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Traversing the Rift: Cultivating Climate Change Literacy

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Traversing the Rift: Cultivating Climate Change Literacy TRAVERSING THE RIFT: CULTIVATING CLIMATE CHANGE LITERACY THROUGH THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE by LYDIA A. BOROWICZ A THESIS Presented to the Department of Theatre Arts and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts March 2019 THESIS APPROVAL PAGE Student: Lydia A. Borowicz Title: Traversing the Rift: Cultivating Climate Change Literacy Through Theatrical Performance This thesis has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in the Department of Theatre Arts by: Theresa J. May Chair Stephanie LeMenager Member Nelson Barre Member and Janet Woodruff-Borden Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded March 2019. ii © 2019 Lydia A. Borowicz iii THESIS ABSTRACT Lydia A. Borowicz Master of Arts Department of Theatre Arts March 2019 Title: Traversing the Rift: Cultivating Climate Change Literacy Through Theatrical Performance Climate change is a persistent and growing threat to the well-being of both humans and nonhuman species, and little action has been taken to halt it. It is imperative the public gains a sufficient level of climate change literacy to be able to take action to mitigate climate change. Theatrical performance offers audiences diverse ways to engage with climate change through both improving scientific understanding and connecting with climate change’s effects through live, embodied performance. Employing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s tenets of climate literacy, I examine how climate change plays (specifically Steve Waters’ The Contingency Plan, Chantal Bilodeau’s Sila, Duncan Macmillan and Chris Rapley’s 2071, and E.M. Lewis’s Magellanica) can cultivate improved climate change literacy in audiences. Halting climate change will require not just climate science knowledge but a shift in values toward an ecologically sustainable future, and theatre offers vital space and tools for reimagining that future. iv CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Lydia A. Borowicz GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Marlboro College, Marlboro, Vermont DEGREES AWARDED: Master of Arts, Theatre Arts, 2019, University of Oregon Bachelor of Arts, 2007, Theatre, Marlboro College AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Ecocriticism in Performance Climate Change Theatre PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Teaching assistant, Department of Theatre Arts, University of Oregon, Eugene, 2016-2018 Outreach Educator, Museum of Natural and Cultural History, Eugene, Oregon, 2017-2018 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Graduate Teaching Fellowship, Theatre, 2016-2018 Arnold/Isabelle/Rupert Marks Scholarship: University of Oregon, 2017 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I am deeply grateful to Dr. Theresa J. May for her guidance, patience, and generosity. Her foundational work has prompted colleagues, students, audiences, and readers to bring ecological and environmental justice concerns into conversation with theatrical performance and has created vital pathways for community building. Thank you to Drs. Nelson Barre and Stephanie LeMenager for their flexibility and support, as well as for the thought-provoking content of their graduate seminars, which helped to shape this thesis. I am deeply grateful for the community I found at University of Oregon, and special thanks go to Liz Fairchild, Ellen Gillooly-Kress, and Waylon Lenk for laughter, commiseration, and camaraderie. And as always, thanks to my family for their unending support and offers of advice and listening as needed. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 Climate Literacy .......................................................................................... 3 Climate Change in Theatre ........................................................................... 6 Climate Change Literacy in Performance ................................................... 14 The Plays ................................................................................................... 15 The Contingency Plan ...................................................................... 18 Sila .................................................................................................. 19 2071 ................................................................................................ 20 Magellanica ..................................................................................... 20 II. CLIMATE LITERACY: UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE SCIENCE ............ 23 Climate Science ......................................................................................... 23 Scientific Language in The Contingency Plan ............................................. 25 Sila Illustrates Ecological Impacts .............................................................. 27 Science on Stage in 2071 ............................................................................ 30 Scientific Discovery and Experiencing Climate Change in Magellanica ........................................................................................... 33 III. CLIMATE LITERACY: ASSESSING SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION ............................................................................................. 39 Science Literacy ........................................................................................ 40 Trusting Science and Scientists ................................................................... 41 Representations of Science ......................................................................... 42 vii Chapter Page Science Policy in The Contingency Plan .................................................... 45 Types of Knowledge in Sila ........................................................................ 47 2071: Scientist as Actor ............................................................................. 49 Magellanica Explores the Scientific Process .............................................. 52 IV. CLIMATE LITERACY: MEANINGFUL COMMUNICATION .................... 56 Communicating Meaning Through Performance ........................................ 57 Climate Impacts in The Contingency Plan .................................................. 61 Sila’s Value Systems .................................................................................. 66 2071: A Scientist’s Story ........................................................................... 73 Magellanica Widens the Lens .................................................................... 77 V. CLIMATE LITERACY: MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT CLIMATE ACTION ....................................................................................... 81 Climate Action............................................................................................ 81 Encouraging Action ................................................................................... 84 Risk-Taking in The Contingency Plan ........................................................ 87 Scales of Action in Sila .............................................................................. 89 Tempered Apocalyptic Rhetoric .................................................................. 91 Questions of Agency in 2071 ..................................................................... 94 Community Action in Magellanica ............................................................ 97 Climate Change Theatre Action’s Adaptive Strategies ............................. 101 VI. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................. 112 REFERENCES CITED ............................................................................................. 117 viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION In many ways, climate change is the most pressing environmental concern our planet is facing today. Climate change threatens humanity’s well-being and potentially our very survival, not to mention the survival of the other species we share the earth with. While anthropogenic climate change is now a widely accepted theory in both scientific circles and the general public, it is still debated in some groups, and action to combat it has been glacially slow. The reasons for this are varied and complex, with many scholars pointing to capitalism as well as political and social power structures as key forces impeding change.1 Although climate science can explain the material causes of climate change and predict how its effects may affect both human and nonhuman populations, anthropogenic climate change is ultimately a problem that will require social solutions based on a shared vision of the future. While scientists have been modeling climate predictions and working to convince the public of the veracity of the science behind climate change, it falls to the arts and humanities to examine the implications of this science and help to shift public perceptions of climate change so that we can take the step forward to create a sustainable climate for both humans and all other species.2 In 2005, Bill McKibben, founder of the grassroots organization 350.org, wrote an article titled, “What the Warming World Needs Now Is Art, Sweet Art,” in which he says about climate change: “though we know about 1 Naomi Klein’s book and documentary of the same name, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate, provides an in-depth examination of capitalism’s
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