to collaborate with Urban Word NYC in the future.

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We are so grateful to Planet Connections for encouraging us to keep finding new ways to be green and support good causes! Thanks to everyone who saw the show and we hope to see you at the next one- keep up with us at www.poetictheater.com!

THE DECLARATION: Green Design Inspiration

Today we hear from James Muzzi, the costume designer for The Declaration, currently playing at the Robert Moss Theatre (performance deets below!). We love how he transformed a vintage dress to bring Lady Louisa to life, all while staying eco-conscious.  Check out the fabulous results below!

The Cast of The Declaration

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From James:

The challenge was to create a low cost, green costume dress for a man for the production of the new play, “The Declaration."

The dress was inspired by Lady Louisa, the character for whom it was made.   I imagine that this character is a Long Island housewife who likes to glam it up to sell Tupperware.  (The Lady Louisa is based on a real life character named Aunt Barbara who is, in fact, one of the top Tupperware salespeople in the country.)  In the play, she is selling “Copperstone” to a crowd of political supporters at a fundraiser for our hero.  Aunt Barbara, like Lady Louisa, is a drag queen.  She is so totally glam that she wears this dress with long black gloves and a rhinestone bracelet. 

When I thought about Tupperware parties, I was drawn to the 1960s theme.  One of my first stops was at the 26^th Street garage flea market in Manhattan.  When I told the vendor what I needed the dress for,  she was whipping out evening wear like I was making something for the mother of the bride.  I settled on a 1960s cream brocade cocktail dress that I rescued from the flea market for $25. 

Vintage at only $25!

In building the costume, my goal was to use as much of the original dress as possible.  The challenge was to open it up to fit a man.  I removed the panels along the princess line and attached them to the shoulder seams to give the dress a little flare.  Then I added the black and white print cotton velvet print velvet, secured from the remnant bin of my closet, to gain the extra width needed for a queen-sized dress.

The extensions on the shoulders give the actor a prop to help bring his character to life.  For example, during the fundraiser he throws his arms up in the air, extending the tails like a bird, adding to the already over the top character. The Natural White cock bird feathers, secured from a street vendor in the garment district for about $20, add just enough flare without putting the costume over the top. 

In keeping with the green theme, the feathers were gathered from molting birds – no birds were harmed during the creation of this costume.

For $75, a trip to the flea market, remnant store and notions store in the garment district, Lady Louisa is green and glamorous.

The Declaration
benefiting Marriage Equality New York
produced by Off Sides Entertainment
Written & Directed by Rick Leidenfrost-Wilson

Sunday, June 19 at 5:45PM
Thursday June 23 at 6:10PM
Saturday, June 25 at 8:00PM
Sunday, June 26 at 1:00PM

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Green Alert: White House Wives: Operation Lysistrata!

We are impressed by the myriad ways that the team of White House Wives: Operation Lysistrata! has committed to being eco-conscious in their theatrical endeavors, proving that small efforts add up to big impact. 

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Twinbiz, the producers of "White House Wives: Operation Lysistrata!" is proud to share with you a few of  our Company's efforts to "Go Green" during the run of our show in Planet Connections Theatre Festivity!  We have two more shows left in our run: Thursday, June 16th @ 6pm and Saturday, June 18th @ 6pm at The Robert Moss Theatre, 440 Lafayette Street, 3rd floor (across from the Public Theatre, take the R, N, or #6 train).  Visit our show page to buy tickets, read cast bios, or to find out how you can participate in supporting our charity, AdoptAPlatoon at: http://planetconnections.org/whitehousewivesoperationlysistrata/.  Enjoy reading our green initiatives!

- Yvette sent in the application to the festival on the back of a previous draft of the script. 

- Yvette signed up to become an Organ Donor when she renewed her driver's license.  

