ISU Theatre's "Fairytales for the Anthropocene" features puppetry, live actors and new short plays with stories at the interplay of survival, extinction, humanity, nature and the imagination. Directed by associate professor of theatre Amanda Petefish-Schrag and led by an 11-member ensemble and talented team of designers, the show opens Friday, Oct. 11 (7:30 p.m., Maintenance Shop, Memorial Union). It brings to the stage for the first time these plays:
- "The Fall," by Petefish-Schrag, associate professor of theatre
- "Portus" by Tiffany Antone, associate teaching professor of theatre
- "The Return of Las Maris" by Diana Burbano
- "Little Blue 52" by Jaisey Bates
- "The Guests" by Darcy Parker Bruce
- "The Ballad of Smokey Quartz" by Ty Defoe
ISU Theatre commissioned playwrights to craft short plays or monologues inspired by the production's title. Each work is an original or reimagined traditional tale with a contemporary twist and contains at least one element of shadow puppetry.
"Fairytales for the Anthropocene" also features music from Iowa State's Cantamus Treble Ensemble, directed by assistant teaching professor of music Jennifer Rodgers and Ames musicians Ben Schrag, Bryon and Rachel Dudley, Aaron Alcott, Greg Bruna and Jordan Mull.
Other showtimes are Oct. 12 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 12-13 at 2 p.m. General admission is $20 and can be purchased in advance through the M-Shop or at the door if available as seating is limited. Youth and student tickets are free and available only at the door. This production contains mature content.
The familiarity of fairytales
The collection of plays highlights both familiar and new characters from American folk hero Johnny Appleseed to the classic fairytale heroine Red Riding Hood to a family of quartz rocks.
"So often fairytales and myth deal with the intersection of humanity and the natural world," Petefish-Schrag said. "And they exist across cultures. By reimagining fairytales in the context of the Anthropocene, we can explore our impact on the environment through a familiar, yet powerful, lens."
Earth is officially in the Holocene epoch, which started 11,700 years ago after the last major ice age. In recent years, there has been buzz and debate about whether a new geological epoch should be declared -- one called the Anthropocene -- to acknowledge humanity's impact on a changing planet. Derived from the Greek words for "man" and "new," the name appears frequently in pop culture. It helps frame the shared context for these new plays.
Bringing art and science together
Scout Kuehn is an actor performing in four of the plays. Her roles, among others, include a young rock separated from its sibling by external forces, and "The Wolf," a character representing the dark side of humanity's relationship with the oceans. As a double major in the sciences and arts, Kuehn is thrilled to see her areas of study meld on stage.
"These six playwrights dove into almost every aspect of what I study as an environmental science major," she said. "These authors took their time researching and cultivating these beautiful stories in a 'once-upon-a-time' format about our terrifying realities concerning climate change and many other issues."
Kuehn said that researchers and scientists often face a challenge in communicating their important work to the general public. While scientific facts can be hard to digest -- especially when delivered rapidly via social media feeds and news sites -- theatre can slow the pace in ways that lead to understanding and action, Kuehn said.
Light and shadow
ISU Theatre employs a storytelling technique throughout the show that traces back to ancient times. Five students have designed unique shadow puppetry for the production.
"The interplay of light and shadow adds an ethereal quality, bringing the natural world to life in a way that feels magical but also ominous," Petefish-Schrag said. "There's also something that feels somehow 'timeless' with shadow puppetry, perhaps because the form itself is so ancient, and can be traced back to human beings' very earliest acts of community storytelling."
