SOON IS NOW is an immersive climate theater experience paired with activism presented in Scenic Hudson's Long Dock Park Beacon, NY on Saturday afternoon October 23rd, as part of the Climate Solutions Week (October 17-24) sponsored by Sustainable Hudson Valley. Theatrical performers showing their activism through spoken word and movement, and many of your favorite climate justice and education groups have come together to present solutions in a theatrical way called Climate Change Theatre Action 2021.

Hudson Valley and NYC based artists will read a selection of plays commissioned by Climate Change Theatre Action, a worldwide series of performances of short climate change plays presented biennially to coincide with the United Nations COP meetings. In addition, actors will read a portion of full length play and eco-parable, Escapegoat, by May Treuhaft-Ali. There will be poetry readings by Edwin Torres and Tom King, music by Elizabeth Clark (Seeds Under Nuclear Winter: An Earth Opera) and visual art and activism. Additional participants include: Hudson River Playback Theatre, Katiana Rangel, Twinkle Burke, Andrew Brehm, Chloé Hayat, abigail jean baptiste, Eric Magnus, Jean Brennan. Beacon Conservation Advisory Committee, Sustainable Hudson Valley, Fareground, Clearwater, Climate Reality Hudson Valley & Catskills chapter and others will be present to provide ways for the community to take action.

Schedule:

1pm Activism & Art: Environmental groups present to provide actions & Beacon based artist Jean Brennan will share FRUIT&ROT, an imprint centered around art and ecology.

2:00pm Performance Walking Loops: Sign ups begin at 1:30pm for the 3 walking tours of micro-performances that will take you along the wooded paths, tall grasses, and beach areas of the park. Tours start at 2pm, 2:15pm, and 2:30pm and last approximately one hour. 20 ppl max each tour and first-come, first-served. These tours are not catered towards young children. We can provide masks. Wear comfortable shoes!

2:15pm Sitting/Standing Performances: performances by Hudson River Playback Theatre, Edwin Torres, and Twinkle Burke will take place around the perimeter of the green field next to the Long Dock. These 3 performances are open to all including young children! They will take place in a loop and last until approximately 3:30pm. Bring your folding chair!

Parking Recommendations

Parking in Long Dock is limited. Walking, carpooling and the Free Beacon Loop Bus are encouraged. The Loop Bus drops you at the train station, and you can walk over to Long Dock. The best place to park is in the train station on the side closest to the Hudson River, where all spots are free on the weekends!

About The Producers

This event is part of Hudson Valley Climate Solutions Week organized by Sustainable Hudson Valley. Produced by Eve Morgenstern, Brian Mendes and Connie Hall. Contact: Eve Morgenstern for more information, evemorgenstern@gmail.com.

Use of Long Dock Park for this event has been provided by Scenic Hudson (scenichudson.org). The leading environmental organization focused on the Hudson River Valley, it is dedicated to creating environmentally healthy communities, championing smart economic growth, protecting working farms, opening up riverfronts to the public and preserving the valley’s beauty and natural resources. Since its founding in 1963, Scenic Hudson has permanently protected 25,000 acres of irreplaceable landscapes and created or enhanced more than 40 parks.

Look For Signs

Several graphic designs have been created to represent this initiative. You may see crossovers of them in social media and in other news outlets. Keep your eyes out, and read the messages to learn more.

Marchers in the funeral procession for the billion animals killed in Australian fires, as well as all of the species being lost to climate change. Photo Credit: Gilles Uzan — Marchers in the funeral procession for the billion animals killed in Australian fires, as well as all of the species being lost to climate change.
*Photo Credit: Gilles Uzan*

As you were strolling along in Beacon down Main Street, you may have heard bagpipes in the distance. And as the sound got closer to you, passing you, you may have noticed people dressed in black carrying a small black coffin surrounded by signs with a particular symbol on them (two triangles or an hourglass in a circle). What was it?

*Photo Credit: Extinction Rebellion New Paltz*

It was a funeral procession in Beacon for the billion animals killed in Australian fires - as well as all of the species being lost to climate change, according to the press release from the organizers, Extinction Rebellion Hudson Highlands. “Extinction Rebellion (held on Sunday, January 26, 2020) is an international movement engaged in nonviolent direct action to force governments to respond to climate and ecological breakdown,” according to the press release.

“We are watching the world that we love unravel before our eyes because of climate change,” says Krystal Ford, a representative of Extinction Rebellion Hudson Highlands. “Last year alone, several species of birds, frogs, a shark, a snail, and one of the world’s largest freshwater fish were among those declared extinct.”

The funeral met on the sidewalk in front of the Beacon Post Office and marched to Polhill Park on Route 9D for a brief ritual. Marchers were dressed to honor the dead. Adults and children brought wreaths, flowers, pictures of environmental campaigners, and of extinct or endangered species that were placed upon a coffin. Bagpipes were played by James Hartford, from River Architects.

Photo Credit: Gilles Uzan

When emailed for further comment, Krystal elaborated on the mission of the march:

“We have been losing species at unprecedented rate. We have entered the sixth mass extinction. The images many of us have seen of the koalas and kangaroos being rescued from burning forests are only the most recent and heartbreaking example of species being lost to the climate and ecological crisis. 1 billion animals in Australia have been lost due to the wildfires alone. If our world is dying without our publicly and collectively expressing our grief, we might assume these losses aren't important, but of course they are. Yesterday, over 60 people came together in Beacon to publicly honor their pain for the world, showing that we care. Once we allow this pain to register, instead of turning away or being numb to it, we may find ourselves released from our paralysis, and demand action from our government to act on this climate and ecological emergency.”

According to Wikipedia, “the extinction symbol represents the threat of holocene extinction (or sixth mass extinction) on earth; the circle represents the planet and the stylised hourglass is a warning that time is running out for many species. The symbol has been attributed to anonymous East London artist, ESP or Goldfrog ESP.