“No politics at the dinner table” is a popular mantra stating that individuals should not mention political beliefs in more intimate settings. Whether it is Thanksgiving and the turkey has just been set on the table or a random Sunday evening when everyone gathers to share a meal, the declaration looms above each individual. Discussion of politics in personal and professional relationships is a taboo no one dares to defy, unless they feel particularly bold.

I encourage this boldness. Normalizing political discussions, no matter the setting, can desensitize topics and lead to more educated participants in dialogue. Since politics are a fundamental aspect of our society, it is necessary to stop avoiding the subject and start sparking conversation about our beliefs.

In 2020, a Cato Institute survey revealed that 62% of Americans feared sharing their political beliefs at the risk of offending others. The polarization of political parties and their affiliates has severely impacted the United States political climate, so it is reasonable to assume that the Americans would prevent themselves from participating in political discussions with their families, friends and colleagues.

Talking about politics, and even religion, is often seen as rude or disrespectful — a social taboo.

GRADUATION SHOWE PLAN

Mi plan for the graduation show is creating a center space in what ever the show is.  I want to use a material all the "Trash" left over materials that are in thee studio. and during the next weeks create a table that starts being created wen we set ut but is going to be build during the entire graduation sow, it means this space is never completely finish. and the invite is invetie people to build it with me. Using materials from hour studio I am reacreating hour personal space in a exicbition space, inviting audiences to a mestar in scenopgraphy space. and also reauning material that would have been trone away.  i like the idea of building common spaces with things people don't want any more, giving a second life to the story of the objects of master. 

but during every day of te show it means 5 different tepatics   around communities I am part of as a artist to talk about.

_ latino 

- judaisme 

- sexualitie

- ecologie

- 

the idea is to stage element of a dinner, or a celebrities like chismas/new years or a quinceanera party I ACT AS THE OST OF A EVENT, my role of a artist is inviting posting and hiding this experiences . like staginf all the elements of a entire day dinner party. (food/games/where to put the couts/ listing) staginf this ina. scenografical and artistic way with that day tematic making the decisions. and finding a way of arquiving what is going to be happening during that celebreations around that table. Using rituals used in celebrations and giving them a tuist to bring a political conversation place. 

the space get activated with performances / speeches / foods / is not is a space for people to gather just relax and share a moment and conversations. 

the final object of the table becomes the archive of all the conversation that wen true the space. 

Proposal for Graduation Show: Building Together – A Celebration of Community and Transformation

Concept

For my graduation show, I aim to create a dynamic, interactive space that evolves throughout the duration of the exhibition. This central space will serve as both a work of art and a platform for communal engagement, emphasizing themes of transformation, community, and sustainability. Using leftover materials and "trash" from the studio, I will build a table that begins incomplete and grows collaboratively as visitors contribute to its construction.

This act of collective creation not only highlights the value of repurposing discarded materials but also transforms the exhibition space into a shared, personal environment—blurring the boundaries between art, performance, and community-building.

Objectives

1. Reclaim and Reimagine Materials: Repurpose discarded studio materials to create a central piece that evolves over time.
2. Celebrate Community: Recreate the intimacy and vibrancy of communal gatherings, using the table as a focal point for interaction.
3. Explore Identity and Connection: Each day, the space will host events themed around key aspects of my identity and artistic practice:

• Latinidad
• Judaism
• Sexuality
• Ecology
• Community-building

Structure

Space Design

• A central table, constructed from repurposed materials, will act as the heart of the exhibition.
• Visitors are invited to join me in building and decorating the table throughout the show.
• The design incorporates scenographic elements to evoke familiar communal settings, such as holiday dinners, celebrations, or quinceañera parties.

Daily Themes & Activities

Each day will center around a specific theme, with corresponding performances, discussions, and rituals:

1. Latinidad: Highlighting cultural traditions, music, and stories from Latin American heritage.
2. Judaism: Exploring rituals and symbols in a contemporary, inclusive context.
3. Sexuality: Creating a safe space to discuss identity, expression, and love.
4. Ecology: Reflecting on sustainability, recycling, and environmental responsibility.
5. Community: Celebrating collaboration, shared experiences, and mutual support.

Interactive Elements

• Performances and Speeches: Artists and community members will share personal stories, insights, and performances related to the day’s theme.
• Shared Meals: Staged as a communal dinner, participants will gather for food and conversation, echoing the intimacy of a shared celebration.
• Rituals with a Twist: Traditional rituals will be adapted to spark political and social conversations, transforming familiar practices into spaces for dialogue.

