Climate Warming, Mass extinction, pollution of air, water and land - these are only some of the crises we may think of when we hear the word "Anthropocene". It feels like we are facing a new chapter in the history of humanity and earth: parts of our species have transformed our planet so heavily that our future is in danger. This calls for a new perspective on the role of humans and their relation to everything not human. 

On our search for another way of viewing humanity -not as the dominant few that rule over everything- the performing arts can be of great help and value. They can imagine new relations between those in power and those unseen and tell new stories about them. They can bring to life encounters with the more than human world and give the cold numbers of scientific statistics a meaning we can emotionally access. They can explore new forms of representations and agency and put our traditions of narration into question.

The session will start with a moderated impulse on different approaches on ecocritical theatre making. It will introduce some research findings on how performing artists in Germany create shows for and with young people about challenges resulting from climate warming and other ecological global changes caused by human actions. How does the young generation feel about their future, how do they express their concerns and what can they expect from TYA?

Production Credits

About the Artists