The Role of Children’s Theater in Educating Audiences about Environmental Issues

Written by Isabella Rusate

There is often the misassumption that the line between the arts and science is distinguishable. This event and participatory presentation in the Crystal Room on Tuesday, October 9, reaffirmed my beliefs that the subjects are deeply intertwined. 

Leslie Elias, artistic director of Grumbling Gryphons Theater, gave participating USJ faculty and students an insight into her creative process and shared fascinating stories about the relationships she developed through her work at Grumbling Gryphons. For example, the traveling theater’s latest play, “Trickster Coyote Shares the Fire: A Plains Indian Story” came to fruition through cooperation with the Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington, CT. While some stories are sacred to the tribe, Elias shared that she was granted permission to perform the trickster tales: stories of crafty critters who use their wits to steal or cause mischief.  

I was immediately fascinated by the colorful, whimsy, and imaginative costumes that Elias had brought to display. I was able to hold the costume of a factory: a sturdy structure with cartoonish, movable eyes and painted smoke billowing from its tall stacks. This costume is used in the performance “The Ghost Net: An Environmental Musical of the Sea.” The play tells the story of a young girl who goes on a journey and witnesses firsthand the horrors of the deadly pollution in our oceans. Both informative and capturing the theatrical spirit, “Ghost Net” aims to inform its audiences about environmental issues and endangered marine life. It has even had the honor of being performed at New England Coast Week.  

Elias shares that a big part of her mission and personal value is the spirit of participation. As such, she let us come up and perform a section of “Trickster Coyote Shares the Fire.” Although shyness is embedded into the very being of my soul, I took Elias’s message to heart. After all, we might miss out on a lot in this short life if we don’t seize opportunities as they come.  

Grumbling Gryphons has won the 2003 Connecticut Govender’s Arts Award and continues to delight audiences young and old. Their most recent performance was at the Middletown Recreation Building. The traveling theater is truly inspiring, and I was delighted to meet Elias and discuss environmental issues, a subject I am passionate about. For more information, please feel free to visit their website: Grumbling Gryphons

Photograph provided by Isabella Rusate