I'm in a production of Shakespeare in the Arb this summer (think Shakespeare in the Park but in an Arboretum) and we just started having outside rehearsals. I was excited sure, but I also thought it'd be really draining to be outside for that long. It's been amazing to be honest, I'm having such a good time with this production, and I think a big part of it is that it's outside!
Being outside has done amazing things for my mood. I can feel my mood getting better just from being there and breathing that outside air. It really clears off the weight of the day from my shoulders. I think also part of it is that I'm outside and away from a computer or wifi haha, you cannot get ahold of me even if I wanted to respond!
I think it's also the fact that the production has set up this culture of respect of the environment and the space that we're in. One of the first meetings was walking through the Arb and looking at where we'd be working and noticing the local plants and things like that. It's been stressed that we have to be careful with this space, that it's "a living museum" and we need to treat it as such. It's environmental theater with a conservationist goal.
The play itself is "A Midsummer Night's Dream" which is arguably the first conservationist text. Shakespeare spends a lot of time describing the forest and the magic of the environment! He was writing this at a time where a lot of wood was being chopped down for fuel and materials, it's likely that there was an environmental crisis happening in his day as well.
It's been amazing putting this production together, I can't wait to see what we make!
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