Archiving the Experience

the final product of the table works as a archive of all the voices, people moments that wen true this space and this discussion. how true. the changes the interactions.

"At the table we don't talk politics" 

guetting toguether in times of crisis

 CITations of text i like that are relevant for my research.

ECOSCENOGRAPHY

This book reveals many different possibilities to create sustainably, with communities,  places, environments and ‘engage in acts of care’. Tanja Beer’s writing and her own practice inspire, energize and empower all readers to open up to ecological consciousness, make it core of their own collaborations and connect in building a holistic sustainable culture of creators.”

She proposes new approaches to making and viewing performance within a broader understanding of human and more-than-human relationships, and shows how materials are co-creators in performance.”

"Performance serves as a modelling exercise in which we gather to imagine society through a variety of lenses with the potential to envision other ways of seeing and being."

"We were trained to work towards Opening Night. How we got

there, or what happened to our sets and costumes after the production

ended, was neither a priority nor a consideration"

"The urgency for this reimagining has never been greater."

"While the early decades of the twenty-first century have been preoccupied with defining and redefining

of scenography, I propose that over the next two decades, we must pivot

to further interrogate the agentic capacities of our field, not only in terms

of the wondrous ‘worlds’ and ‘experiences’ that we create for our audiences,

but also in terms of the ecological, social and political consequences,

impacts and messaging behind our work."

"have a responsibility in these times to address the problems of today and to

fuel change and alternatives…to show that rich and beautiful theatre can

be made without creating mountains of waste…scenic construction that

can rarely be used again does not set a good example to spectators who diligently

recycle bottles and newspapers, and grow their own vegetables."

"As designers and theatre makers, we must make it part of our job to think

of our work in a larger context—we must think about the materials and

objects we use, where they come from, what they are made of, where they

will go after we use them, and the impact they have at each of these steps."

"For so many of us living in cultures built on fossil fuel use, it is much easier

to see losses and sacrifices than it is to see what might be gained by a transition

to a world that faced up to the crisis.

Many producers and directors encourage

designers to create a visual experience that serves the audience’s highquality

expectations: a world that is both sophisticated and entirely different

from other designs seen previously (Morris 2007). Theatre’s highly

collaborative nature also requires a team effort in reaching sustainability

goals. Sustainability entails a collective focus:

promote sustainability in its full sense, enabling individuals and organizations

to see that it is not simply about reducing carbon emissions but about

more efficient and effective allocation of resources, meaningful interactions

with communities, ideas and aspiration, social justice—it’s about the society

we want to be, it’s about leading the discussion.

The objective of these

artists has progressively become one of creating ‘relational’, ‘empathic’,

‘participatory’, ‘collective’ and ‘community-orientated’ practices rather

than exemplifying personal expression

The focus of sustainability has shifted from individual artists or collectives,

to embracing communities and giving them a central role in

creative practice (Bilodeau 2015c). With landfills, ocean plastic and food

waste becoming a growing concern of the twenty-first century, artists of

all disciplines have increasingly embraced the potential of the discarded

to counteract the unfettered capitalist ‘myth of endless seamless progress’

and ‘continual creation of the new’

Ecologicalorientated

artists ‘often make new types of work, in surprising and unconventional

spaces. They are not just making the art, they are making the

very spaces in which the art happens’ (Ibid.). Here, ecologically engaged

practice is less ‘a vision of self-expression and more about creating the

conditions for change to occur’ (Ariana Jordao in Allen et al. 2014, 22).

creative challenge and an effort

to take ‘work outside of traditional venues and into communities’.

These

characteristics are also synergistic with the ‘social turn’ (Bishop 2012)

where ‘artists work in forms of context-responsive and collaborative practice

with communities, using a range of aesthetic, political and educational

strategies to identify and affect local issues’ (Badham 2013; Badham

et al. 2020). Artists are now asking: ‘How can we transform ecological

concerns into compelling and environmentally-conscious theatrical

experiences?’

The Agency and Potential of Scenography

Here, ‘the scenographer emerges not

as the spatial organizer of scripted narratives but rather as the author of

constructed situations and as an agent of interaction and communication’

Contemporary performance

designers are increasingly finding themselves straddling multiple disciplines

and navigating diverse communities to seek possibilities for political,

social, cultural and ecological revitalisation well beyond the confines

of the theatre building

Scenographer and scholar Kathleen Irwin (2017, 121) explains how

designers in the realm of expanded scenography operate ‘inside a burgeoning

network of possibilities, interconnectivities and co-constituted

intra-actions, working to make the most of the situation in relation to

what is afforded by the circumstances’.

