By Sustainability Research Fellow, Katie Koenig<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emerson abounds with strong storytellers and narrative-based career paths. Tushar Mathew, an assistant professor in the Performing Arts department, has around a decade of experience in theater, theater-making, and connecting audiences with nonhuman narratives, like involving animal protagonists. In the several years he\u2019s also worked at Emerson, he\u2019s brought his extensive experience into his classes by focusing on how movement, the physical nature of acting, is integral to portraying emotions and telling compelling narratives and characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He has also worked closely with Emerson\u2019s Engagement Lab which provided a platform to produce projects related to social justice and environmental topics. Although the Engagement Lab is now closed, Tushar has an eye out for future programs that offer similar opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much of Tushar\u2019s work and performances have been self-produced, and he co-founded Otherland Theater Ensemble with Becca Finney in 2017. With that in mind, he explained to me that smaller productions, by nature, need to be waste-free (or reduce excess, at the very least). With small budgets and limited resources, they keep an eye out for reusable props, costumes, and set pieces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From buying second-hand to using the same materials for multiple years of a long-running show, Tushar explained that, particularly for expensive resources like lights, reuse is the name of the game. Anything that can be reused for multiple years, especially if it can be used in multiple ways or for more than one production, has the most value in Tushar\u2019s theater productions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Productions at performing arts centers, particularly schools like Emerson, often have invaluable resources like prop and costume shops that allow students to rent or borrow the materials they need for a particular production without blowing the budget or creating a lot of waste. Plus, maintaining partnerships between theaters, another strategy Emerson does, helps organizations share props.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tushar explained that, although he hasn\u2019t been in Boston long enough to know everything about the theater production scene here, there are a lot of costume shops similar to Emerson\u2019s own in Mumbai where he started his career. However, hygiene and quality aren\u2019t guaranteed, so buying second-hand often allows for similar benefits\u2014lowered costs and reused materials\u2014while having more control over quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Big budgets may make it easier to source materials easily, but it isn\u2019t necessary to put on moving performances. Tushar is currently producing a show that requires himself, a couple hours of time, and someone\u2019s home to produce it in. His goal is to bridge the gap between the more familiar spaces of life, like a literal living room, and an art form like theater that\u2019s often outpriced for many individuals. The sustainability of it is a beneficial, though secondary, consequence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another large emissions producer\u2014travel\u2014proved to be similarly simple to reduce. In theater, a lot of the creative process before actual rehearsals and performances doesn\u2019t require the entire team to be in a single location. For the Otherland Theater Ensemble, with members split between different states, Tushar has found that working remotely for the majority of the work is not only feasible but simpler and faster than coordinating everyone\u2019s schedules to travel to the same place at the same time for the whole process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tushar emphasized that sustainability doesn\u2019t begin with external opportunities in the theater industry and independent theater-making. Instead, the mindset we have as creators is often the first step to involve the environment into our work. How do we tell stories? What is needed to bring a story to life? Do we really<\/em> need massive budgets and excess waste just to connect an audience to characters on stage?<\/p>\n\n\n\n