Green Alliance

USA: ‘Greening Advisor’ to all American theatres

Culture Futures, ,

This post comes to you from Culture|Futures

In 2009, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that “Broadway was turning green”. Now the Natural Resources Defense Council has teamed up with the Broadway Green Alliance and created the ‘NRDC Theatre Greening Advisor’ – a guide to help theatres across the country implement similar eco-intelligent practices as the Broadway theatres successfully have been implementing.

greening-advisor1

“If you had the pleasure of taking in a Broadway performance in the past five years, you also witnessed sustainability taking center stage,” wrote Brandon Baker in Ecowatch as the Broadway Green Alliance celebrated five years of greening productions in January 2014.

They used the occation to launch an initiative to bring sustainable practices to theaters across the country. In collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council, the alliance says its new online Theatre Greening Advisor is the most comprehensive theater greening information database available.

The Greening Advisor provides resources allowing theaters to embrace sustainability at all times.

Greener lighting
The alliance also launched the BGA Greener Lighting Guide, in partnership with the Professional Lighting and Sound Association. This online tool will help designers and technicians alike make greener choices in lighting instruments from some of the biggest brands.

The Broadway Green Alliance helped bring energy efficient lighting throughout the Great White Way and now hopes to do the same at theaters all over the nation.

“Theatre and the environment are inextricably linked. Without clean air, clean water and a healthy climate, our enjoyment of most productions–indoor or outdoor–would not be possible. In fact, nature is the ultimate source of all economic value. No commerce or culture is possible without clean air and water; fertile topsoil; a chemically stable atmosphere; raw materials for food, energy and medicine; or the natural processing of waste by the millions of species inhabiting our soil, water and air.”

“By promoting energy efficiency, recycling programs, waste reduction, water conservation and other smart operations, theatres and productions will help keep our nation’s air and water clean, reduce their contribution to global warming and see cost saving benefits.”
Quote from the guide.

Change cultural assumptions
“The single most important thing we can do to help save the planet is to change cultural assumptions and attitudes about how we should relate to Planet Earth,” Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the NRDC who helped to co-found the Broadway Green Alliance, told Ecowatch:

“By promoting energy efficiency, recycling programs, waste reduction, water conservation and other smart operations, theaters and productions will help keep our nation’s air and water clean, reduce their contribution to global warming and achieve cost saving benefits at the same time.”

From Broadway to the rest of the U.S.
The organisations want to provide environmentally preferable options to producers, theater owners, designers, managers and design shops in the same way that the Broadway Green Alliance brought them to Broadway in New York City.

Here are some of the green achievements made to date on Broadway:

• Broadway theaters have replaced all their marquee and outside lighting with more than 10,000 energy-efficient bulbs, saving about 700 tons of carbon emissions per year.

• Theaters switched to greener cleaning products, appliances, recycling, water filtration and energy efficiency programs.

• Broadway shows now have a BGA liaison, or ‘Green Captain’, at nearly all shows, bringing greener practices backstage.  Green Captains come from all aspects of productions, and sometimes even the star of the show participates in this important role. Bryan Cranston, Alan Cumming, Hugh Dancy, Montego Glover, Harriet Harris and Carol Kane have all served as Green Captains.

• Shows are saving money through reduced waste. Many now use rechargeable batteries in microphones and flashlights, keeping thousands of toxic disposable batteries from the waste stream every month. Wicked went from using 38 batteries every performance to using only 96 rechargeable batteries in a year.   Many shows also print their own cast-change stuffers on recycled paper, saving reams of paper as well as money.

• Over the last five years, the Broadway Green Alliance has collected over 15 tons or 31,000 pounds of e-waste and nearly 10,000 pounds of textiles.

Broadway Green Alliance has also participated in outreach programs with colleges, off-Broadway and regional and touring venues.

The guide provides information for all six of the Broadway Green Alliance’s committees: Pre/Post Production, Production, Venues, Touring, Education and Outreach.

Each of the sections in this menu bar, starting with “Why Be Green”, includes a variety of subsections that appear in the lower turquoise menu bar. Use your cursor to explore the dropdown menus of content available for these subsections and click items to open pages on the different topics to learn more.

