BABY/STUFF: A PLAY THAT BREAKS NEW GROUND BY TACKLING THE CLIMATE CRISIS
Baby/Stuff, a new play
The climate crisis is real, threatening human life and getting worse, and yet there are almost no theatrical works that include it. BABY/STUFF at the Hollywood Fringe Festival could be the first staged play that centers its story on the climate crisis and how it impacts the relationship between two couples.
BABY/STUFF addresses whether to have a baby given the climate crisis. Set in Fall 2023, the story follows two couples (four friends) navigating the end of one life, the beginning of a new life, climate anxiety, our excessive consumption culture, and racial justice. How can they reconcile their friendship, values and parenthood in a world suffering from climate change?
Do you have friends and family who only talk about their vacations, the kids’ soccer games, the annoying bosses, or other safe subjects? This play is different as it focuses on controversial topics that need to be discussed but rarely are. The play has four characters: Chris, a Black App developer for the bicycle community and Jo, a white environmental lawyer for a non-profit experiencing climate anxiety, have been close friends since college. Their spouses are now part of the close friendship. Chris’s wife is Dejah, a Black reading specialist and amateur forager. Jo’s white husband, Briar, is an assistant professor of ecological and procreation ethics. Jo views the four of them as her “Zombie Apocalypse pod against the decaying world” who will remain childfree because of the raging environmental crises. The other three characters mostly share this view of remaining childfree, but then things change.
When Dejah tells Jo she is pregnant with some trepidation, Jo does not respond with the automatic response of joy and congratulations. Jos’ response threatens to shatter the friendship.
The play’s lead writer is the talented theater artist Marisol Rosa-Shapiro. Former U.S Environmental Protection Agency enforcement attorney and senior executive, David A. Hindin is the co-author and producer.
There will be five performances of Baby/Stuff at the Mccadden Place Theatre as follows:
June 21 at 12:30 pm.
June 22 at 5pm.
June 28 at 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm
June 29 at 4:30 pm.
BABY/STUFF is innovative theatrical storytelling to talk about the impact of the climate crisis on our lives. And it breaks new ground by offering an optional curated audience discussion session after every performance. Support innovation and please come see BABY/STUFF. For questions, please reach out to David Hindin at [email protected].
