Going Green
Victoria Theatre Association Goes Green
Just like theatres in New York, Dayton’s theatres are going green. Victoria Theatre Association is a member of the national Broadway Green Alliance, an industry-wide initiative to adopt environmentally friendlier practices in all aspects of theatre production and everyday life.
Our initiatives include:
- Recycling plastic, aluminum and glass from the performance bars.
- Recycling program books and other clean paper goods throughout the theatres and our administrative offices.
- Replacing light bulbs with more energy-efficient bulbs.
- Using eco-friendly cleaning products and recycled or biodegradable materials whenever possible.
- Printing publications such as brochures and postcards on certified recycled paper with the FSC logo.
- Offering filtered water in our offices and backstage to cut down on bottled water use.
- Recharging and recycling batteries used in microphones and other equipment.
Look for recycling signs and receptacles the next time you attend a performance
at the Schuster Center, the Victoria Theatre or the Loft Theatre!
WICKED Green
Incorporating environmentally friendly habits into productions has been a growing trend in the theatre industry and WICKED is partially responsible for these efforts. WICKED producer David Stone was motivated to find ways for the production to be less wasteful after watching the film An Inconvenient Truth.
Stone took action by initiating an 18-month self-evaluation of WICKED’s practices. After the evaluation was complete, certain habits were changed. Examples of WICKED’s efforts are:
- Switching to rechargeable batteries in the microphones and amplifiers.
- Printing day-of cast changes as needed on a single sheet of paper for Playbill.
- Packaging the fifth anniversary CD in a recycled paper case instead of a plastic case.
In addition to enabling these practices, WICKED took steps to motivate others to adopt a greener lifestyle. The official website for the production features a section titled “What would Elphaba do?” with 17 tips for a greener lifestyle.
Stemming from WICKED's initial efforts to be greener, the Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) was organized in 2008 with the intention of motivating other productions and theatres across the U.S. to take on more environmentally friendly habits. The BGA evaluates everything from sets to venues to paper.
So, have WICKED and the BGA made any progress? In 2009, when Broadway shows closed, 94 percent of the sets were recycled. With the efforts of the BGA, the theatre industry is bound to see a “WICKED green” movement.