» Explore NRDC Theatre Greening Advisor

Ecowatch – 28 January 2014:
Broadway Expands Its Green Practices to Theaters Across the U.S.

http://ecowatch.com/2014/01/28/broadway-green-practices-theaters-u-s/

By Brandon Baker

———-

Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.

The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.

Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people’s eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector’s stories maintain the trust of people and society.

Go toThis post comes to you from Culture|Futures

Powered by WPeMatico

Welcome to the BGA Greener Lighting Guide

Broadway Green Alliance, ,

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

Welcome to the BGA Greener Lighting Guide, a compilation of manufacturer provided information about live performance lighting instruments. This guide is designed to help you decide which lighting instruments are environmentally preferable.

Background

In recent years, many manufacturers have introduced new lighting instruments, promoting the environmental benefits of their products.  The nature of the “green” claims varies greatly, with no common basis for evaluating products or for comparing greener alternatives.  Developed in partnership with PLASA, the BGA Greener Lighting Guide is intended to serve as a source for high-level and detailed information about “greener” lighting instruments.

Broadways Green Alliance’s goal is to make comparing potential greener alternatives simpler and faster whether for a producer, a technical director, or a lighting designer. As live entertainment interest in greener alternatives increases, decision makers need access to clear and concise information about lighting instruments and environmental claims.

This guide will evolve as manufacturers populate it with more data. More than anything this reference will reflect the needs of you our readers. So tell us what you think by email.

Are you a manufacturer who wants to get involved? Sign-up your products here.

For information on how the Guide is organized and how to use it, click here.

———-

The Broadway Green Alliance was founded in 2008 in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is an ad hoc committee of The Broadway League and a fiscal program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Along with Julie’s Bicycle in the UK, the BGA is a founding member of the International Green Theatre Alliance. The BGA has reached tens of thousands of fans through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media.

At the BGA, we recognize that it is impossible to be 100% “green” while continuing activity and – as there is no litmus test for green activity – we ask instead that our members commit to being greener and doing better each day. As climate change does not result from one large negative action, but rather from the cumulative effect of billions of small actions, progress comes from millions of us doing a bit better each day. To become a member of the Broadway Green Alliance we ask only that you commit to becoming greener, that you name a point person to be our liaison, and that you will tell us about your green-er journey.

The BGA is co-chaired by Susan Sampliner, Company Manager of the Broadway company of WICKED, and Charlie Deull, Executive Vice President at Clark Transfer<. Rebekah Sale is the BGA’s full-time Coordinator.

Go to the Broadway Green Alliance

Powered by WPeMatico

E-Waste Recycling Rally: The NFL is Playing for Keeps and Greening Broadway

news, , , , ,

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

The NFL is Playing for Keeps

Author: James Gowen

Before the Super Bowl last year, more than 7.5 million households purchased a brand new television before the big game. Whether viewers are watching to catch the big game, the spectacular halftime show, or even for the striking commercials, everyone wants the perfect display to make their viewing a touchdown. If you’re one of these many devoted Super Bowl fans, you are probably searching for deals during Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales. No matter how you watch your favorite team, don’t forget to bid farewell to your old TV sets responsibly.

NYRP Tree Planting     VZW Electronics Recycling Pile

In the United States, more than 80% of TVs are left to be dumped in landfills. Landfill disposal poses a threat to the environment and well-being of the community. Certain televisions may contain hazardous and toxic materials, such as lead, mercury, and arsenic.

Recycling TVs will not only keep this toxic waste out of the ground, but it will also eliminate the need to extract other limited resources. Once a TV is dropped off to be recycled, it is taken to a special facility where it is taken apart and separated for recycled disposal. The glass from the screens, for example, is ultimately used in other products.

Huddle Up!

Landfill interception! Verizon and the NFL simplified this issue by offering an event for all their favorite fans. People were able to bring their old TVs and other personal e-waste to Verizon’s Recycling Rallies on 1/8 in Times Square and on 1/7 in Fair Lawn, NJ. To find a recycling center located near you, please visit  1800Recycling.com.

Enjoy your new devices, but don’t forget to recycle your old ones! Happy shopping!

