EcoPlayGround
Location
The project will give Pittsburgh youth a chance to design and play games that express their perspective on local environmental concerns. The project is a hybrid of theatre, and game play mixed with community engagement. Such cross-pollination of forms is important both to the evolution of the forms themselves, but most importantly to engaging young audiences and demonstrating the value of art in understanding and engaging the world around them. There is no greater issue confronting the world’s population today than environmental degradation. While today’s adults debate ways of beginning to address these problems, it is today’s youth who will have to implement solutions. This experience will foster concrete understanding of environmental issues and create a personal investment in successful solutions.
About You
Location
Project Street Address
1411 East End Ext.
Project City
Pittsburgh
Project Province/State
PA
Project Postal/Zip Code
15218
Project Country
United States
Your idea
Name Your Project
EcoPlayGround
Describe Your Idea
The project will give Pittsburgh youth a chance to design and play games that express their perspective on local environmental concerns. The project is a hybrid of theatre, and game play mixed with community engagement. Such cross-pollination of forms is important both to the evolution of the forms themselves, but most importantly to engaging young audiences and demonstrating the value of art in understanding and engaging the world around them. There is no greater issue confronting the world’s population today than environmental degradation. While today’s adults debate ways of beginning to address these problems, it is today’s youth who will have to implement solutions. This experience will foster concrete understanding of environmental issues and create a personal investment in successful solutions.
Innovation
What is your idea? What makes your project innovative? Why is it important?
EcoPlayGround will work with Pittsburgh youth to design and create an interactive theatre/game that takes players on a journey as they explore an ecologically significant site in the city. With the guidance of a team of adults, a core creative group of youths will explore Pittsburgh’s ecology and the legacy of the region’s manufacturing industry and overlay their own perspective to devise a story about the world they will inherit. They will then turn their story into a game to be played by other youths in which narrative, clues, and instructions will be relayed via mobile phone—already the preferred mode of communication for today’s young audience.
As we evolve from passive media consumption into a culture of participation enabled by technology, existing art forms must adapt to youth interests and perspectives about the world. Projects that use games to develop interest and activism in tomorrow’s leaders will be critical to their success in confronting these complex issues.
Impact
What will be the impact of your idea?
Creating a story/game that integrates their own ideas with their investigation of ecological issues will give young people the agency to use what they learn in ways that they themselves define.
Playing the game will awaken a deeper, more concrete understanding of the environment and its impact on players’ well-being and create investment in a healthy ecology. Players will also need to rely on teamwork to solve the game’s challenges and ensure a successful outcome.
For both groups, the collective engagement needed to succeed will foster a sense of community and model the collaborative effort necessary to find solutions to environmental problems in the real world.
Broader impact will come from testing a new model for civic engagement by youth that fosters inquiry and creativity in equal measure. The project methodology will be thoroughly documented and offered as an open source model on which other youths can build in telling new stories about issues specific to their communities.
What will it take to launch your idea? How will you secure community support and youth participation?
We will seek young creators from schools whose goals align with EcoPlayGround, and who can include the project in classroom syllabi for the coming school year to launch the finished game in the fall of 2010.
Existing technology could support a basic treasure-hunt style game. Costs to augment this could range from $5 to $25k depending on the complexity of the system required. The game is one of exploring existing spaces, so the technology can be scaled to fit the budget without diminishing the core experience.
CMU will offer seed money through The Performance and Ecology Initiative, directed by Wendy Arons. We will seek to partner with local research and tech concerns to adapt technology for the game. Additional funding may be sought based on the success of those efforts.
Other costs toward which the requested $25k will be allocated include fees for principal artist, Allen Hahn, to oversee the project, and for experts in education/outreach and game design to assist in its implementation.
Sustainability
We are looking for ideas from people who can make them happen. Tell us about yourself or your team.
Allen Hahn’s lighting design work has been seen all over the US and in festivals and opera houses across Europe. He considers light and space to be primary influences on character actions in the drama. His latest work explores using the narrative possibilities of found spaces in the city to imagine the city’s past and spark creative thought and dialogue about its future.
Wendy Arons is a Professor of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University. She has worked on numerous devised performance pieces, and as Director of CMU's Performance and Ecology initiative she will be organizing an Eco-drama Festival in Fall 2009.
Both project directors have professional experience with pioneering companies in devised theatre and are well suited to expand this paradigm outside the theatre. We have strong relationships in local arts and technology communities from which additional team members will be sought based on their expertise and their belief in the project’s vision of a vibrant youth voice in Pittsburgh.
 | Yolanda Marino said: Es una excelente idea para la juventud de Pittsburgh. about this Competition Entry. - 960 days ago read more > |
| Ann Blair said: By far, one of the most creative concepts I've encountered. Would love to see this in action in Pittsburgh. I think other ... about this Competition Entry. - 960 days ago read more > |
| thmagelssen said: This is an excellent idea and deserves support. As a parent, someone in the arts, and someone concerned about the world, I think ... about this Competition Entry. - 969 days ago read more > |
| Faith Williams said: What a great way to give young people an opportunity to interact creatively with others beyond their immediate circle of friends. about this Competition Entry. - 973 days ago read more > |
| Sue Blair said: The arts are undervalued as a necessity in the development of young people. This is a great way to bring the arts together with ... about this Competition Entry. - 973 days ago read more > |
| annettestandifur said: This needs to become a reality! about this Competition Entry. - 974 days ago read more > |
| Space for Chang... said: What a fabulous way to capture the imagination and energy of young people and encourage them to become aware of the multiple ... about this Competition Entry. - 974 days ago read more > |
| sofer said: I hope this creative, innovative project becomes a reality. about this Competition Entry. - 974 days ago read more > |
| trarons said: Not only an incredibly creative concept - but what a great way to encourage children (and their parents) to become involved in an ... about this Competition Entry. - 974 days ago read more > |
| BH said: a tremendous way to blend old and new in meaningful ways. this is the kind of thing I would get involved with. about this Competition Entry. - 974 days ago read more > |
