The Climate Change Project directed by Annelise Lawson opens this Thursday and runs through Saturday night. The devised piece, centered around the 2022-23 Academic Theme, was created in its entirety by Whitman students in collaboration with guest director Annelise Lawson.

 

Annelise Lawson is an actor, director, and teacher based in New York City. Having received her acting education at Carleton College and the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, Lawson brings many years of education and professional experience with her to Whitman. Working with devised theater in particular has been something that has consistently resurfaced for her, and she says that it can be a powerful tool for storytelling, especially for students as they grow as artists.

The script for The Climate Change Project was built from the ground up by Lawson in collaboration with the cast, the process of which she describes as being lovely. “It’s a fantastic group of students. They come in with different interests but they all have unique talents and skill sets.” They used a variety of activities and exercises to aid in their sculpting of the script, such as group brainstorming, individual writing, and something that Lawson calls a “conspiracy theory wall,” which is a wall full of scraps of paper laid out like a map– ideas which they eventually pulled together to craft their scenes. Some of the things that the group dreamed up for this production include a scene about food waste, a salmon ballet, and ghost stories.

Lawson reports that dealing with the topic of climate change has been easier than anticipated. While their process included a lot of discussion about the difficulties that climate change has presented to the world, the key was finding the balance between addressing climate change and bringing in moments of humor and hope. “The initial discussion pretty quickly zoomed in on the human impact on the environment and the negative consequences of that, so rather than taking it in the direction of guilt” … “the process was able to become fairly lighthearted.” “They’ve created something that has gravitas and sadness, but it’s so fun and silly and joyful, which I think is necessary when you’re talking about something this serious.”

 

To see the final product that Annelise and the cast and crew have created, contact the Harper Joy Theatre Box Office to get on the waitlist for the sold-out show! The Climate Change Project runs from April 6-8 at 8 pm on the Alexander Stage.