What happens when climate action begins not with a solution, but with a question: what kind of future could we imagine together?
That question is at the heart of Downstage Theatre’s Dreaming Climate Consciousness, an experimental theatre project that unites two established local playwrights with two newcomer writers, thanks to Downstage's partnerships with the Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI). Asked to collaboratively imagine possible futures in the face of the climate crisis, Newcomers and local artists join together in authentic ways to stoke learning across artistic cultures and practices, enhancing our creative communities.
For the project’s creator, the idea grew from a long-standing fascination with science fiction and its relationship to activism.
“I had always wanted to find a way to incorporate my lifelong love for science fiction into my theatre work,” Evan Medd says.
“Since I had been starting to become more climate-informed in my creative practice, this project was the perfect opportunity to pair up some deep interests of mine within an activist framework.”
For Medd, bringing other local playwrights into the process also created an opportunity to explore the city’s particular climate context through their own creative perspectives.
Rather than beginning with predetermined scripts, Dreaming Climate Consciousness embraces uncertainty as the four artists will first build a world together before developing individual short plays within it.
“Well, if I’m being honest, we won’t know what these plays will be until the cohort has created a world together over the coming weeks,” Medd says, adding that’s the exciting portion of the project.
“Part of what’s thrilling about this kind of process, though, is that the world-building phase will be deeply collaborative, and then each of these uniquely talented artists will spend some time independently in that world, bringing their specific creative voice and vision to that exploration.”
For Medd, that spirit of collaboration extends to the project’s vision of climate hope. Rather than focusing solely on the climate crisis, the work asks audiences to imagine what becomes possible when people work together for a common goal.
"Climate hope for me looks like a world that is much better at collaborating and being imaginative together."
- Evan Medd
“My hope is that the collective impulse starts to become more instinctive as we understand with greater clarity that we need each other to get through this.”
Previous explorations of the project have imagined both the near-term future and worlds that are hundreds or thousands of years ahead.
“As unrealistic as the term ‘utopia’ might be, I believe that experimenting with the impulse towards utopia is a worthy pursuit that can do much good for our communities now, both the human and the more than human.”
Ultimately, the project invites audiences to see collective imagination as more than a theatrical exercise.
“I’m hopeful audiences walk away from this experience with a deeper understanding of what collective dreaming can look like,” Medd adds.
Dreaming Climate Consciousness runs Oct. 23-24 in the Motel Theatre at Werklund Centre. Tickets are available at downstage.ca.