Could an ecological approach to performance

practice entail what dramaturge Dillon Slagle (2013) refers to as

‘an advancement in the craft of theatre creation akin to electric lighting,

microphones, or the shift to realism’?

We should view place as the spatial manifestation

of a broader system with which we wish to engage.

The key will be to see our

current ecological crisis as a social, cultural, political and environmental

opportunity. It is only by embracing the creative potential of sustainability

that the performing arts will find its own path on the eco-agenda.

relating the historic incidents of the play to the local fishing community and the economic, social and historical connection of the Acadian population to the sea that prompted her to seek out opportunities to use site-specific materials. This included making use of the overabundance

This means viewing design from the perspective of relationships, rather than separate entities, as a way of making sense of the extensive impacts of interactive material-spatial processes. Embracing these 'relational materialities' is an essential part of starting to disrupt the linear ethos that has prevailed in our industry for so long.

Ecoscenography is best achieved when designers are in tune with the serendipitous opportunities and resources around them,

with the impetus to collaborate, share ideas and resources that can contribute back to the system.

locally available in the places in which we find ourselves. Allowing space for this porosity not only has the capacity to minimise environmental impacts through the accessing and sharing of resources, but also can stimulate new partnerships, audiences and networks.

edge their presence in my creative process is a pure joy...It is about taking into account the history, the integrity and ability of each of these elements so they play a role in the theatrical piece. (Ibid.)

Stringer's practice (Fig. 4.3) demonstrates how designing for site-spe-cific performance can foreground ecological processes. In site-specific theatre, it is the existing conditions and opportunities that take cen-

tre stage:

Importantly, Ecoscenography not only accentuates opportunities for designers to engage with local materials but also encourages theatre makers to consider how communities might become part of the co-creation processes. This approach can foster new networks, audiences, skills and possibilities that strengthen the meaning and outreach of the project as well as providing a platform to foster equity and togetherness on global-to-local issues. Such community-engaged processes were a focus of

To summarise, co-creation in Ecoscenography is a form of engagement where theatre makers align themselves with place-to open up to the

'worlding' of collaboration that takes into account co-extensive histories and futures across venues, communities and materials. In this process of

'making with', the scenographer is no longer seen as a 'space manipulator' but instead becomes a mediator, facilitator and co-creator. Here, the opportunities lie in the scenographer's ability to activate socio-ecological potential by seeking out opportunities for sharing, collaborating and engaging with others in the pursuit of a more integrated and rewarding creative practice.

The etymological roots of the English word 'celebrate' are derived from the Latin celebrare, meaning 'to assemble to honour' or to 'observe, respect, perform, commemorate' together. The notion of 'celebration' in Ecoscenography is one of 'gathering' to observe, respect and perform ecological practices in real time and place-one that links our longstanding cultural practices (rituals, ceremonies, rites and traditions) with sustainability.

McKinney and Palmer (2017, 5-6, 8) highlight the capacity for sce-nography to create 'empathetic encounters' or tactics in which 'partici-pants are enabled to see familiar environments in fresh ways. Creating

'empathetic encounters' is essential to 'celebration' in Ecoscenography, where the stage becomes a platform for empowering and catalysing ecological potential across audiences. The very act of making and performing together provides opportunities for collective memories which can act as powerful agents of change (Mang and Reed 2012, 29-30), permeating psycho-social spheres and influencing the lives of those connected to them (Bal and van Boheemen 2009). Theatre provides a rich platform for

or subject matter. As Sandra Goldmark explains, theatre designs tell us not only where we are, but who we are' (2017, 22, my emphasis). Our work showcases what we stand for—our material as well as our dramatur-gical choices. FanSHEN's production of Cheese (London, 2013)

To talk about matter is to talk about consequences, transformations and relations over time.... what is the balance between the agency of matter— as waste— and the intentions, force and design of the artist?

As Ecoscenographers we must engage with the unsettling reality that our arts practices have consequences. Nothing is 'finished' in a world of materials and there is no such thing as 'away'. Instead, skips overflow into leaching landfills and, inextricably, into our fragile ecosystems. No matter what forms they originally cast, materials are always on their way towards becoming something else (Barad 2003, 821). Where materials go after a

PERFORMANCE DIANA TAYLOR