The Bushwick Starr Hosts 4TH ANNUAL BIG GREEN THEATER FESTIVAL This Weekend

The Bushwick Starr will present BIG GREEN THEATER, an annual eco-playwriting program and green theater festival celebrating environmental education, sustainability in the arts, and community enrichment. BIG GREEN THEATER (BGT) is an annual community based program that brings the youth of Bushwick directly in touch with the professional world of theater. For a four-month period every year, The Bushwick Starr works with a group of 5th grade students after school, teaching them a combination of playwriting and environmental education. This in-classroom portion of our program is lead by Jeremy Pickard of Brooklyn based eco-theater collective, Superhero Clubhouse. Each year, we partner with Bushwick's PS123 5th grade class; a wonderful and lively group of 10-11 year-olds, who throughout the program, write the original environmentally themed plays presented at the BGT Festival. These plays are performed by an ensemble of professional actors, directors, and designers using only green theater methods (recycled materials for sets and costumes, fluorescent and LED lighting, paperless programming and ticketing, etc.).

Our performance venue serves the neighborhood of Bushwick, Brooklyn- a vibrant and diverse community that is currently lacking in environmental education. Our theater is committed to being a part of community environmental awareness, and this program is our way of actively working toward change through a creative and interactive process. With BGT, we are introducing a new model for arts spaces to provide community-driven green initiatives that serve a global cause.

BIG GREEN THEATER is Directed by Jeremy Pickard, with lighting design by Jay Maury; sound design by Sarah Hughes; set design by Michael Minahan; and costume design by Preesa Bullington. The Production/ Stage Manager is Harry Poster; Assistant Production/Stage Manager is Maria Portman Kelly. Big Green Theater features Nanda Abella, Eben Hoffer, Tia James, Flako Jimenez, and Katey Parker.

The plays are written by 5th grade students, age 10-11. Those students are Jordan Lopez, Mariana Castro, Jessica Rueda, Leslie Rivera, Jeremiah Maldonado, Emilio Santos, Christopher Cruz, Ximena Ramos, Isis Saninocencio, Joseline Lima, and Heaven Masters.

Big Green Theater will take place today, April 26 at 4:00pm and 7:00pm and April 27 at 4:00pm. All performances will be at The Bushwick Starr theater at 207 Starr Street, Brooklyn, NY.

Performances on April 26 and 27 at 4:00pm are free. The performance on April 26 at 7:00pm is an $18 special benefit performance. Ticket reservations can be made at: www.thebushwickstarr.org.

Superhero Clubhouse (SHC) is a sustainable collective of theater artists and environmental advocates. SHC believes that individuals possess the power to make positive change, and consider those working for the betterment of the earth to be heroes of our time. SHC makes original eco-plays via a collaborative, green and rigorous process. Through the creation of allegorical mythologies, experiments in storytelling and science-inspired events, SHC works to ignite environmental conversations among audiences and communities in order to revolutionize theater and save the world.

SHC is an equal partner in the BIG GREEN THEATER program. Each year, Bushwick Starr collaborates with SHC "Captain", Jeremy Pickard, and his troupe to develop and implement the kids' writing portion, as well as bringing their words to the stage by creating the culminating performance festival. SHC has years of experience with creating youth-based green theater as a means for environmental education. Bushwick Starr is thrilled to have them lend their expertise and creativity to this program.

The Bushwick Starr is an Obie Award winning non profit theater that presents an annual Season of new work in theater, dance, and puppetry. Bushwick Starr is an organization defined by both our artists and our community, and since 2007, they have grown into a thriving theatrical venue, a vital neighborhood arts center, and a destination for exciting and engaging performance. The Bushwick Starr's mission is to help ambitious artists and ambitious audiences find each other. They provide a springboard for emerging professional artists to make career-defining leaps, and they are a sanctuary where established performance companies come to experiment and innovate. Past seasons have included new work from cutting edge companies such as The Debate Society, the TEAM, Elevator Repair Service, Half Straddle, and Witness Relocation.

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