EARTH FIRST!
Book/Lyrics: Donna Oblongata
Music: Sequoia Sellinger
EARTH FIRST! (EF!), the radical environmental movement, has been at the forefront of direct action to save the planet since 1981. EF! made famous, dramatic, non-violent tactics such as tree-sits, road blockades, and activists chaining themselves to bulldozers. Over the past 40 years, the movement has grown, evolved, and splintered. Some members have “aged out”, while some served lengthy prison sentences for “eco-terrorism.” Many former members became leaders in larger fights for social and environmental justice. EF! (a new musical) brings this movement’s culture, history and present to the stage through an immersive, sung-through musical. Audience members find themselves acting as participants at the “Round River Rendezvous,”the movement’s annual gathering. As always, the gathering will end with a mass action such as a blockade or sit-in and everyone is asked to prepare themselves. The ensemble-based play includes new twists on classic musical tropes. A queer love triangle unfolds between two of the tree-climbing instructors and a prison abolitionist. Microorganisms that break down human excrement get a bombastic kick-line moment. A “primitive skills” practitioner tangos while teaching us all about how to brush your teeth with a stick. Earth First! the musical has been developed at the Macdowell Arts Colony.
