Anyone can volunteer to be a College Green Captain just as anyone from a Broadway production can.  We have nearly 50 Green Captains on Broadway; at every production and at many theatrical unions. Folks volunteer to be a Green Captain because they care about the environment and about helping us spread the word that its easy being green-er. Many of the greener changes are also money-saving and increase efficiency. If you are wondering how to make a greener change at your theater department reach out to us as we would be happy to let you know how we do things greener on Broadway. Write green@broadway.org.

We currently have a BGA Green Captain at every Broadway show!

College Green Captain Prize will again be offered for 2016

The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is happy to announce that we will once again be offering a College Green Captain prize for an outstanding College Green Captain.  The award will be presented at USITT in March in Utah and the deadline to apply will be March 1st, 2016. The winner will receive tickets to a Broadway (or touring) show and a meeting with a Broadway Green Captain. For details on how to apply please go here.

Greening College Campuses

One man’s trash is…well, you know how it goes!

And, for a group of students at the University of New Hampshire, this maxim is the cornerstone of their campus program, Trash 2 Treasure, and the national non-profit organization that grew out of it, the Post-Landfill Action Network(PLAN). These are projects that strive to decrease college campus waste and work towards zero-waste campuses. By collecting student goods during spring move-out and selling of them come fall semester, for instance, students are able to reduce waste and offer students dorm appliances and décor at cheap prices. Other colleges even have student-run thrift stores that sell recycled products! Such zero-waste college campus initiatives are great ways to get involved in campus and make a positive impact. Does your school have any end-of-the-year waste reduction programs? If not, now is the perfect time to connect with other students and plan a green event for spring.

Spreading the Word of Sustainable Theatre

by Maddie Price
Gettysburg College ‘15
Green Design Intern, Summer ‘15

Never underestimate the power of publicity! College Green Captains, what’s the good of all the great plans you have for greening your school’s theatre if no one knows about them? Spreading the word about your theatre department’s sustainability initiatives, both internally and externally, will help you promote a culture of sustainability with greater participation in eco-friendly practices within the college theatre and across campus!
First, to ensure success of your college theatre going green, you need to get your colleagues on board! Talk to your peers–ask for their input for how to best green your theatre program during your day-to-day activities, whether in the green room or behind the scenes of a show. Talk to faculty about promoting eco-friendly habits, both in the context of theatre classes and rehearsing shows; be sure to talk to staff in all areas of production, from the costume shop to the light booth. Ask the administrative office about creating signage and email blasts with reminders about sustainability policies.

Furthermore, consider sharing the news about your green college theatre to the greater campus community, especially if there are initiatives that audience members should be aware of (such as recycling or bringing reusable water bottles) when they come to see your shows! Are there any cool set pieces/costumes/props made from salvaged materials? Snap a photo and share it on social media! (see below for our tags). Does your campus have a student-run newspaper or radio station? Can you make announcements through student government? Even when making Facebook events for upcoming productions, post reminders about how to go green in your theatre building. Furthermore, if your school has made environmental sustainability a greater priority among higher administration, such as through an Office of Campus Sustainability or a faculty Sustainability Board, see how you can contribute your input. They would probably love to hear about students bringing sustainability to the performing arts–think how it can be pitched as a unique, inspiring story to stakeholders that may even make it into college publications! While many schools today have signed onto the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, many have yet to discover that making strides in environmental sustainability can be found in theatre arts!

Action

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Top Five Tips for Greener Dorm-Living by Barnard College CGC Samantha Jakuboski

You don’t have to give up a life of luxury or be a tree-hugger to go green in your dorm (although there is nothing wrong with embracing the occasional tree now and then.) Here are some of my favorite ways to “greenify” my dorm living:

1. Bring a lot of underwear to college. This way, you won’t have to do as many loads of laundry and you can save both water and energy– not to mention time, because, really, who has time to do laundry in college?! And if you are doing laundry wash in cold water with a small amount of earth friendly detergent. 
2. Plastic water bottles are so last century. Embrace the reusable water bottle. As a college student, proudly sport your bottle around campus. CAUTION: People will envy you and your super cool bottle.
3. Who says that saving the environment means living without a mini-fridge and giving up those midnight ice cream cravings? Energy Star appliances are your friends. Buy them. See a full list here.
4. Natural is the new black. So ladies, put down those energy-consuming curling irons, flat irons, and blow dryers and embrace those luscious waves and curls. (OK, so maybe this tip is a bit tree-huggerish, but I still think natural is sexy!) If you’re not up to natural hair then at least write BGA for a t-shirt (made of recycled plastic!) and wear that to show you care about green instead.
5. Make use of power strips. I like to plug my strings of lights into one powerstrip and all my chargers in another. This way, when I want to shut all the lights off and when I want to decrease my use of vampire power when I am not using my chargers, all I have to do it turn off one switch.

SPECIAL OFFER:  GET A 20% DISCOUNT on “A Practical Guide to Greener Theater” by BGA Education Committee members Ellen Jones with Jessica Pribble and Paul Brunner. Use code FLR40. Go to http://ellenejones.com/ for more info.