Carnegie Mellon University
May 31, 2012

Earth Matters on Stage

Playwrights' Festival and Symposium (EMOS) 2012

Earth Matters

Carnegie Mellon University
May 31-June 3 2012

Prof. Wendy Arons

Website:

Visit the EMOS website for more information: www.emosfestival.wordpress.com

About:

The mission of Earth Matters on Stage (EMOS) Ecodrama Playwrights' Festival is to call forth and nurture new dramatic works that respond to and interpret the ecological crisis.

The Festival presents workshop performances and readings of the winners of an international playwrights competition: the EMOS Ecodrama Playwrights’ Contest. Winning playwrights are present for the productions, readings, and post-performance discussions with audience and actors.

Concurrently, the EMOS Symposium on Performance and Ecology gathers speakers, panels and discussions that will advance scholarship in the area of arts and ecology, and help foster development of new works.

The first EMOS Festival took place at Humboldt State University in 2004. The second EMOS Festival (with concurrent symposium) took place at the University of Oregon in spring 2009.  EMOS 2012 will take place at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh PA.

Program:

The first and second place plays have been selected by our jury (panelists were Jose Cruz Gonzalez, Olga Sanchez, Marie Clements, Theresa May, and Rob Koon).  The winner is "Sila" by Chantal Bilodeaux; the runner up is "Bears" by Mark Rigney.  These two plays will each receive two workshop performance during the symposium weekend.

In addition, we have a full slate of workshops and panels on topics ranging from devising eco-theater to scholarly analysis of eco-drama to reducing theatrical production's environmental impact (a tentative schedule is attached). Participants include academic scholars, working artists, playwrights, dancers, theater designers, and technical directors

The conference will include a keynote speech by the performance artist Holly Hughes, whose most recent work explores the use and meaning of animals in performance.

The conference is sponsored by the School of Drama at CMU, the College of Fine Arts at CMU, the Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education at CMU, the Center for the Arts in Society at CMU, and the American Society for Theatre Research.