photo by Dale Dudeck

A theatre-maker, scholar and activist, I believe that theatre is ultimately a place of generosity. I am engaged in collaborations to tell stories of renewal and resilience, stories that grow compassion and nourish democratic values. A communal space, theatre can be a place to examine and heal the past, activate the present and create a common and just future. Monique Mojica puts it like this:

“By embodying that wholeness on the stage, we can transform the stories that we tell ourselves and project into the world that which is not broken, that which can be sustained, not only for Aboriginal people, but for all people of this small, green planet.”

Monique Mojica (Kuna/Rappahannock)

As an allied artist I stand with BIPOC theatre makers, working with Indigenous and underserved communities in my region. I’m passionate about making theatre that forwards environmental justice and celebrates a sense of place. Let's talk about what we might create together ~ just reach out!

Theatre has always told stories that accompany social transformation. Now, more than ever, theatre can play a role in movements for restorative justice and ecological responsibility. In my new book I take a wide-angle lens to 20th century American theatre to map how theatre-makers reflected and responded to the nation’s environmental history during the 20th century. Beginning with plays & performances that forwarded the ecological violence of settler colonialism, through the important role of grassroots theater and the arts during the civil rights movements, to the present era of climate justice, the book argues that theatre is a crucial tool of democracy, a place to embody the stories of relation that carry us toward a just, compassionate, and sustainable society. Read the chapter summary here.

You can read more about my journey in “From Ecotheatre to Ecodramaturgy.”

Theresa J. May

Workshops

Illioo Native Theatre

EMOS Ecodrama Festival