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Date: 5/10/2022
NORTHAMPTON – In an imaginary city on no day in particular, a make-believe building shows the very real effects of climate change and rising waters. The building has leaks and cracks and all around it, fierce storms pound the area.
This is the setting of “Moving Water,” Serious Play Theatre Ensemble’s latest onstage production.
The story takes place in an older apartment building in a U.S. coastal city. One of the building’s tenants, Luna, has just immigrated from Mexico and is studying oceanography.
“She has a passionate desire to help others to understand the beauty and vital role of the oceans and marine ecosystems,” said Sheryl Stoodley, Serious Play’s artistic director.
Luna befriends the building’s superintendent, Sergei, who is also concerned about increasingly violent storms and rising ocean waters around his home.
The antagonist in this play to nature is the building’s owner, who dismisses the notion and reality of climate change.
“The overall storyline centers around rising sea levels, water scarcity and our unique human relationship with water,” said Stoodley.
The play is founded on research into all aspects of water. Five actors and artists collaborated for nearly three years to create the script, story and music. The production debuted in July 2021, playing to four sold-out audiences in the Northampton Arts Trust building. Seventy people attended each performance.
Members of the Theatre Ensemble say a climate change crisis is looming, if it is not already upon us. They’re using art as a medium to deliver the message in a credible, engaging forum.
“Hopefully the audience finds the production creates a personal empathy for the topic.
We’re not just coming at it with facts. We’re coming at it with a total sensory experience and that experience resonates with audiences emotionally and personally, enhancing their involvement with the story and the facts,” said Stoodley.
The Boston Museum of Science has invited Serious Play to perform “Moving Water” in its theater on May 24 and 25.
“Our goal is to awaken people, to move audiences to action by demonstrating the urgency of the topic that is right here in our own state — Boston,” said Stoodley.
Stoodley said artists are driven to take on serious, even controversial social issues. She said their craft gives them a credible stage to inform their audiences
“Plays and art usually respond to social issues artistically because we believe our mission is to reshape society’s conversation around common social issues through the art of theatre,” said Stoodley.
Although there are no other confirmed bookings, Stoodley hopes their Boston performance is the first of many across New England. “We’re really excited. We want to get this piece out because it works,” she said. “It instills in audiences a deeper understanding of the urgency of this crisis.”
For more information about the play or to buy tickets visit www.mos.org/subspace/moving-water or call 617-723-2500. To contact Serious Play, email them at seriousplaytheatre@gmail.com.