Midnight Madness is taking part in the Climate Change Theatre Action movement and will have two performances on Friday.
There will be double the madness in the Hahne Theater on Friday night.
Midnight Madness will take place at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. in the Hahne Theater as the Ohio University theater tradition is paired with Climate Change Theatre Action.
The weekly production, dubbed Midnight Madness, features the 3- to 5-minute plays the graduate playwriting students wrote, cast and directed within the week. Typically, there is only one performance at 11 p.m. of all of the works, but Erik Ramsey, an associate professor of playwriting, said they need to “accommodate as many people” as they can for the “unique event.”
Climate Change Theatre Action is a venture in support of the United Nations’ Paris Climate Conference, known as COP21, and meant to bring awareness to the conversation about climate change. Climate Change Theatre Action began Nov. 1 and runs through Dec. 14.
OU alumna Chantal Bilodeau helped to curate all of the works featured in the project. Bilodeau visited OU earlier in the year and sought out interest in bringing Climate Change Theatre Action to Athens. Ramsey then approached Tyler Whidden, a third-year graduate playwright, with the idea of tying it into a Madness.
“I think any artist, especially in theater, we’re trying to not only entertain but also impart our perspective in our work,” Whidden, the producer of this week’s Madness, said. “Any time we can incorporate our talents towards social issues, I think we should do it. I think all artists should do it, and I think all artists want to do it.”
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“Climate Change Madness” will still feature the works of the eight OU graduate playwrights, in addition to about four or five plays from the Climate Change Theatre Action pool that Whidden personally selected. He said he chose based on the aesthetic of Madness — no props, no sets or costumes — and on any connection a playwright might have to the OU program. For instance, Bilodeau’s piece was selected.
“I think I counted 35 American universities doing (Climate Change Theatre Action). We’re the only one in Ohio,” Whidden said. “As far as I know, we’re one of the few incorporating it into performances in front of an audience (versus incorporating it into the classroom).”
Whidden added that they are working on trying to live stream the performance as well via HowlRound TV.
“It’s also about awareness,” he said. “We’re aware of climate change, but I think we need to be aware to calls of action and be influenced a little bit more. … It’s a great opportunity to be a part of that conversation.”
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