About the Program
How it started...
Big Green Theater came out of a desire to welcome local kids into our theater and offer them a unique and interactive learning opportunity in the neighborhood. While attending monthly meetings with our local Community Board 4, we heard a desire for more after-school arts programs in schools, and interest in raising awareness around local and global environmental issues. The latter point echoed our own practices in running a more sustainable theater space, which over the years has grown to include an ultra-efficient LED worklight system (3D printed!), use of sustainable energy sources like wind and hydro power, recycled production materials, and the use of eco-friendly products and supplies. And so, we decided to merge these two ideas to create a program that teaches kids about the environment and climate justice, while guiding them in creating their own plays to bring to the stage.
How it works...
Big Green Theater (BGT) is an eco-playwriting program for public elementary school students that uplifts the imaginations of young people most impacted by our new climate reality and brings their ideas to life on stage. BGT aims to inspire students to manifest a sustainable and just community by using the power of their creative voice.
The curriculum is structured as a creative outlet for students to learn the tools of playwriting and the fundamentals of environmental justice, practice critical thinking, and develop an expressive voice.
Guest professionals from the fields of science and activism visit the BGT classroom to lead interactive presentations, and students also take field trips to engage with the people and problems most relevant to their community. Students collaborate with each other to write plays inspired by these interactions.
Big Green Theater at The Bushwick Starr has grown to wrap around the whole school year through biannual curriculum in four public elementary school classrooms in Bushwick & Ridgewood. Our Fall BGT program allows students to transition from being playwrights to exploring performing, directing, designing, and stage managing alongside an adult ensemble of mentors. The final productions they create are performed in their school auditorium for fellow students, faculty, families, and the community. Our Spring BGT program culminates in a professional production at The Bushwick Starr theater, and is open for free and public attendance.
Why we do it...
One of our goals is to create opportunities for arts education in Bushwick where there is a need for creativity-based programs inside and outside of our local schools. We believe that arts organizations like ourselves have a responsibility to invest in future generations by providing them not only with first hand experience in creative endeavors, but with opportunities for artistic expression.
BGT is a highly interactive process that has a lasting effect on the student playwrights, their schools and families, and anyone who sees the performances.
Who supports it...
Big Green Theater is primarily funded through the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs' Cultural After School Adventures (CASA) Program. We are honored that BGT is now supported by all of our local elected New York City Council officials in Bushwick: Council District 34 and CM Antonio Reynoso, Council District 37 and CM Darma Diaz, and discretionary funding from Council District 33 and CM Stephen Levin. We also remain grateful for the deep investments made in this program's growth through the longtime leadership funding of The Revada Foundation of the Logan Family, Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation’s P/Arts program, the Lotos Foundation, Con Edison, and our community of supporters who make this work possible.
*This activity is not sponsored or endorsed by the New York City Department of Education or the City of New York.