Ocean Filibuster: Art and Action

A semester of art and activism, science and storytelling built to the Connecticut premiere performance of PearlDamour’s Ocean Filibuster in the CFA Theater May 4–6, 2023.

Read "Artists and Academics Discuss Climate Change" in The Wesleyan Connection.

Read "Connecticut Premiere of 'Ocean Filibuster' Takes Place May 4-6" in The Wesleyan Connection.

Ocean Filibuster and related events were supported by Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts, Theater Department, College of the Environment, and Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life. Additional support provided by the New England Foundation for the Arts and National Endowment for the Arts.

Click here to check for upcoming events in this series. 

Read about some resources and ways to get involved and support the environment.
2023
May April March

2023

May

Ocean Filibuster
Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 8:00pm
CFA Theater
Linking below-the-surface mystery with above-the-surface climate issues, the Connecticut premiere of Ocean Filibuster puts audiences in the middle of a human/ocean showdown. “The Ocean” gets the chance to tell its side of the story in this new music theater experience from Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl’s Obie Award-winning company PearlDamour in collaboration with the Center for the Arts, the Wesleyan Theater Department, the College of the Environment, and the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life.
Oceanic Journey: A Free Interactive and Immersive Installation
Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 6:30pm
Theater Studio 001, 275 Washington Terrace, Middletown, Connecticut
How are humans and our love of plastic changing the ocean? Wander into the depths of the ocean to explore and uncover the answer. Conceived and designed by Assistant Professor of the Practice Courtney Gaston with student designers Romy Beckham ’25, Joaquina Guevara ’23, Henry Owens ’25, and Sarah Schlosberg ’25, this installation is presented by the Theater Department and produced in conjunction with Ocean Filibuster. Free timed tickets are for 15-minute intervals.
Ocean Filibuster
Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 2:00pm
CFA Theater
Linking below-the-surface mystery with above-the-surface climate issues, the Connecticut premiere of Ocean Filibuster puts audiences in the middle of a human/ocean showdown. “The Ocean” gets the chance to tell its side of the story in this new music theater experience from Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl’s Obie Award-winning company PearlDamour in collaboration with the Center for the Arts, the Wesleyan Theater Department, the College of the Environment, and the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life.
Oceanic Journey: A Free Interactive and Immersive Installation
Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 12:30pm
Theater Studio 001, 275 Washington Terrace, Middletown, Connecticut
How are humans and our love of plastic changing the ocean? Wander into the depths of the ocean to explore and uncover the answer. Conceived and designed by Assistant Professor of the Practice Courtney Gaston with student designers Romy Beckham ’25, Joaquina Guevara ’23, Henry Owens ’25, and Sarah Schlosberg ’25, this installation is presented by the Theater Department and produced in conjunction with Ocean Filibuster. Free timed tickets are for 15-minute intervals.
Ocean Filibuster
Friday, May 5, 2023 at 8:00pm
CFA Theater
Linking below-the-surface mystery with above-the-surface climate issues, the Connecticut premiere of Ocean Filibuster puts audiences in the middle of a human/ocean showdown. “The Ocean” gets the chance to tell its side of the story in this new music theater experience from Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl’s Obie Award-winning company PearlDamour in collaboration with the Center for the Arts, the Wesleyan Theater Department, the College of the Environment, and the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life.
Oceanic Journey: A Free Interactive and Immersive Installation
Friday, May 5, 2023 at 5:00pm
Theater Studio 001, 275 Washington Terrace, Middletown, Connecticut
How are humans and our love of plastic changing the ocean? Wander into the depths of the ocean to explore and uncover the answer. Conceived and designed by Assistant Professor of the Practice Courtney Gaston with student designers Romy Beckham ’25, Joaquina Guevara ’23, Henry Owens ’25, and Sarah Schlosberg ’25, this installation is presented by the Theater Department and produced in conjunction with Ocean Filibuster. Free timed tickets are for 15-minute intervals.
Ocean Filibuster
Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 8:00pm
CFA Theater
Linking below-the-surface mystery with above-the-surface climate issues, the Connecticut premiere of Ocean Filibuster puts audiences in the middle of a human/ocean showdown. “The Ocean” gets the chance to tell its side of the story in this new music theater experience from Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl’s Obie Award-winning company PearlDamour in collaboration with the Center for the Arts, the Wesleyan Theater Department, the College of the Environment, and the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life.
Oceanic Journey: A Free Interactive and Immersive Installation
Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 5:00pm
Theater Studio 001, 275 Washington Terrace, Middletown, Connecticut
How are humans and our love of plastic changing the ocean? Wander into the depths of the ocean to explore and uncover the answer. Conceived and designed by Assistant Professor of the Practice Courtney Gaston with student designers Romy Beckham ’25, Joaquina Guevara ’23, Henry Owens ’25, and Sarah Schlosberg ’25, this installation is presented by the Theater Department and produced in conjunction with Ocean Filibuster. Free timed tickets are for 15-minute intervals.

April

Fireside Ocean Jam
Friday, April 21, 2023 at 8:00pm
CFA Courtyard Pop-Up Fire Pit, 283 Washington Terrace, Middletown, Connecticut
Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Raquel Bryant and Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl host an informal fireside cabaret. Sing, tell stories, and dive deep into a celebration of the ocean-human ecosystem from 8pm to 11pm.
Sea Creature Sewing: Entangled and Ingested
Friday, April 14, 2023 at 11:00am
Huss Courtyard—outside of Usdan University Center, 45 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown
Researcher and artist Dr. Katharine Owens is creating a series of life-sized murals of sea animals harmed by plastic pollution. Help sew a new ocean mural from discarded plastic and learn more about plastic pollution. No sewing skills or experience are required.
Talk It Out and Artist Book Open House: Humans viz Ocean?
Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 5:30pm
Olin Library, Special Collections and Develin Room, 252 Church Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Associate Professor of Anthropology and Science in Society Joseph Weiss, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Elise Springer, and the Ocean Filibuster cast will talk out the human/ocean relationship at 6:30pm in the Develin Room, following a hands-on viewing of ocean-related artist books from Wesleyan Library’s Special Collections and Archives at 5:30pm.

March

Art and Policy Salon: Acting on Climate Change
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 7:00pm
Ring Family Performing Arts Hall and on Zoom (link below)
Artists help us imagine possible futures. How can they effect actual change? Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Raquel Bryant, artist and researcher Dr. Katharine Owens, and Save the Sound’s inaugural Environmental Justice Specialist Alex Rodriguez will look at the potent relationship between imagined futures and mappable realities. Moderated by Strategic Advisor in the Arts Michael Feldman ’84. If not able to attend in-person, view also on Zoom.