Earth Day
MTC’s Eleanor Marsh and Julia Flood reading In My Granny’s Garden at Concordia Park, 2021. Photo by Jennifer A. Lin.
Happy Earth Day! Care for our planet today and every day.
We asked Metro Theater Company staff members about their memories of Earth Day, how they like to celebrate it, and what they love about nature. Read what they shared!
Julia Flood, MTC Artistic Director
I remember that I was living in NYC on Earth Day 1990, when the big concert happened in Central Park. I was living on the upper west side and working for an art dealer on the upper east side, so my daily "commute" was a walk through Central Park. I was always amazed at the resiliency of nature, living in such a huge city and walking through the park on a daily basis. That day, I was struck both by how forgiving nature is (even when trampled by 750,000 people), how oblivious human beings can be to their impact (so much debris from humans gathered to celebrate the earth), and how much work there is yet to do.
Walking in nature has always been what keeps me grounded and connected to myself and to the world. Planting a garden is an act of faith and a belief in the future. I get great joy from both of those things. Earth Day is an opportunity to acknowledge the fact that the earth sustains us and to appreciate the wonder that goes along with the realization that we are a part of it.
Eleanor Marsh, School Bookings & Audience Services Manager
Weather permitting, I usually take some time to hang out in the great outdoors. My favorite thing to do is to bring a blanket to one of our many beautiful parks here in this city, find a quiet spot near some trees, and spend some time playing guitar, listening to music, doing yoga, reading, or drawing. I find this practice to be its own quiet triumph, very worthy of being called a celebration: it grounds me and puts me back in tune with myself, recharges and recalibrates me. In turn, when I’m in that peaceful space, I feel more open and receptive to the joy of simple, harmonious existence with the natural world.
I love that nature refuses to ever truly be tamed. We can build our highways and parking lots, pour concrete into the soil and live our lives on top of neat, well-planned little grids, but as Dr. Ian Malcolm says, life, uh, finds a way. I lived in Florida for a period of time a few years ago, and something that always amazed me was the way everyone’s yards looked – instead of a uniform square of green grass, Florida lawns were lush and magical, overflowing with elephant ear plants and hibiscus flowers and saw palmettos. Homes in Florida appear to be bursting at the seams with life, and trying to beat back the ferocious glory of its flora and fauna is an exercise in futility. Vines spring up overnight and creep into windows; tiny, frenetic lizards wiggle their way through cracks in the foundation. You can see this phenomenon even in less forgiving climes: think of all the flowers you’ve ever seen growing through cracks in the sidewalk near your home, or the way downtown St. Louis becomes carpeted with a fishy-smelling snow of Bradford pear petals every spring. Many of us spend a lot of time worrying about what human beings as a species are doing to the planet, myself included, but things like these are a reminder that nature is a lot stronger than we’ll ever be – it’ll always find a way.
Our upcoming production of In My Granny's Garden celebrates the joy of the earth, the care that goes into growing your own food, and the love that can emerge from the experience.
See In My Granny’s Garden at Metro Theater Company Studio, May 13-16
See In My Granny’s Garden at Better Family Life, May 20-23
EarthDance Organic Farm School Staff. See In My Granny’s Garden at EarthDance June 3-12. Photo by Jennifer A. Lin.
MTC staff at Eckert’s Belleville Farm. See In My Granny’s Garden at Eckert’s June 16-26.