The E.A.R.T.H. Festival
Project Led by Ben Sota, Sandrine Schaefer, and Sadie DeSantis
Site Specific Festival Performances and Events
The E.A.R.T.H. Festival, a unique and thought-provoking event which stands for Eco, Art, Radical, Theatre, Happening. E.A.R.T.H. brings together theatre, art, and activism to explore themes of sustainability, climate change, and the relationship between humans and their environments. Co-created by Coastal Carolina University students working throughout Conway and Myrtle Beach, this festival showcases original performance art works and eco theatre pieces that aim to inspire change and promote awareness about the urgent issues facing our planet.
***CANCELED***
Festival Dates:
In Myrtle Beach, SC *April 18 - 21, 2024*
Department of Theatre:
Performances Schedule Myrtle Beach
Performance: * Ophelia*
Directed by Caroline Belangia
April 18-21, @ 7:00pm
Location: Park next to Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance, Downtown Myrtle Beach, SC
As Ophelia struggles to hold her grip upon reality, the voice of Hamlet, her supposed love, rings over and over in her head, manifesting in various physical forms, taunting her. In the end, despite the dehumanization she is faced with throughout the play Ophelia is faced with the same famous question Hamlet was; To be? Or not to be?
Content Disclosure: This piece contains depictions of suicide, as well as emotional and physical abuse.
Performance: *Where the Sun Don't Shine*
Directed by Teniia Brown and Jayde Torres
April 18-21, 7:15pm
Location: Nance Plaza, Myrtle Beach, SC
This story concerns the past, present, and future of our home. Home is a feeling vital to all humanity and where we fit into the world. It shapes the perception of ourselves, memories, emotional experiences, and connections. Immerse yourself in this devised piece, while we explore the archetypes of Everyman; Storyteller, Creator, Explorer, and Lover, to create a show that extends the frame of time and shines a light on lives 'Where The Sun Don't Shine'.
Performance: *March of Progress*
Directed by Valentin Lencina-Rabidoux
April 18-21, @ 7:40pm
Location: Plyler Park Stage, Downtown Myrtle Beach, SC
What's a festival without a parade? March of Progress is a comedic narrative parade with music and lots of audience participation! This moving piece centers around a bickering King and Queen arguing over the land and need the audience's help to build an army and march towards victory. However, the King and Queen are joined by their mysterious robotic underlings, whose loyalties are soon subject to change...
Performance: *Bound by Wild Desire*
Directed by Keller Goldstein
April 18-21, 2024 @ 8:00pm
Location: Plyler Park Stage, Downtown Myrtle Beach, SC
How does one tell a story without words? Bound by Wild Desire is a devised piece directed and conceptualized by freshman BFA Physical Theatre major Keller Goldstein that tells the story of a girl named Desire and the many stages of love she experiences in her life. Combining the power of music and movement to tell a powerful and moving story cycle of love and loss built on real love stories.
Department of Visual Arts:
Performance Schedule for Myrtle Beach, SC
Cebastian Thompson, Disjointed Communities
11:00am - 2:00pm
Location: walking piece that begins at Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance - 522 Broadway, Myrtle Beach
In my performance art piece, I dive into the relationship between urban landscape and its relationship to the community within it. As I walk 522 Broadway St and the surrounding blocks, I am confronted with the stark reality of neglected storefronts, representative of the city's bonds slowly breaking down. The barren grassy area of the Pavilion Park, which is located in the heart of Myrtle, is longing for the potential of communal spaces but now stands as a reminder of neglect. Myrtle Beach is a city with a reputation for being tailored for tourists, and it appears to prioritize these visitors over its residents and local businesses. This prioritization becomes even more glaring when examining the effect of Eminent domain and the consideration of the homeless population. Individuals are left marginalized by anti-loitering and anti-camping laws. These individuals, with nowhere else to turn, are trapped in a cycle of displacement and exclusion, denied even the basic right to occupy public spaces.
This walking performance is focused on the notion of space and its occupancy. Through different gestures, I consider the cultivation of an environment that fosters equal opportunities for all members of the community. I emphasize the significance of small businesses and each individual within its community, highlighting their significant role in shaping its collective identity. I question what renders a space empty of life and what impact this has on connection. While encouraging reflection on the potential of this city and its ability to nurture belonging and success.
Frances Ludwig, The only reward for hard work is more work
11:00pm - 12:00pm
Location: Pier 14 in Myrtle Beach
The piece speaks to the culture of servitude created by tourist economies. It calls into question what it means when your space is created for the enjoyment of outsiders, at the place where they’re most drawn to. In the same way the landscape of the beach is shaped by this economic model, so to does the action of the piece. Just behind me on the beach there are laborers in hotels and restaurants doing this same action. The work of cleaning -underpaid, underappreciated and often relegated to women- is a task that never ends. As I dig myself further into the sand, the piece speaks to the impending threat of climate change, which most of us must ignore because we are too busy working to survive. If the ocean swallows Myrtle Beach we lose everything we depend on for survival, but we are too busy surviving to worry about it.
Edie Rogers, Addiction Cycle
12:15pm - 12:30pm
Location: Pier 14 in Myrtle Beach
Edie Rogers a Native American Artist, will be performing a piece called “Addiction Cycle”. After witnessing a terrible cycle repeated throughout history, especially in the Native American community she will be showing the audience how hard it can be to successfully escape this cycle.
She is shown to be writing phrases and words of the addiction cycle in the sand by the ocean ride with a bottle. This represents how hard it can be to sustain the cycle and complete it by escaping the illness. The tide is shown washing away the phrases as she tries to complete and possibly restart this cycle.The struggle to maintain a healthy cycle of habits while avoiding relapse of addiction is extremely hard when life and the “waves” of life get in the way.
Kaelyn Gabriels, Rainbow Row
11:30pm - 1:30pm
Location: walking piece that begins at 522 Broadway, Myrtle Beach