How GREEN can you go?
How about forever?
by Nick Keppler, POP CITY MEDIA
Environmentalism is a cause that can be added to anyone’s day-to-day activities. An environmentalist is not just someone who chains herself to a tree for Greenpeace or studies melting ice caps in the Arctic. It can be someone who just lives green, through biking, recycling or making eco-minded consumer decisions. Indeed, from the Toyota Prius to Seventh Generation toilet paper, there are an infinite variety of green products made by businesses trying to appeal to the new green consciousness.
But it’s not just big corporations nor repentant polluters making overtures out of obligations that are doing their part. Here are five offbeat enterprises from the region that Rachel Carson once called home that have found unique ways to do one solid for the planet, as well as a way to give Pittsburghers another chance to make a green choice – from the radio station they tune in to where they spend eternity.
ORGANIC THEATER PITTSBURGH
“We don’t do a bunch of plays about the environment,”
says Jaime Slavinsky, founder of Organic Theater Pittsburgh.
“That would be boring and predictable.”
Instead of staging murder mysteries where the killer is revealed to be asbestos or an adaptation of The Tempest where the title storm is caused by carbon emissions, the theater looks for good stories to tell but is mindful of
environmental concerns when they tell them.
Stages are built from reused materials from Construction Junction and costumes come from thrift shops. The group also makes thematically appropriate gestures at shows. For example, they collected old phones for recycling when they staged the existentially heavy Dead Man’s Cell Phone as their debut production at ModernFormations Gallery in 2011.
Slavinsky bent the group’s rule against ecological themes for its recent Earth Day gig. On a stage built from recycled wood, they put on a series of short plays commissioned from local playwrights on the impact of environmental change. Plot scenarios included children trapped in an area with scarcity of clean water, a post-apocalyptic Earth populated by two people and a look back at the Donora smog incident, a real-life local air pollution catastrophe from 1948.
“It was important that the plays be about the people and how they were affected, not issues,” says Slavinsky.
How about forever?
by Nick Keppler, POP CITY MEDIA
Environmentalism is a cause that can be added to anyone’s day-to-day activities. An environmentalist is not just someone who chains herself to a tree for Greenpeace or studies melting ice caps in the Arctic. It can be someone who just lives green, through biking, recycling or making eco-minded consumer decisions. Indeed, from the Toyota Prius to Seventh Generation toilet paper, there are an infinite variety of green products made by businesses trying to appeal to the new green consciousness.
But it’s not just big corporations nor repentant polluters making overtures out of obligations that are doing their part. Here are five offbeat enterprises from the region that Rachel Carson once called home that have found unique ways to do one solid for the planet, as well as a way to give Pittsburghers another chance to make a green choice – from the radio station they tune in to where they spend eternity.
ORGANIC THEATER PITTSBURGH
“We don’t do a bunch of plays about the environment,”
says Jaime Slavinsky, founder of Organic Theater Pittsburgh.
“That would be boring and predictable.”
Instead of staging murder mysteries where the killer is revealed to be asbestos or an adaptation of The Tempest where the title storm is caused by carbon emissions, the theater looks for good stories to tell but is mindful of
environmental concerns when they tell them.
Stages are built from reused materials from Construction Junction and costumes come from thrift shops. The group also makes thematically appropriate gestures at shows. For example, they collected old phones for recycling when they staged the existentially heavy Dead Man’s Cell Phone as their debut production at ModernFormations Gallery in 2011.
Slavinsky bent the group’s rule against ecological themes for its recent Earth Day gig. On a stage built from recycled wood, they put on a series of short plays commissioned from local playwrights on the impact of environmental change. Plot scenarios included children trapped in an area with scarcity of clean water, a post-apocalyptic Earth populated by two people and a look back at the Donora smog incident, a real-life local air pollution catastrophe from 1948.
“It was important that the plays be about the people and how they were affected, not issues,” says Slavinsky.
OUR MISSION
Our dual mission of
ENTERTAINMENT + ENVIRONMENT
builds yet another bridge in our great city.
Organic creates a wholly organic theatrical product through a unique rehearsal process based on improvisation
to discover the essential actions of the play. By incorporating Earth-friendly, recycled and sustainable materials
& partnering with local artists, merchants, and environmental organizations, we connect our vibrant arts community
with easy & exciting ways to become more environmentally responsible.
ENTERTAINMENT + ENVIRONMENT
builds yet another bridge in our great city.
Organic creates a wholly organic theatrical product through a unique rehearsal process based on improvisation
to discover the essential actions of the play. By incorporating Earth-friendly, recycled and sustainable materials
& partnering with local artists, merchants, and environmental organizations, we connect our vibrant arts community
with easy & exciting ways to become more environmentally responsible.
OUR VISION
Organic is very passionate about celebrating the diversity of artists in Pittsburgh and bringing together
the multitude of environmental pioneers working to make our city a leader in innovation and sustainability.
In doing so, we seek to entertain, educate, and enrich the lives of our citizens for a bright and healthy future.
the multitude of environmental pioneers working to make our city a leader in innovation and sustainability.
In doing so, we seek to entertain, educate, and enrich the lives of our citizens for a bright and healthy future.