Greening Broadway

By Rebekah Sale, Coordinator of the Broadway Green Alliance

For the past five years, the Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) — an industry initiative that educates, motivates, and inspires the entire theatre community and its patrons to adopt environmentally friendlier practices — has been working to green-up Broadway. Besides working with theatre owners to replace all of their roof and marquee lights with energy-efficient bulbs, we now have a backstage liaison at nearly every Broadway show, operate a free binder exchange, circulate information on greener, better practices for all areas of theatre, and hold recycling collection drives four times a year.

For Broadway Green Alliance’s next drive, the alliance was thrilled to be partner with Verizon and the NFL Environment Program on a January 8th Electronic-Waste Recycling Rally in Times Square. Take a look at the website, BroadwayGreen.com, for event details as well as lots of resources and useful links.

d5ea47d615498f849db2d09262860782aa505bc84017b277b686faa319123b92

3325b3df02e6e2be06775e8c7e3c460674f6d70a3c021a401e62ff018f7e5ae5

When the Broadway Green Alliance holds electronic waste drives we always save all iPods for our friends at the Broadway Alzheimer’s iPod Drive.  This inspiring program, started by Broadway musician Dave Roth, puts iPods into the hands of area Alzheimer’s patients through the Music and Memory Foundation (musicandmemory.org). The iPods are loaded with music familiar to these patients and what happens when these patients hear the music they remember is amazing.  As Dave explains,

“My mother spent her life devoted to conducting her folk choir in church for nearly 35 years. Unfortunately she has slipped into the fog of Alzheimer’s disease. She has not only lost memories but also the ability to speak. Using Music & Memory’s idea of personalized music, I decided to bring the music back in her life. The results were astounding because she surprisingly was able to recall lyrics and use words that my family and I hadn’t heard her use in years! “

Dan Cohen, the founder of the non-profit Music and Memory, explains:

“Although it doesn’t work for everybody and it is not a cure, it is turning out to be pretty powerful medicine for persons with dementia and others facing cognitive and physical challenges. Re-connecting nursing home residents with “their” music improves mood and enjoyment, increases sociability, enhances cognition, and reduces agitation.”

Dave Roth elaborated:

“Not only does the patient benefit but the families also feel the rewards from the therapeutic process of reminiscing about their loved ones’ favorite music of their past. It brings families together at a time when they already feel the impacting loss of their loved ones. The Broadway community has banded together and continues to ask everyone to donate their new or used iPods and to remember that ‘every used iPod can bring back a lifetime of memories!”

iPods collected at the January 8th event will go to Music and Memory to provide New York area nursing home residents with iPods with personalized playlists. Currently there is a waiting list of hundreds of residents who are waiting to enjoy their music.

The Broadway Green Alliance was founded in 2008 in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is an ad hoc committee of The Broadway League and a fiscal program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Along with Julie’s Bicycle in the UK, the BGA is a founding member of the International Green Theatre Alliance. The BGA has reached tens of thousands of fans through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media.

At the BGA, we recognize that it is impossible to be 100% “green” while continuing activity and – as there is no litmus test for green activity – we ask instead that our members commit to being greener and doing better each day. As climate change does not result from one large negative action, but rather from the cumulative effect of billions of small actions, progress comes from millions of us doing a bit better each day. To become a member of the Broadway Green Alliance we ask only that you commit to becoming greener, that you name a point person to be our liaison, and that you will tell us about your green-er journey.

The BGA is co-chaired by Susan Sampliner, Company Manager of the Broadway company of WICKED, and Charlie Deull, Executive Vice President at Clark Transfer<. Rebekah Sale is the BGA’s full-time Coordinator.

Go to the Broadway Green Alliance

Powered by WPeMatico

Join Us for Our Upcoming Textile Drive!

news, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

 

The Broadway Green Alliance was founded in 2008 in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is an ad hoc committee of The Broadway League and a fiscal program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Along with Julie’s Bicycle in the UK, the BGA is a founding member of the International Green Theatre Alliance. The BGA has reached tens of thousands of fans through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media.

