The Arts & Climate Initiative to Present THE FUTURE WITHIN US at Caveat

On September 17, 2023, the Arts & Climate Initiative will present The Future Within Us, a funny, poetic, and poignant evening of theatre, music, and magic tricks at Caveat, 21A Clinton Street, on Manhattan's Lower East Side. This event kicks off Climate Change Theatre Action 2023, a three-month global festival of short plays about the many facets of the climate crisis, inspired by Octavia Butler's journal entry "All good things must begin."

The Future Within Us features original plays by Nicolas Billon (Canada), Chantal Bilodeau (U.S.), Miranda Rose Hall (U.S.), Ethan King (Philippines), and Kevin Matthew Wong (Canada), as well as two musical numbers. The show is conceived by Chantal Bilodeau and Julia Levine, directed by Britt Berke, with musical direction by Xander Browne. Performers include London Carlisle, Annie Fang, Scott Redmond, Monica Sanborn, Sasha VanGuard, and Ema Zivkovic. Costume design by Phuong Nguyen, stage managed by Zoe Collins.

How do you envision the future? What aspects of that world are already here? Boasting a cast of characters that includes stage managers, actors, drag queens, oysters, and polar bears, The Future Within Us invites us to reflect on the futures we each carry and how these imaginings might translate into a collective vision of a better world.

Filipino playwright Ethan King says of the festival: "This project reminds us that the systems by which this world lives are built on stories that have been told for generations. It's time to tell new stories, with everyone having an equal seat at the table."

Early Bird tickets ($20) can be purchased until September 10, one week prior to the event. Regular tickets are $25. The show will be livestreamed ($10) and available on an on-demand platform until September 24. The event starts at 5pm Eastern Time, and runs for 90 minutes. Tickets can be purchased here: https://caveat.nyc/events/climate-change-action-theater-9-17-2023

The Future Within Us is officially part of Climate Week NYC, an annual climate event that brings together business leaders, political change makers, local decision takers, and civil society representatives of all ages and backgrounds to drive the transition, speed up progress, and champion change that is already happening.

The Future Within Us is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature as well as with funds from Creative Engagement, a regrant program supported by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) in partnership with the City Council, and administered by LMCC.

The Arts & Climate Initiative uses storytelling and live performance to foster dialogue about our global climate crisis, create an empowering vision of the future, and inspire people to take action.

Now in its fifth season, Climate Change Theatre Action is a worldwide festival of short plays about the climate crisis presented by the Arts & Climate Initiative and the Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts. CCTA 2023 runs from September 17 to December 23, 2023.