TODAY TODAY CONGOTAY!

November 18th, 2023

Brazil Secondary School

12:00 pm – 7:00 pm (plays begin at 2:00 pm)

ENTRY IS FREE!

The Climate Justice-themed Micro-Theatre Festival, TODAY TODAY, CONOGOTAY! will present up to ten micro-theatre plays that centre climate justice issues by highlighting climate change-related stories and concerns of often overlooked communities and the most vulnerable within them.

The Cropper Foundation (TCF), an award-winning 23-year-old TT-based Non-Profit Organisation working in sustainable development, and the Micro-Theatre Festival of Trinidad and Tobago (MTFTT), the premier short-form theatrical experience, have partnered to amplify the voices of rural communities impacted by climate change. This project is the first in a series of climate justice-themed, arts-based initiatives to be led by TCF over the period 2023-2026, with support from the Open Society Foundations.

Micro-Theatre is a powerful storytelling format that consists of repeat performances of short, punchy, thought-provoking productions staged simultaneously to intimate audiences at 15-minute intervals over several hours.

At its core, the concept of climate justice aims to connect the climate crisis to the social and environmental issues in which it is deeply entangled, and to build awareness of the need for just division and equitable distribution of the burdens of climate change.

The CONGOTAY Festival is the culmination of three months of working closely with the Williamsville and Brazil Secondary Schools and communities to bring together theatre and climate advocacy, sourcing (story) material as well as actors and other resources from neighbouring communities. We are proud to present these schools as the Festival host-venues in their respective communities.

Performance Synopsis

Play 1: Justice? – Eric Barry 

A woman living in Greenvale whose home and life was devastated by the great flood of 2018 recounts to terror she experienced during the flood and the horrors she faced in the aftermath.

 

Play 2: Heat in the Market – Eric Barry 

The extremely high temperature not only affects crop yield, it causes a customer’s temper to rise as she quarrels with vendors in the market about the price of tomatoes.

 

Play 3: Midday Robber – Rhesa Samuel

In the streets of Brazil, what was once a playground for children and a marketplace for bountiful crops is now governed by a scorching villain. This serial stinger leaves the streets empty, as he robs children of hopscotch, scootch and marble pitch. He steals money from the villagers’ pockets, drying up the goods they depend on for money. Even though people are petrified to step foot outside, how far are they willing to go for Brazil to be free of the MIDDAY ROBBER.

With heat as the antagonist, this musical piece aims to highlight some of the effects, causes and possible solutions regarding climate change.

 

Play 4: The Assignment – Albert Smith 

Two high school students have a deadline to submit their “last chance-at-a-grade” school assignment about climate change, with the aid of the most powerful AI, you think they’ll ace it?

 

Play 5: Vessigny 2049 – Albert Smith

It’s 25 years in the future, and the population of Vessigny has had enough of the pollution created by a chemical plant called VesChemCo, so a popular leader decides to do something towards bringing the culprit to justice.

 

Play 6: An Untold Story – Arnetia Thomas 

This is the story of the psychological damage that has been done to those affected by the 2019 flood in Greenvale, due to the ignorance of others and the forces of nature. We see Man, who has personally experienced the flood, sitting in his living room reading. All of sudden, rain begins pouring the same way it did on that day and it brings back memories. As the rain continues to fall he tells us his story of what happened and how it affected him and his family

 

Play 7: Me and Mr Capybara – Shania Mark

A farmer Lady struggling to reap a harvest in the midst of a drought meets a personified Capybara who informs her of the ways of man and the impact on the environment.

 

Play 8: A Wave of Emotion – Shania Mark

Christy, a survivor of the Great Greenvale flood of 2018 still suffers the effects and trauma from the experience of losing it all including her unborn child. She relives the events of the flood while discussing her fears of heavy rainfall with her husband who is trying to move past the tragic events. Simultaneously on the other side of the wall, we meet a politician who addresses the situation with promises and pledge but we can see that all those promises are empty.

 

Play 9: THE PROTECTOR – Written and Directed by Ambika Ramdass

A young man, fascinated by the legend of Papa Bois, experiences a clash between childhood optimism and adulthood responsibilities as the oil and gas industry encroaches into his rural, childhood village. He must grapple with his changing perspectives and the world he leaves behind.  This piece examines issues of intergenerational equity and personal responsibility by offering a look into the past, present and future. In this climate crisis, who is “The Protector”?

 

Play 10: CLIMATE CHANGE, NO CAP – Written and Directed by Ambika Ramdass

Inspired by a capy-omen, the capybara society fed up with over-exploitation and climatic changes strike back against humankind. Chewbara, a cap-onstable in the capy-police force faces a crisis of conscience when he is reminded of the truth of his past. “Climate Change, No Cap” asks “What is Climate Justice?” in a world where changing climate drives resource scarcity and puts different communities at odds.

 

Play 11: A CAUSE OF ACTION OR A TRINIBAD ELEGY ON CLIMATE CHANGE – written by Brendon Alekseii and edited and directed by Marcus Waldron

Counsellor Peters and Doctor Singh are the lone representatives for communities affected by climate change. Their call for climate justice is an uphill legal battle for these ravaged communities against a government minister and a vacationing corporate entity that is attempting to hold a country’s future to ransom.

 

For more information, please email outreach@thecropperfoundation.org or call (868)221-5751.

You can also visit The Cropper Foundation and the Micro-Theatre Festival of Trinidad and Tobago on all social media platforms.