At the BGA, we recognize that it is impossible to be 100% “green” while continuing activity and – as there is no litmus test for green activity – we ask instead that our members commit to being greener and doing better each day. As climate change does not result from one large negative action, but rather from the cumulative effect of billions of small actions, progress comes from millions of us doing a bit better each day. To become a member of the Broadway Green Alliance we ask only that you commit to becoming greener, that you name a point person to be our liaison, and that you will tell us about your green-er journey.

The BGA is co-chaired by Susan Sampliner, Company Manager of the Broadway company of WICKED, and Charlie Deull, Executive Vice President at Clark Transfer<. Rebekah Sale is the BGA’s full-time Coordinator.

Go to the Broadway Green Alliance

Powered by WPeMatico

Designing Sustainably for Broadway with Donyale Werle at WSD2013

CSPA Convergence, WSD, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

img-peter-and-the-starcatcher_142013765001Sat 14 Sept 14.30 – 16.00

The Willow Theatre

Donyale Werle, who started out as a painter, began to reexamine routine theatre practices after working for 13 months on the set for High Fidelity, a 2006 Broadway musical that closed after only 13 performances, she told American Theatre Magazine in Fall 2012.

Seeing her work trashed seemed a waste in more ways than one.

This session will focus on producing greener theatre. Donyale Werle has gained much acclaim for her use of salvaged materials in her sets and for her creative designs; she won her recent Tony for Peter and the Starcatcher, whose set was made entirely of recycled materials. Werle serves as pre-production co-chair for the Broadway Green Alliance.

Open to all.

Price: £6

BUY TICKETS

Using Rechargeable Batteries on Broadway

news, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance
by John Curvan and Danielle Heckman

Backstage at BILLY ELLIOT on Broadway.

Backstage at BILLY ELLIOT on Broadway.

As of October 2008, the Broadway company of WICKED switched from using regular alkaline batteries to nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) rechargeables in all of their wireless microphones.  They alternate between two sets of rechargeables to allow sufficient time for recharging.  These two sets of rechargeables generally last for ten months.

There are many ‘green’ benefits from using these batteries. With the old alkaline batteries, they used 38 AA’s per show. This resulted in 15,808 used batteries per year.  Now they only need to dispose of 96 NiMH batteries each year.  This will reduce, over the next five years, 78,560 batteries from entering the waste stream.  That works out to 3,959 lbs of solid waste – just a bit less than two tons!

The new batteries are also mercury-free, cadmium-free and lead-free.  They are in compliance with the European Union’s stricter RoHS standard (the Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment).

The last green benefit is money.  They pay 29¢ for each alkaline AA battery.  That works out to $4,742 every year. The NiMH batteries are $2.65 per cell, and require five rechargers for $66.97 each.  Rechargeables cost $589.25 the first year and $254.40 each subsequent (each year they need new cells but not new chargers); this will save $22,103.15 over five years.

Julie’s Bicycle reports that rechargeable batteries have 32 times less impact on the environment (global warming, air & water pollution) than disposable batteries throughout their lifecycle, and that one rechargeable can replace 93 disposables.  The end result, of course, is that finite natural resources are reused, and the release of harmful chemicals (such as lead, mercury and cadmium) from improper disposal is prevented.

Add up the benefits – reliability, cost savings, greener profiles, and less pollution and waste – and it’s easy to see why better batteries is one of the wisest sustainability choices a production can make – and why theatres from as far away as Australia are reaching out to the BGA for information about how they too can go greener.

For more information, please look at our website BroadwayGreen.com, or email green@broadway.org with specific questions.

Broadway Shows Using Rechargable Batteries: 

The Broadway Green Alliance was founded in 2008 in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is an ad hoc committee of The Broadway League and a fiscal program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Along with Julie’s Bicycle in the UK, the BGA is a founding member of the International Green Theatre Alliance. The BGA has reached tens of thousands of fans through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media.

At the BGA, we recognize that it is impossible to be 100% “green” while continuing activity and – as there is no litmus test for green activity – we ask instead that our members commit to being greener and doing better each day. As climate change does not result from one large negative action, but rather from the cumulative effect of billions of small actions, progress comes from millions of us doing a bit better each day. To become a member of the Broadway Green Alliance we ask only that you commit to becoming greener, that you name a point person to be our liaison, and that you will tell us about your green-er journey.