 - Terria, Pam, Yvonne and Yvette ate at an eco-friendly restaurant that makes its food fresh daily and give any un-purchased food at the close of business day to charity.
- Mary rode her bicycle to and from rehearsals 
- Pam took the LIRR into Manhattan instead of driving.  
- The cast recycles their MetroCards by refilling them instead of buying a new one every time.  Yvonne who lives in Los Angeles with husband, Larry, has been re-using a MetroCard Larry purchased during his last trip to New York a year ago!  It expires September 2011.  

- Yvette makes trips to her grocery store's recycling machines with a cart full of her family's bottles and cans.  She gets back five cents for each can or bottle returned.
- Larry donated 40 year old prop guns to the production which are used in the closing showstopper number.
- Natasha created an online marketing Facebook page for our show.  She was also designated a "Green Walker" in this year's AIDS Walk.
- Leslie Lynn turns her garbage into compost which nourishes her garden, and sews old clothing and scraps into quilts.  Leslie Lynn also sewed all of the bedding that graces the "Rosewood Bed," the centerpiece of our set, as well as the throw pillows found on the couch and chairs using materials she had from previous bedding projects.
- In the spirit of re-using, "The Declaration," another show in the Festivity, shared a key set piece with our show, their twin-sized hospital bed.  We transform their bed into the "Rosewood Bed," found in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House and which was intended for Lincoln himself to sleep in.  Of course, the actual Rosewood Bed is much bigger and more ornate, as it is hand crafted from wood and graced by a canopy.  With the help of our set designer, Patrice, and Leslie Lynn, we have done our best to create a little theatrical magic! 
- Donald discontinued our family's delivery of bottled water from Poland Spring and had a water filter installed in our kitchen sink.  We now use stainless steel thermos' to carry our drinking water in.
- Pam, Terria and Yvette all donated key set pieces to the show from their own homes.
- Props and set decorating pieces came from Materials for the Arts, as well as from our own cast.  Pages from old scripts were used as fillers for the "Lincoln Bedroom Historical Restoration Project" folder props.
- Kate donated Pam's costume as LAURA BUSH to the show.  You may notice it matches the outfit worn by the First Lady on our postcard.  The entire cast donated their own personal clothing as costumes for the play - We had our postcards printed by a company which uses earth friendly papers and soy based inks.

And now for the piece de resistance...
In the photo below, Gabriel Harell who works at Bread and Puppet Theatre constructed a phallus out of recycled materials especially for "White House Wives: Operation Lysistrata!" 

Top: Natasha Yannacanedo, Pamela Jusino, Yvonne Farrow, Leslie Lynn Meeker, Mary Tierney and Kate Konigisor. Bottom: Terria Joseph sporting the phallus. (Cast member Clark Jackson not shown.)

You can see White House Wives: Operation Lysistrata! at the Robert Moss Theatre.  Remaining showtimes include:
Thursday, June 16 at 6:00PM
Saturday, June 18 at 6:10PM
  

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THE GOD PARTICLE: Green Design Inspiration

We've been receiving inspiring photos from costume designers with phenomenal green designs in this year's Planet Connections Theatre Festivity ... here's a sneak peek with costume designer Cat Fisher of The God Particle playing in the Robert Moss as part of the Evening of One Acts.  (Catch the next performance today at 4PM!  You can find the full listing of performance dates below).

Cat has created a hat, scarf and gloves for one of the characters in The God Particle. Below, she reveals the inspiration and the technology behind her design!

Actor Amanda Johnson wearing Cat's recycled creation!

The hat, scarf, and pair of fingerless gloves, took approximately 12 hours to crochet. For the most part, single crochet, half-double, and double crochet stitches were used, with a size I/9 hook. The design is a sort of trial and error effort. The preparation of "yarn" required scissors and approximately 20 minutes per bag to cut and wind strips of plastic. The bags were each cut into one continuous strip, with the 'yarn' width varying from 3/4 - 2".

I love recycling, and over the past fifteen-ish years, crocheting from plastic bags has been a favorite activity. From costumes, toys and doll clothing (blythe, licca, and barbie), to kitschy home decor and fashion items, a wide variety of colors and weights of "disposable" plastics can be used/reused to create interesting effects. 

