FUTURE / HISTORY
What is worth sustaining?
This year, as our readers poured over hundreds of scripts, we began to notice a surprising number of science fiction plays among the submissions. In fact, once all the scripts were in, we counted science fiction as the fifth most common genre among the GFTF2018 submissions behind (in order) drama, dark comedy, comedy, and tragedy. However, upon reflection we realized we should not have been surprised that our call for stories of sustainability should net so many science fiction plays. After all, how can one contemplate sustainability without considering the future. The underlying, if oft unspoken, questions of sustainability are: What is worth sustaining? What ought to endure?
As the world wakes up to the reality of climate change, answers to these questions take on an apocalyptic tone. But with the fate of our species and all life on the planet hanging in the balance, the questions beg for a more granular response. Sustainable theatre does not shy away from narratives of global environmental cataclysm (Light Delay, and [un] Earthed) or catastrophic politics (Summertime, and A Punchline) but it also seeks answers in our relationships, culture, economy, religion, government, technology, philosophy, and our selves. In fact, any idea, knowledge, practice, process, network, organ, or rhizome with a shred of durability is fair game in the arena of sustainable theatre.
It's possible that some folks are rankled by the term "sustainability" and view it as inherently ideological. However, the sustainist perspective supersedes politics, and understands that we are all living examples of the sustainable practices of our forbearers, and that history is but a story of sustainability. For better or for worse, the histories of today chronicle the durable processes -social, physical, and environmental - in which we now play out our lives. However, the imagination does not cleave to those practices as rigid ideologies. Adaptability is at the heart of sustainability, and when we ask what is worth sustaining, we imply the questions: Must we change? Can we change? Will we change?
We invite you to consider how these questions play across all of our selections for GFTF2018. Please join us at our OFF THE PAGE series in mid-September, and at the conclusion of the festival in early October at the ON THE STAGE series.
As the world wakes up to the reality of climate change, answers to these questions take on an apocalyptic tone. But with the fate of our species and all life on the planet hanging in the balance, the questions beg for a more granular response. Sustainable theatre does not shy away from narratives of global environmental cataclysm (Light Delay, and [un] Earthed) or catastrophic politics (Summertime, and A Punchline) but it also seeks answers in our relationships, culture, economy, religion, government, technology, philosophy, and our selves. In fact, any idea, knowledge, practice, process, network, organ, or rhizome with a shred of durability is fair game in the arena of sustainable theatre.
It's possible that some folks are rankled by the term "sustainability" and view it as inherently ideological. However, the sustainist perspective supersedes politics, and understands that we are all living examples of the sustainable practices of our forbearers, and that history is but a story of sustainability. For better or for worse, the histories of today chronicle the durable processes -social, physical, and environmental - in which we now play out our lives. However, the imagination does not cleave to those practices as rigid ideologies. Adaptability is at the heart of sustainability, and when we ask what is worth sustaining, we imply the questions: Must we change? Can we change? Will we change?
We invite you to consider how these questions play across all of our selections for GFTF2018. Please join us at our OFF THE PAGE series in mid-September, and at the conclusion of the festival in early October at the ON THE STAGE series.
Radical Hospitality
Your GFTF2018 Seats are Free
We believe that the future of theatre depends on acts of Radical Hospitality. Rooted in a philosophy which positions hospitality as a hegemonic relationship between guest and host, the GFTF practice of Radical Hospitality seeks to query, negotiate, and - when reasonable - overwrite assumptions inscribed within the traditional theatre experience which silences and commodifies the audience - particularly those assumptions encountered throughout the environmental, social, and economic frames surrounding the the theatre event.
In practical terms, GFTF performs Radical Hospitality by removing the financial barrier from theatre-going by ensuring that everyone who needs a free ticket, gets a free ticket. When you go to reserve your ticket online, feel free to select the “Radical Hospitality (free)” option. It’s there for anyone and everyone. Those guests who find it rewarding to offer monetary support for the arts have the option to purchase paid tickets online or at the box office with the understanding that all tickets are general admission and offer the same access to seating.
In practical terms, GFTF performs Radical Hospitality by removing the financial barrier from theatre-going by ensuring that everyone who needs a free ticket, gets a free ticket. When you go to reserve your ticket online, feel free to select the “Radical Hospitality (free)” option. It’s there for anyone and everyone. Those guests who find it rewarding to offer monetary support for the arts have the option to purchase paid tickets online or at the box office with the understanding that all tickets are general admission and offer the same access to seating.
Make a play for the future.