The BGA is co-chaired by Susan Sampliner, Company Manager of the Broadway company of WICKED, and Charlie Deull, Executive Vice President at Clark Transfer<. Rebekah Sale is the BGA’s full-time Coordinator.

Go to the Broadway Green Alliance

Powered by WPeMatico

Expanding Plastics

Broadway Green Alliance, news, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance
Expanding Plastics

Mayor Bloomberg at the press launch of Broadway Goes Green.

Mayor Bloomberg at the press launch of Broadway Goes Green.

by Noah Aberlin

Get ready to add all rigid plastics to your recycling bin-

NYC has expanded the residential recycling stream.

On April 24th Mayor Bloomberg announced that NYC will now recycle all rigid plastics. These newly included items go in the same clear bag or blue bin where all glass, metal, aseptic packaging (juice boxes, soy milks), and plastic bottles currently go.

Rigid plastics include yogurt cups, toys, hangers, cookie tray inserts, plastic cups, food containers, and more. Bloomberg said at a press meeting, “Starting today, if it’s a rigid plastic – any rigid plastic – recycle it…This means that 50,000 tons of plastics that we were sending to landfills every year will now be recycled and it will save taxpayers almost $600,000 in export costs each year.”

This announcement coincides with the development of the new recycling plant being built by the Sunset Park waterfront in Brooklyn, which will be the largest household recycling plant in North America. Because it takes 70 percent less energy to make plastic from recycled plastics instead of raw materials, it’s going to help further reduce the city’s carbon footprint. New York City will not only become more sustainable but will also create 100 jobs at the new plant. Plus, it will be powered by one of the largest solar installations in the city.

Keep a lookout for new recycling decals and posters that should be mailed to residences soon and remember it is recommended that New Yorkers should rinse out all containers before sorting them in recycling bins. While these new rules do not effect commercial recycling (i.e.: at the theatres) they do include the new Solar Big Belly public recycling bins that have been sited around town. There are 30 in the Times Square area so please seek them out and use them.

To recycle plastic bags, many supermarkets and drug stores have special collection bins. Film plastic (plastic wrap) does not recycle.

For more information and a detailed list of all recyclable materials visit http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/html/home/home.shtml

 

The Broadway Green Alliance was founded in 2008 in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is an ad hoc committee of The Broadway League and a fiscal program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Along with Julie’s Bicycle in the UK, the BGA is a founding member of the International Green Theatre Alliance. The BGA has reached tens of thousands of fans through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media.

At the BGA, we recognize that it is impossible to be 100% “green” while continuing activity and – as there is no litmus test for green activity – we ask instead that our members commit to being greener and doing better each day. As climate change does not result from one large negative action, but rather from the cumulative effect of billions of small actions, progress comes from millions of us doing a bit better each day. To become a member of the Broadway Green Alliance we ask only that you commit to becoming greener, that you name a point person to be our liaison, and that you will tell us about your green-er journey.

The BGA is co-chaired by Susan Sampliner, Company Manager of the Broadway company of WICKED, and Charlie Deull, Executive Vice President at Clark Transfer<. Rebekah Sale is the BGA’s full-time Coordinator.

Go to the Broadway Green Alliance

Powered by WPeMatico

A Greener (and easier!) Approach to Stuffers

Broadway Green Alliance, news, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

Post by Jennifer Marik, Wicked Stage Manager

Printing your own stuffers in house as needed, rather than ordering them in bulk in advance, saves a lot of money, is very eco-friendly and is very easy!  At Wicked, we have a high-speed copier, an industrial paper cutter and a cabinet full of 100% recycled paper.  With just these tools, we are able to generate a stuffer for each performance – including bios and headshots for new performers and all of the necessary cast replacements.  If it is just a bio, or two or three replacements, we are able to print eight inserts to a page (which at the Gershwin is 225 copies per show).  If we need to include more information, we can generally put it on a four-up (450 copies per show).  On very rare occasions, we need to print three stuffers to a page to accommodate multiple bios, headshots and replacements. Depending on the number of copies, we can usually print the stuffers in about ten minutes and cutting the stuffers takes less than five.  We have templates set up in the computer (which prints directly to the copier), so we are able to quickly modify the stuffer each evening when we do our paperwork at hour before half hour. Our ushers generally have the inserts in hand 15 minutes after that.

