In 2018, Shannon Nolan, a University of Iowa student, and her professor David Gould created a mission that asked the next generation to lend their voices to the earth. Gould asked Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman to write an ecological-themed prompt.
The prompt Gorman proposed was: “Think of one element and speak in its voice through pictures and words. What would the fires raging in California say to the world? What would the wind from Hurricane Maria demolishing Puerto Rico sound like? What does freshly fallen rain on a state in drought feel and taste like through poetry? Love? Relief? Think of it as creating an open letter from the planet.”
That partnership grew into a global event named Prompt for the Planet. Students, classes, and artists now respond to Amanda’s question.
Iowa City’s Englert Theatre’s Prompt for the Planet event transcended generational gaps. Artists from various backgrounds came together in hopes of building community around sustainability and environmentalism.
Performances included adult and child choruses, interpretive dancing, art through movement and spoken word, and slam poetry.
“Young adults have historically been at the forefront of change. It really begins with trusting that something can be created that is bigger than yourself,” Gould said. “We are conditioned to think, ‘Why should I be heard? What difference could I make? Hasn’t this story been told thousands of times?’ But for these change makers, the answer is simple: It hasn’t been told by me.”
Each artist or group provided their own perspective on the prompt and chose their art form accordingly. One interpretive dance shined a spotlight on the overconsumption of clothing and the harmful nature of micro trends. In the present day and age, social media has influenced the increased speed of clothing trends, thus increasing the amount of fabric in landfills.
The adult choir detailed the joys of childhood memories associated with the natural world. They sang about making snowmen in the winter and catching fireflies in the summer. Through this language, they depicted an intimate relationship between humankind and the planet.
Among many of the performances was a sense that if people don’t begin to take action against global warming, future generations will be deprived of natural experiences. Additionally, there was a sense of nostalgia evoked for older audience members, as they remembered the joy and laughter from these childlike activities.
“We are connected by nature and the planet. It is these connections that are collective experiences that will inspire shared purpose and action for the planet,” Tricia Windschitl, co-founder and director of the LENA Project, an extension of Prompt for the Planet, said.
Windschitl emphasized this shared connection between audience members to illustrate a common humanity. Throughout the show, audience members were encouraged to interact with one another and share their own experiences relative to sustainability and nature.
Englert Theatre’s Prompt for the Planet event tackled themes of ethical consumption, sustainability and the environment. Through artistic responses to this prompt, audience members were reminded that we are lucky to live on Earth and need to take care of it.