The God Particle, by Christina Gorman and directed by Joan Kane, is set in Geneva. Already in place was a fab set design (Starlet Jacobs) with simulated snow, wonderful snowy night lighting (Bruce A! Kraemer), rockin' ambient bar/party sounds (Ian Wehrli), a script mentioning skis, and plenty of shivering activity by the actors. When the call for eco-friendly fashion in costume design was issued by Planet Connections, I immediately pictured Izzy (Amanda Johnson), the female character, wearing eco-chic winter accessories.  How can Gavin (Jack Berenholtz) resist a gal who wears re-structured molecules so well?
 

For your amusement is a photo of my muse, licca, wearing (last seasons') plastic chic...

Thanks Cat!  You can see her work onstage in An Evening of One Acts: GALILEO, THE GOD PARTICLE & THE MATRA INDIA at The Robert Moss Theatre (Located at 440 Lafayette St. between Astor Place and 4th St. and across the street from The Public Theater. Conveniently located near the N, R, W, and 6 trains.)

SHOW TIMES & TICKETS:
Saturday, June 11th at 4:00PM
Wednesday, June 15th at 6:30PM
Sunday, June 19th at 3:30PM
Tuesday, June 21st at 8:00PM
Friday, June 24th at 6:30PM

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Trash To Facts!

The Festivity is now entering its second week of the festival, so I hope everyone has noticed the "Green Team's" lovely and informative additions to the space. We have constructed various decorative elements from recycled materials which incorporate various facts and figures regarding our environmental impact.

The Lounge at the Robert Moss Theater for instance has an entire wall devoted to the plastic industry and reasons we should rethink our dependency on plastic. We utilized green hangers donated from Materials for the Arts, and re-purposed them to display small containers which now contain information pertaining to the impact of plastic.

Directly beneath this display is our Book Swap! If there is anything on the shelf that catches your eye feel free to bring in one of those long lost reads in the back of your closet and switch it out for a "pre-loved" one. I had my eye on a Jonathan Safran Foer Novel I haven't had the chance to read.

Over at the Gene Frankel we have a beautiful display focused on H20 usage, and spreading awareness of how to save every drop we can. Did you know by putting a closed empty plastic container in your toilet's tank you can help minimize your water use? This way your also re-purposing a plastic container! There is so much useful information out there, and every tiny choice makes a difference. Against the wall we also have re-purposed some carpet samples (also donated from Materials for The Arts) as displays which focus on New York's environmental impact. Additionally there is a vertical banner highlighting all the ways you can recycle or reuse all of your old electronics. This was made out of discarded computer paper and images cut from magazines. I'm pretty sure it's official that VHS tapes have gone out of style, so you might as well make good use of them! All of our displays are re-purposed or recyclable materials. It's truly amazing how you can transform items you otherwise would have disposed of.

Have you noticed the large multi-colored light fixture in the lounge? Next time you're in the lounge check it out and see if you can you guess what it was made of or how that was constructed.

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AT OUR UPCOMING EVENT "THE CLIMATE PROJECT".
It's an exciting and engaging presentation that sheds a positive perspective on our role in the environment. Its happening WEDNESDAY JUNE 6Th, 6:00pm at the Gene Frankel Theater. There are shows happening before and after so why not stop by and join the fun!

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GREEN EVENT: The Climate Project on Wed 6/8

So, why make green theatre?

I'm sure that question has gone through your mind at least once, right?

Or perhaps you're thinking, "Working in independent theatre, I'm automatically green because of the necessities of working within a small budget."

It's important to understand our place in the bigger picture.  On Wednesday, June 8 at 6PM (Gene Frankel Theatre), we'll be doing just that with Climate Project Presenter Paul Reale.

