climate change theatre action: global art, local action
Vital Matters was launched in Baltimore in 2021 with our first participation in Climate Change Theatre Action, a worldwide festival of short commissioned plays addressing the climate crisis from diverse cultural perspectives. Watch the trailer of the recording of our 2023 live event below, All Good Things Must Begin!
Learn more: www.climatechangetheatreaction.com
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST BEGIN! (CCTA 2023)
Selecting plays inspired by Octavia's journals:
The 2023 Climate Change Theatre Action theme, “All Good Things Must Begin,” was inspired by speculative fiction writer Octavia Butler’s journals.
Baltimore theatre artists, activists, and others came together to read seven plays from five countries that connect the dots between what is happening around climate and environmental justice both globally and locally. Local sustainability-focused makers sold handmade goods, artists Maura Dwyer and Allie Fitzgibbon performed their original song and crankie Wilder than Walls, and Sanahara Ama Chandra provided original music to help us bring our hearts and minds together.
After the show, Conversation Partners from the UMBC Theatre Department, 350.org, and environmental justice advocate Naadiya Hutchinson helped us understand challenges of the climate crisis in Baltimore and beyond, as well as some of the good things that have already begun to address them.
Our Selection of Short Plays
Types by Jessica Huang
Chili Crab Less Spicy by Dia Hakim K.
Photographic Realism by Javad Alipoor
Bonbibi and Dakshan Ray by Manjima Chatterjee
The Committee to Expropriate, A Revenge Fantasy by Darrah Teitel
A Little Green by Charly Evon Simpson
The Polar Bears by Nicolas Billon
Photos below are by Zizwe Allete and Katie Ellen Simmons-Barth.
catch up on what you missed!
couldn't make it to the live event in december?
Watch the trailer of All Good Things Must Begin! from our 2023 Climate Change Theatre Action event below. Watch the full show for $10.00 by filling out this short form and we will send you the link!
In the full-length video, you will enjoy the work of theatre artists from Baltimore, DC, and New York, the healing vibrations of Sanahara Ama Chandra, and the voices of 7 playwrights from 5 countries representing the 2023 Climate Change Theatre Action global festival. This year, all plays were inspired by speculative fiction writer Octavia Butler, who wrote in her journal that ALL GOOD THINGS MUST BEGIN! Rounding out the evening of performances you’ll get to hear our lively conversation with local environmental justice advocate Naadiya Hutchinson and 350.org.US’s senior climate organizer, Taylor Smith-Hams.
