Global Climate Change: Students confront global warming in Earth Pop

Students confront global warming in Earth Pop

An article posted April 27, 2007.

Irving Middle School students address concerns about the environment in multimedia theatre production. 
 
A group of youth threw garbage on the floor, kicked papers around and celebrated being wasteful as they sang, "Everyday we live, everyday we trash. We don’t care cause the world will last." 

In the middle of the youth littering spree, people began to laugh. It was all part of a production called "Earth Pop." These young people weren't demonstrating how to destroy the earth, but making a statement about how much harm is being done to the environment. 

A group of nearly twenty students from Irving Middle School gathered for three days in March to perform a multimedia theatre production geared towards creating awareness about global warming and improving the environment. 

The students participating in the production were a part of the Literacy, Arts, Culture, Education & Recreation Afterschool Program, known as LACER. Located in four middle schools in the greater Los Angeles area, LACER provides students with free arts and literacy-based after school programs.  

Sharon Stricker, one of LACER's co-founders, said getting kids involved after school was one of the reasons she helped to create the program. 

"We wanted to make sure kids who came from an economically disadvantaged background... had equal opportunities to the arts," said Stricker, who attended the final performance of the production. 

"Earth Pop" tells the story of Mother Earth, who becomes increasingly ill because a group of humans are littering and acting carelessly with their trash. Mother Earth is able to feel better only after one of the humans becomes a toxic mutant and warns his friends about the dangers they are causing. 

"It's been really, really wonderful," said producer William Seymour. "Especially for the kids who have never been in a play, never wanted to be in the play... They're getting all the skills that will be transferable later." 

Seymour was part of a collaboration that included several artists, three interns, a 12-person stage crew, and 10 artist-instructors who led workshops assisting students in areas such as choreography, digital photography, and music. 

The collaborative process allowed the entire school community to be involved in the production. According to Seymour, many of the materials used to transform the set from an ordinary auditorium to a hazardous waste zone were re-used or donated by community members. 

"What we did have to buy we got at a huge discount," said Seymour. "All the recycled material that we used in the play is trash that we generated while in rehearsal and it’s a lot. Everything is being reused, and then after the show we're taking everything to recycle." 

To make the production more interactive, Seymour and other artists worked to create displays, such as a robot built out of bottles and a sculpture made of boxes. The printed program was an activity guide, and facts about the environment were posted throughout the auditorium, including the bathroom.  

Much of the work on the display occurred in the weeks leading up to the performance, but writing for the production began in September. 

"We had been working on looking at how young people could respond to the concept of global warming and how we could get them to speak about it," said Seymour. "Their reaction to a lot of the stuff that's in the news about global warming is actually a little frightening to them. We've found that middle-aged school youth get really scared." 

In reaction to global warming, students from the Irving Stars Teatro Workshop worked with Cristina Frias, director and creator of the show, to update and revise a version of the production written two years ago by youth. Led by Frias, the students began rehearsing for "Earth Pop" in January.  

Frias said leading the students through a production that was both relevant and educational was empowering for them. According to Frias, students began to believe that "we have a voice, we can tell a story with a strong message." 

Most of the students participating in the production were between the ages of 10 and 12. They began practicing two to three times each week after school in January and gradually increased the number of practices as the production approached. A month before the performance, they practiced five days a week. 

"These kids are all participating voluntarily and only after school and it's a pretty impressive commitment," said Seymour. "The challenge has been keeping all these young people focused and getting them prepared." 

Seymour said that many students missed school dances and skipped out on other activities to prepare for the production. 

Stricker, LACER co-founder, watched "Earth Pop" at the Irving Middle School Auditorium as kids sang along with a student who played the guitar, as an actor portrayed a reporter in a video segment broadcast on a projector screen, and dancers executed a choreographed routine. 

"This is the payoff, to come to this," said Stricker. 

For the youth involved in the production, the hard work was worth the effort. 

"I've learned a lot," said Mervelin Aviles, one of the play's actors. "Trashing the place could kill Mother Earth and start global warming." 

Eighth grade student Luis Ortiz helped out by being a part of the stage crew. He said he hoped those who had attended the production would be able to learn from its message. 

"It's a good idea -- getting people to learn more about helping out the environment," said Ortiz. 

Others said performing onstage helped to foster a love for acting. 

"Acting was just a hobby before, but then I started really liking it," said seventh grader Margarita Naranjo, who performed the part of Darcy in the play. 

Even the parents of some of the performers noticed a change in their sons and daughters. 

Nancy Naranjo said her daughter's self-esteem increased by being in the production and that it taught her the value of hard work. 

"It was really hard for her to have a commitment at 12 years," said Naranjo. "I think it helped her a lot... I just wish that more schools would have these types of programs." 

Naranjo said her daughter also learned the value of recycling and taking care of the environment from the play.  

For Frias, helping people learn more about global warming and taking care of the environment was worth the time and energy she put into the production. She said the experience was educating, but also fun for her and the students. 

"Where else do they get to trash and have it be celebrated?" she asked.

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