Sex, humor and heart are not images that come to mind when thinking about global warming, but at last Wednesday's one-woman performance "The Boycott" with Kathryn Blume, a new approach on the daunting subject proved successful.
"The Boycott" is a modern take off of Aristophanes' anti-war comedy Lysistrata, which dates back to 411 B.C and has historically been a popular form of protest. The main character Lysistrata, starts a sex boycott in attempt to bring peace and end to the Peloponnesian War. Though circumstances are quite different now than they were in 411 BC; the play's metaphore is still relevant being that if people sacrifice something important, such as sex, they will be fueled to make major social change.
"Things could get pretty hot if you cooled things down," said Blume as she played the presidents seductive secretary.
The heroine Lyssie, in "The Boycott" is the first to start the sex protest and calls it the "Gia Plan." Women all over the country follow her lead to refuse sex until major changes are made about environmental polocies.
"Mama nature is in need of a long vacation at the beach with endless mohitos," said Blume.
Blume graduated Yale with a self designed degree in environmental studies and theater which is what she was always drwan to. "The Boycott" provided Blume with an outlit to put her two passions to use by being both informative about global warming and saterical towards U.S. culture.
The event was brought to UNH by the Discovery Program University-wide Dialogue on Energy, the Office of Sustainability, MUB Programming, Residential Life, the department of Theatre and Dance, Mask & Dagger, WildACTS and the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC)-yet only a handful of about 20 people showed.
Though heavy snow could have been at fault, sophomore Krysta Kincaid said, "Coming in I wasn't so sure about a one-woman play, but I was impressed on how she was able to carry so many characters without being scattered."
Personalizing Lysistrata, Blume followed the basic story line but would interject with her personal expereinces with global warming. She explained how there isn't a problem getting information out there about global warming but there is a problem with getting people to take proactive steps.
Eaves dropping on a couple of guys in coffee shop who were having an intelligent conversation about global warming, Blume was infuriated by their conclusion that as they put it, "We're screwed."
Ghandi's quote, "You must make the injustice visible, and be prepared to die like a soldier to do so," has been a major motivation for Blume. She even has his picture pinned above her desk where she has been writing the screen play for 10 years.
Realizing that global warming is time sensitive and the chances of getting the dream cast of George Clooney, Susan Sarandon, Reese Witherspoon and Will Smith are slim, Blume opted to make a one-woman act so that her message got across.
"No one talks about the emotional impact of global warming. Global Warming is about what people are willing to sacrifice-the earth or a car," said Blume.
Brett Pasinella, a cordinator for the Discovery Program University-wide Dialogue on Energy said, "There's a lot of gloom and doom out there. This was nice to see global warming in new perspective."
Though Blume was serious about a need for change with careless habits of consumption in the U.S. culture, she also acknowledged that people have to stay balanced.
"If a person is driving themselves into the ground for something, that's not sustainable," said Blume.
Sara Cleaves, from the Office of Sustainability thought this message was really significant since people tend to get discouraged with so much negative focus on global warming. "This is what's missing," she said.
Blume plans to preform "The Boycott" in L.A for Earth Day and hopes to have a six week run in NYC in an attempt to humanize the major enviromental crisis.
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