Your theatre community needs climate action, too

The show must go on — but a warming world may have other ideas.

When you think about climate change impacts, wildfires and hurricanes probably come to mind. But for Colorado’s theatre community, the most immediate threat is quieter: extreme heat. As summers get hotter and heat waves last longer, outdoor performances face more cancellations. Indoor venues strain aging AC systems in repurposed buildings never designed for Colorado’s increasingly brutal summers. And when those systems fail — as they inevitably do — the show literally cannot go on.

But there are quieter, more dangerous threats to our reality. Some of these will have impacts in ways directly impacting the performing arts. Extreme heat, for example, is more deadly than all other natural disasters combined — and in a warming world, these higher temperatures will become the norm. For those in the theatre community, that can mean canceled performances will become more frequent — particularly for outside venues.

Meagan Holdeman

And don’t forget how urban areas trap heat in a phenomenon called the urban heat island effect. The lack of shade and trees, combined with vast expanses of black asphalt, absorb heat and make urban areas consistently several degrees warmer than surrounding areas.

When the AC is repaired and performances resume, it is easy to forget the reality that those canceled performances represented. Colorado summers are getting hotter and staying hot for longer. The frost-free date in the spring gets earlier in the season while the first freeze in the fall gets later. We turn on the AC in our poorly insulated, repurposed-for-theatre buildings and we use more energy (aka burn fossil fuels), but as we cool ourselves down, we add heat to the atmosphere.

We put more strain on the electrical grid, we consume more energy and release more greenhouse gases and our attempts to make ourselves comfortable become a part of the problem.  It is a feedback loop: The more the earth warms, the more AC we use, and the more the earth warms. On and on and on.

Every action counts

This is global warming in a nutshell. The global average temperature is increasing and the higher it gets, the more changes we see to our climate including changes in precipitation, melting sea ice and our climate. One of the goals laid out in the Paris Agreement is to limit the global average temperature rise to 1.5-2 above pre-industrial times. This is key to minimize the worst impacts of climate change, as every tenth of a degree of warming worsens our prospects.

While these numbers may seem small, the impacts are not. If you think about the human body, a 101 degree temperature is only 2.5 above average, and 3+ means you need a hospital. Limiting the average global temperature rise by even half a degree is the difference between losing 70% of coral reefs and 100%.

This is good news! This means that every amount of warming we prevent minimizes those losses. When it comes to rising average temperatures, there is no such thing as too late. Every fraction of a degree of warming we prevent helps someone somewhere. Every action counts.

It is so easy with all that is going on to feel helpless and hopeless, but when we do away with the idea that we have to either do it all or not bother, we find a reason to do something, no matter what that something is. Protecting the planet is a long game that’s well worth playing. While in the short term we might need AC to keep ourselves cool and healthy so we can perform, we must think about the long term as well. We come together pretty well in the aftermath of emergencies; it is one of the things that helps keep Denver Actors Fund going, for example. But we need to come together in the long term as well, which means that actions like participating with your local environmental organization, driving less, and encouraging your local theatres to reuse and repurpose before they look to recycle are all actions that care for each other are just as valuable as helping out immediately after a disaster. This is exactly what Greener Theatre Colorado is trying to do.

Green Theatre Colorado will pick up and recycle used batteries from your theatre for free.

How to help

It’s easy to feel helpless, but remember: every action counts. When it comes to climate change, there’s no such thing as “too late” — every fraction of a degree of warming we prevent helps someone, somewhere.

The theatre community already knows how to come together in crisis — that’s what keeps Denver Actors Fund going. Now we need that same energy for the long-term fight. That means supporting organizations like Greener Theatre Colorado, which offers free electronic waste pickup for theatres (up to 50 lbs, batteries and lightbulbs included). It means encouraging your venues to reuse and repurpose before recycling. It means driving less, volunteering more, and talking about sustainability within your theatre circles.

Look for organizations like 350 Colorado, Citizen’s Climate Lobby, or Women in Sustainability to get involved. The stage we’re fighting for isn’t just the one under the lights — it’s the planet we all share. And unlike a closing night, this show needs to run forever.

Meagan Holdeman is the Founder & Director of Greener Theatre Colorado.

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