The evening will consist of up-to-date information about the facts behind climate change and an opportunity to engage in dialogue and discussion. Paul tells us, “When I speak to people about global warming, whether through the slide show or otherwise, they often engage deeply in the conversation. They demonstrate that dealing with climate change is as much a social movement under way as it is a planet-size policy and engineering problem.”  This is your chance to join that movement!  

This event is FREE and open to the public!  Reserve your free ticket today and you'll be entered to win our door prize, a recycled denim wine tote from WinkleWorks.  The event will last approx. 1 hour and 15 minutes.
 

If you're already going to the Festivity on Wednesday, consider seeing one of these shows before or after the Climate Project event:

Fulana @ 2PM (Robert Moss)

Monster and Hold @ 4PM (Gene Frankel)

Face Divided / The Mutilation of St. Barbara @ 4:30PM (Robert Moss)

An Evening of One Acts: Matra India, God Particle & Galileo @ 8:30PM (Robert Moss)

Two Days Til Dawn @ 9:30PM (Gene Frankel)

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PCTF Sponsor: WinkleWorks

An interview with WinkleWorks founder Beth Weiner
and The Greener Room's Melissa Moschitto

Earrings crafted from discarded gift cards.

Greener Room: So, Beth, how did this all come to be?

Beth Weiner: I've been a recycler forever and a re-user for almost as long. I just think that when something can no longer be used for its original purpose there has to be something else to do with it. So I have hat boxes (my storage system of choice and necessity) filled with empty spools, old ribbons, buttons, bottle caps, wine corks, handles, clothes that can't be handed down, broken jewelry and other flotsam and jetsam of life.

GR: I'm a (documented) hoarder too! Though I haven't been quite as industrious or creative as you.

BW: The idea for the earrings came to me when I was looking for a certain color earring and saw the gift cards at Trader Joe's and said that was the color I wanted. So I bought a card, cashed it out and kept it and made my first pair of earrings. I remembered I had a stack of used gift cards left over from my son's birthday and I started punching plastic with a frenzy.

GR: So did that inspire you to transform other things found in your home?

BW: I had made a jean purse in college that I dug out and started using again.

GR: Retro! Love it. 

BW: The cashiers at Trader Joe's (hmmmm, am I detecting a leitmotif?) liked them and I made a few for them. But then I still had the legs left. As I was pondering what to do with them, I realized I needed a birthday gift for my sister-in-law; so I bought her favorite bottle of wine and custom embroidered a tote. From there it was an easy step to the bunch-of-grapes design. 

GR: Tell me more about what materials you've re-envisioned and repurposed. 

BW: For the items I am selling at the Planet Connections Theater Festivity I have used gift cards and old jeans and a paper/cloth shopping bag whose handles broke. Why?...because I had them. 

GR: Is this all self-generated material?! Or do you get help?

BW: I am lucky enough to live in an apartment building with tenants who throw away great stuff...to my recycler's eyes at least. I came upon someone's old medicine cabinet and saw it immediately and clearly as the perfect display cabinet. 

GR: What's next?

BW: I don't know yet...it is the convergence of need, what I have and inspiration...and the good fortune of having a son with a room full of tools and a husband patient enough to teach me how to use them.

 

 

Thanks Beth!  We are inspired! Readers - you could be the lucky winner of a WinkleWorks Wine Tote!  How?  Attend our June 8 event with The Climate Project! Reserve your FREE ticket or just come to the Gene Frankel Theatre (24 Bond St) at 6PM and you'll be in the running for this very fun door prize.

 

 

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Clean Green: PCTF Sponsor BIOKLEEN

Official PCTF Sponsor: Biokleen

Introducing....Biokleen!

Biokleen provides natural, non-toxic cleaning products.  The products are biodegradable which is great for the environment. They are also the TreeHugger Best of Green 2010 Award winner for Best Cleaning Product! Thanks Biokleen for helping us to greenify our venues, the Gene Frankel and the Robert Moss.

But more importantly, it smells sooooo good!  

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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!)

