What does a sustainable Set design look like?
How do we define sustainability?
What does that look like within the CalArts community?
Our goal in this production was to create a design that felt connected from the first design meetings all the way through strike. We wanted to create cicular, systemic, considerate and institutional approach to crafting with sustainbiltiy at the core of both the story and the design.
Sustainbiltiy Plan
1. Material Afterlife Program – To ensure a thoughtful strategy to repurpose, we introduced a ‘Material Afterlife’ program, where each scenic material used in the show had an appointed plan after the show. This is being logged by me in a spreadsheet. This program aims to reduce waste, communicate between the departments more thoughtfully with each aspect of the project.
2. Reusability in Scenic Design – In collaboration with our Technical Director, we prioritized durable, eco-friendly materials that can be reused for future productions, extending each item's lifecycle for future productions. For instance, our dirt floor is a huge part of the scenic design. Has been constructed from a carpet that was repurposed from recycled Nike shoes. This ‘dirt carpet’ has been crafted to ensure it remains durable to be repurposed for a show in the spring semester production.
3. Sustainable Poster Design – Our advertisement for the show made by Oscar Thompson, our graphic designer, will be making biodegradble plantable posters from handmade, seeded paper, sourced from recycled materials in the graphic studio space. Each poster will be unique and embedded with native seeds as a symbolic gesture of environmental awareness.
4. Land Acknowledgment – The opening night will feature a live land acknowledgment by Dennis, expressing gratitude and consideration for the land that Calarts rests on. As well, I received a donation of 400 seed packets from the Theodore Payne foundation that was placed with the program on each seat in the theatre, to bring a deeper connect to the land
2. Reusability in Scenic Design – In collaboration with our Technical Director, we prioritized durable, eco-friendly materials that can be reused for future productions, extending each item's lifecycle for future productions. For instance, our dirt floor is a huge part of the scenic design. Has been constructed from a carpet that was repurposed from recycled Nike shoes. This ‘dirt carpet’ has been crafted to ensure it remains durable to be repurposed for a show in the spring semester production.
3. Sustainable Poster Design – Our advertisement for the show made by Oscar Thompson, our graphic designer, will be making biodegradble plantable posters from handmade, seeded paper, sourced from recycled materials in the graphic studio space. Each poster will be unique and embedded with native seeds as a symbolic gesture of environmental awareness.
4. Land Acknowledgment – The opening night will feature a live land acknowledgment by Dennis, expressing gratitude and consideration for the land that Calarts rests on. As well, I received a donation of 400 seed packets from the Theodore Payne foundation that was placed with the program on each seat in the theatre, to bring a deeper connect to the land