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Beautiful, Useful, True 

Devised Theatre for Gender Equity and Climate Justice

Co-created and performed by Rae Foraker, Walker Lyon, J. Mason, Rosalie McCracken, Lena Shandor, Robby Stevens, and Indie Wally 

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Poster by Bradley Parquette
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Eunice experiments and teaches her daughter Mary
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Talk-Back Panel Following a performance 
Photos by Lynn Willis 

Director's Notes

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Devising

All theatre is devised theatre. I believe this firmly. Whether there is a script to begin with or not, we are making, planning, developing, crafting, inventing, forging… or any other synonym of devising.

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The Devisors

These Devisors are more than just “Actors.” They shared their heart, mind, and creative acumen to create this production. Through a variety of embodied processes, the students created a kaleidoscope of vivid characters.

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Eunice

How do you honor the voice of a woman when you have almost nothing of her own voice? We had only tiny flickers of a life lived with which to craft this play. We hope that this version of her life and our poetic license does not insult Eunice, but advances her story.

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Voices

This show is a mosaic of voices. I have intentionally woven together the voices of the women of Appalachian State and the surrounding community with the voices of the devisors, and my own. Life is complex. The climate crisis is complex. Making theatre is complex. The complex tapestry of voices you experience in this production is intentional. I am infinitely grateful to the twenty individuals who shared their time and voices with me. I hope that the use of your words and our poetic license does not diminish, but advances your story.

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Process

I began envisioning this show in the summer of 2023. I got entangled and lost in theories of ecofeminism, in the research of women in climate science, in patterns in nature, in Eunice, in hours of interview footage, in history, in science, in ecosystems, in ego-systems, in myself, in my own ego…For all of my researching and dreaming and thinking and talking about this show, I still had to enter the rehearsal room each night and face a blank stage. I could only use what was right in front of me; what was inside of me in that moment. I had to make decisions before I was “ready.” Each night I made a leap into what was present. I equally invited the devisors to leap into what was present for them. Night after night we entered the space to meet what was present. This production is the culmination of those nights.

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Epilogue

This story is not finished. We are the ending of this story. We are the epilogue. The only way to truly honor Eunice is to talk about her.

Project Interviewees and Talk-Back panelists include:

  • Sarah Carmichael, PhD, Professor, Fluid-Rock Geochemistry and Biomineralogy, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences 

  • Laura England, Practitioner in Residence/Climate Literacy, Quality Enhancement Program Associate Director, Department of Sustainable Development

  • April Flanders, Professor and Assistant Chair, Department of Art   

  • Jennifer Geib, PhD, Associate Professor, Assistant Chair for Student Affairs, Ecology and Science Teacher Education

  • Rita Joyner, PhD, Practitioner-in-Residence, Industry Liaison, Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment

  • Rachel Kinard, Climate Smart Coordinator, Working Landscapes

  • Tammy Kowalczyk, PhD, Professor, Director, Appalachian Impact Clinic, Department of Accounting

  • Cynthia Liutkus-Pierce, PhD, Professor and Chair: Sedimentology and Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences

  • Laura Mallard, Senior Lecturer: Geoscience Education, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences

  • Callie Moore, Western Regional Director of MountainTrue

  • John Perlin, PhD, Visiting Scholar, University of California, Santa Barbara, Author, Lecturer, and Consultant specializing solar energy, forest preservation, and the life of Eunice Newton Foote

  • Carla Ramsdell, Pre-Engineering Advisor, Practitioner in Residence, Sustainability Liaison, College of Arts and Sciences, Director of The SPICE (Sustainable, Physics-Inspired Culinary Education) Lab, Department of Physics and Astronomy

  • Mary-Ann Redding, Assistant Director at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts (TCVA) at Appalachian State University

  • Tatyana Ruseva, PhD, Professor of Political Science

  • George Santucci, Sustainability and Special Projects Manager, Town of Boone

  • Shea Tuberty, PhD, Professor, Director, Quality Enhancement Plan, Invertebrate Physiology and Aquatic Ecotoxicology, Department of Biology

  • Saskia van de Gevel, PhD, Department Chair and Professor of Professional Ethics: Endangered Mountain Ecosystems; Dendrochronology; Biogeography, Department of Geography and Planning

  • Jennifer Warren, Executive Director, Western Youth Network

  • Liz Whiteman, Executive Director of Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture

  • Hannah Woodburn, App State Alum, High Country Watershed Coordinator of MountainTrue

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