Another Place goes to HERE

A happy announcement!

The Anthropologists' Another Place - which received a staged reading in the 2010 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity - is performing at HERE this week!

What if you could build your own universe and leave your troubles behind - would you do it?  Another Place examines the precarious role of the individual in the age of climate change and asks: does science liberate or destroy us?

Performances are:

Wednesday, April 27 @ 7PM

Thursday, April 28 @ 7PM

Friday, April 29 @ 7PM

Tickets are only $25

 

In the spirit of Planet Connections and eco-friendly theatre, the show was designed with reused and repurposed materials: discarded cardboard, wallpaper, Christmas lights, discarded nut canisters,soda and beers cans, and a sundry assortment of often disposed and underused plastic items, such as water bottles and plastic cutlery – all items that, ordinarily, would have been trashed even without having been used. 

We hope you'll check out a performance this week and see the next phase of Another Place!  Thanks, Planet Connections, for giving us our first place!  :)

This production is a part of the Artists Lodge through HEREstay, HERE’s curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical and administrative support.

After Earth Day

Although Earth Day officially passed on Friday, you still have time to celebrate and contribute to the salvation of the planet!  

You can plant roses in the Heritage Rose District before you do a little spring closet cleaning and recycle your clothes in the Garment District on April 30th.  Then go easy on your budget and the environment on May 5th, and treat yourself to a free movie screening at Mason Hall.  

The Heritage Rose District Spring Planting happens on April 30th at Marcus Garvey Park on 120th street and Mount Morris Park West Entrance.  It starts at 11am and goes till 1pm. Find out more information here: Heritage Rose Planting Event

You can recycle your used clothing later that day at La Marqueta, 1590 Park Avenue from noon to 5pm.  They want your clean but used shoes, coats, sheets, towels, pants, shirts, scarves, belts, handbags-all of it!  If you don’t use it and don’t want to throw it away, here is your answer: La Marqueta Textile Recycling Day

Finally, on May 5th you are invited to Gasland, a documentary directed by Josh Fox.  Get the invite and RSVP here: Gasland Invite!. 

It would be a wonderful contribution to our Earth to make Earth Day every day!  Do you have other suggestions for projects and events?  Tell us in the comment section!  

by Erika Bracy 
Assistant Green Initiatives/Charities Coordinator

Trash or Fashion?

Even America's Next Top Model sees the value in eco-friendly fashion. 

Check out the photo slideshow from a recent show that featured models going glam in a landfill.  (Thanks for the tip, Nicole!)

Source: www.buddytv.com

At times, the landscape is apocalyptic and mesmerizing but MAKE NO MISTAKE!  This is a landfill, only one of thousands in our country.  According to the EPA, the U.S. has 3,091 active landfills and over 10,000 old municipal landfills.  Let ANTM be an inspiration to all of us to keep valuable materials OUT of the landfills! 

So, to try and inspire our artists to be even more eco-conscious than they already are, we're launching the following special event this year: 

THE GREEN FASHION SHOW

Wednesday, June 22 @ 9PM
Location: Gene Frankel Theatre
Tickets: $5*
*50% of ticket sales goes to charity!

Project Runway meets Recycling!

Planet Connections productions and their costume designers are invited to enter PCTF’s first-ever Green Fashion Show!  From salvaged and found materials to repurposing and reinventing, we’re looking for costumes that exemplify going green and thinking both innovatively and sustainably.  Which costume will be deemed the most eco-chic?  Designs will take to the runway in front of the audience and a panel of Celebrity Judges.  The winning costume design will take home a cash prize for their show’s charity!  50% of all ticket sales for this event go to the winner’s charity and only you can make it a success!  So show your love for green design by attending this fantastic event!

Eligibility:

·         Only 1 per show (must be a costume being used in a PCTF production)

·         Must be submitted by show producer, director or costume designer along with photo & description

·         Show is responsible for providing and dressing their 'model'

Can't wait to see your submissions!