WICKED has been a partner of the BGA since its founding.

WICKED has been a partner of the BGA since its founding.

What if the copier goes down at an inopportune moment?  Or what if an actor calls out at the last minute?  We keep one show of each cast replacement option in our emergency stuffer stash, so we are able to cover these contingencies.  And if the copier were to go down on a two-show day, or over the weekend (which has happened almost never), we would use Staples or Kinko’s for subsequent shows.

In an effort to be even greener, we do not cut the emergency stuffers ahead of time.  With the paper cutter, if we need to use them, we can cut them very quickly.  If we don’t use them and the actor leaves the company, we end up recycling only a total of 200-500 pieces of paper per actor leaving the company – we can use them for printing in/outs, scrap paper, etc.  What used to happen instead was that we’d have to get rid of 7200 small pieces of paper per actor leaving – and more if they covered multiple parts.  One bonus of this system is that we no longer need to store hundreds of stacks of stuffers that might never be used.

In addition to being a greener way to do stuffers, and being much easier for the stage managers, printing your own stuffers saves money – a lot of it.  Wicked saves about $5000 a month: just by making a one-time purchase of that industrial paper cutter and a monthly rental of the high-speed copier.  And an added bonus to having the high speed copier – we can generate scripts and scores on demand in-house as well, which even saves us more money.

Broadway Shows using GREENER Stuffers:

The Broadway Green Alliance was founded in 2008 in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is an ad hoc committee of The Broadway League and a fiscal program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Along with Julie’s Bicycle in the UK, the BGA is a founding member of the International Green Theatre Alliance. The BGA has reached tens of thousands of fans through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media.

At the BGA, we recognize that it is impossible to be 100% “green” while continuing activity and – as there is no litmus test for green activity – we ask instead that our members commit to being greener and doing better each day. As climate change does not result from one large negative action, but rather from the cumulative effect of billions of small actions, progress comes from millions of us doing a bit better each day. To become a member of the Broadway Green Alliance we ask only that you commit to becoming greener, that you name a point person to be our liaison, and that you will tell us about your green-er journey.

The BGA is co-chaired by Susan Sampliner, Company Manager of the Broadway company of WICKED, and Charlie Deull, Executive Vice President at Clark Transfer<. Rebekah Sale is the BGA’s full-time Coordinator.

Go to the Broadway Green Alliance

Powered by WPeMatico

TOP TEN WAYS TO GREEN-UP YOUR LIGHTING & SET DESIGN

Broadway Green Alliance, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This post comes to you from the Broadway Green Alliance

HOW TO THINK GREEN-ER AS A LIGHTING DESIGNER

  1. Always design with greener lighting in mind.

  2. Always rehearse under energy-efficient lighting (exceptions for tech and dress rehearsals).

  3. Keep all dimmers, instruments and control gear clean and dust-free.

  4. Shut down all dimming gear at the source at the end of rehearsal/performance day.

  5. Power down moving heads & LED power supplies if they won’t be in use for more than one hour.

  6. Make sure all back-of-house, dressing room, and corridor lighting is energy-efficient (LED recommended) and operated by motion sensors.

  7. All running and marker lights should be LED.

  8. Install dimmable energy efficient sources for all of your front-of-house areas.

  9. Use the BGA’s Gel Project for donating and reusing lighting gels where feasible.

  10. Join the Broadway Green Alliance!

 

HOW TO THINK GREEN-ER AS A SET DESIGNER

  1. Create a greener studio: For model-making, choose cardboard over foam core, pulp board over illustration board, white glue over Twin Tak or other adhesive sheets.

  2. Printing: Ink cartridges are often over-packaged with plastic. Choose a printer that uses less or no plastic packaging for their inks. Recycle all ink cartridges. Use recycled paper, print front and back, or review documents digitally and don’t print at all!

  3. Build models out of packing materials like cereal boxes, pulp board & cardboard inserts, plastic packaging and cardboard boxes.

  4. Recycle all paper & cardboard used in the studio. Break down old models and reuse materials. Save models that can’t be broken down to be used as base structures for new models.

