On Oct. 16 more than a dozen artists will gather at the Ignatius Old Growth Forest Project to put on Fall and Rise, an interactive performance centered around grieving ecological loss and calling in hope as a community.
Sarah Delroy, director and producer of the show, said this kind of grief needs a place of public acknowledgement in order for it to transform.
“On the emotional spectrum grief has become the background radiation of our everyday lives,” Delroy said.
“We are inundated with stories of species extinction, habitat loss, catastrophes of extreme weather due to climate change and depletion of our local aquifer due to corporate greed.
“The danger is that grief submerged and compounded can turn into apathy and doubt in self-efficacy. We need to own this part of existence and the times we live in by naming this grief and finding a way through it.”
Eco-philosopher Joanna Macy speaks to ecological grief in the theoretical foundations for The Work That Reconnects.
“Our experience of pain for the world springs from our inter-connectedness with all beings, from which also arises our powers to act on their behalf,” she said.
“When we deny or repress our pain for the world, or treat it as a private pathology, our power to take part in the healing of our world is diminished.”
Audience members of Fall and Rise will be picked up by bus at Ignatius Jesuit Centre at 3:30pm on Oct. 16 and delivered to The Old Growth Forest Project for the performance.
The event will start with a land acknowledgment and include a walking tour of various gently interactive performance pieces centered around grief and hope.
These will include a wide variety of performance arts such as dance, circus arts, spoken word, immersive theatre, soundscape and more.
The performance will open and close with the audience all together as a community and send them home on a note of active hope.
“The talent involved in this event is truly spectacular,” Delroy said. “I believe it will be a transformative experience for everyone involved, audience and performer alike.” Net funds from Fall and Rise will go The Ignatius Old Growth Forest Project and Wellington Water Watchers.
Tickets are available at The Bookshelf and Layola house for $25 (cash only). Ticket price includes HST and handling.
