ABOUT

OUR MISSION.

SPT aims to fulfill the 3 prongs of Sustainability in theater:

HUMAN

Ensure an antiracist, equitable, and inclusive community where all members can contribute, working in a healthy environment for fair and liveable wages and hours.

Environmental

Protect our communities and the planet from degradation, through responsible and regenerative operating, design, and production practices.

ECONOMIC

Budgeting and season planning that supports sustained operations, livelihoods and equitable wages for staff and guest artists.

Our industry faces severe social and economic impacts of Covid-19. Theatre makers are also engaged in a much-needed reckoning with systemic racism. Alongside the global pandemic and the legacy of white supremacy looms another destabilizing reality: climate change.

These three crises are not a coincidence: they are deeply interconnected. Their confluence at this moment demands that we re-examine our “business as usual” and embrace new responsibilities - and opportunities - as we look forward.

This is a guide with concrete tools and best practices for prioritizing the intertwined needs for greater environmental, social, and economic sustainability in our industry. Our focus here is on environmental sustainability tools, especially for design and production, but we recognize the need for a broader conversation and invite the creativity and wisdom of our colleagues across the country in re-imagining American Theatre.

AUTHORS

Michael Banta, Production Manager
mbanta@barnard.edu
theatre.barnard.edu

Lauren Gaston, Costume Designer
laurengaston.design@gmail.com
www.laurengaston.com

Sandra Goldmark, Designer & Sustainability Director
sandratgoldmark@gmail.com
barnard.edu/profiles/sandra-goldmark

Edward T. Morris, Set and Projections Designer
edwardtmorris@gmail.com
www.edwardtmorris.com