  5. Designing Greener: When approaching a project, think of the type of materials you want to use. Is there a more sustainable option for this material? What is the sheet-size of this material? Choose sizes that more closely resemble size of sheet goods so as to produce less waste.

  6. Spend some time researching sustainable material options. There are lots of options out there, so this will be an ongoing adventure. Start with one material and build your references slowly as greening can be an ongoing process as opposed to a major overhaul. This will help you incorporate sustainability into your current working process & schedule.

  7. Try to incorporate used materials into your designs. Look through shop stock materials, search groups like Artcube and Craig’s List for materials, shop at places like Build-It-Green and Film Biz Recycling. Include a visit to Materials-for-the-Arts if you are working with a not-for-profit organization. (see the BGA’s website for all of these resources and more or you can “Ask the BGA” @ green@Broadway.org)

  8. Recycle your set. When your show is struck you can post it on the Artcube list serve for others to claim. Or donate directly to Film Biz Recycling. Other productions, particularly off-off Broadway shows with limited budgets, could really use these materials. Reuse encourages creativity. The BGA can help you facilitate this.

  9. Reach out to others. Sustainability in theatrical design is a new & ongoing area of exploration. We can all learn from each other. Share your experiences with friends, colleagues and students. Twitter, Facebook and blogs are a great way to share greening tips.

  10. Join the Broadway Green Alliance! You will learn new ways you can improve your greening efforts. Attend workshops and meet others who have a passion for theater and a passion for the environment!

 

The Broadway Green Alliance was founded in 2008 in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is an ad hoc committee of The Broadway League and a fiscal program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Along with Julie’s Bicycle in the UK, the BGA is a founding member of the International Green Theatre Alliance. The BGA has reached tens of thousands of fans through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media.

At the BGA, we recognize that it is impossible to be 100% “green” while continuing activity and – as there is no litmus test for green activity – we ask instead that our members commit to being greener and doing better each day. As climate change does not result from one large negative action, but rather from the cumulative effect of billions of small actions, progress comes from millions of us doing a bit better each day. To become a member of the Broadway Green Alliance we ask only that you commit to becoming greener, that you name a point person to be our liaison, and that you will tell us about your green-er journey.

The BGA is co-chaired by Susan Sampliner, Company Manager of the Broadway company of WICKED, and Charlie Deull, Executive Vice President at Clark Transfer<. Rebekah Sale is the BGA’s full-time Coordinator.

Go to the Broadway Green Alliance

Powered by WPeMatico

Donyale Werle to Speak at USITT 2013

Announcements, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

USITT-DonyaleWerle-tonyTony Award-winning scenic designer Donyale Werle will speak at the upcoming USITT conference in Milwaukee on the subject of making Broadway more environmentally friendly. Werle, who is the pre-production co-chair of the Broadway Green Alliance, is committed to making theatre a “greener” practice, and uses salvaged materials in her sets and designs. Her set for Peter and the Starcatcher, for which she won a Tony, was made entirely of recycled materials. She will speak on Saturday, March 23.

Donyale Werle, winner of the 2012 Tony Award for scenic design and a leader in the Broadway Green Alliance, has been added to the already-stellar lineup of participants at the 2013 USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo March 20-23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Ms. Werle’s session will focus on producing greener theatre. She has gained much acclaim for her use of salvaged materials in her sets and for her creative designs; she won her recent Tony for Peter and the Starcatcher, whose set was made entirely of recycled materials.

Werle serves as pre-production co-chair for the Broadway Green Alliance, which works for sustainable practices in the theatre community and is sponsoring her appearance at the USITT Conference on Saturday, March 23. BGA is a supporting member of USITT, the national association for backstage professionals, whose annual conference draws 5,000 people from the world of theatrical design and technology.

USITT considers Werle’s appearance a major coup for the conference, which has devoted resources to promoting greener theatre and production for several years. Last year USITT awarded a grant to Technical Director Paul Brunner, assisted by Scene Designer Michael Mehler, co-chairs of BGA’s Education Committee, to support their efforts to bring sustainable practices to educational theatre. They will be holding a separate seminar on “Reimagining Theatre with Green Ideals” at the upcoming conference and helped bring Werle in as a speaker.