April 20th—12:30pm

Live-Streamed by HowlRound

Join us for a Whole Earth Conversation with German Philosopher Andreas Weber about the new role theatre and performance can and should play in the new age of the Anthropocene–a geological era shaped by humans rather than by nature. In his influential book Enlivenment: Toward a Poetics for the Anthropocene, Weber presents an alternative understanding of our relationship with nature, arguing not that humans control nature but that humans and nature exist in a commons of mutual transformation. There is no nature–human dualism, he contends, because the fundamental dimension of existence is shared in what he calls “aliveness.”

We will ask: How are Weber’s insights relevant to the performing arts? Are they useful to understand better how to occupy in a more meaningful way the highly significant symbolic, imaginary and real public space of theatre? How can theatre join the global conversation across all disciplines of the arts and sciences in the new age of the Anthropocene How does Weber’s definition of “aliveness” relate to theatre and performance? How can theatre raise the necessary and urgent awareness to include a planetary consciousness about animals, plants, viruses, the atmosphere, as well as the “critical zone” 30 feet above and below the surface of the earth in contemporary theatre and performance?

Andreas Weber is a biologist, philosopher, and nature writer. He has degrees in Marine Biology and Cultural Studies, having collaborated with theoretical biologist Francisco Varela in Paris. Andreas‘ work is focusing on a re-evaluation of our understanding of living organisms. He is proposing to understand organisms as subjects and hence the biosphere as a meaning-creating and poetic reality. Accordingly, Andreas holds that an economy inspired by nature should not be designed as a mechanistic optimization machine, but rather as an ecosystem which transforms mutual sharing of matter and energy. Andreas has put forth his ideas in several books and is contributing to major German magazines and journals, such as GEO, National Geographic, Die Zeit and Greenpeace Magazine. His latest books are Enlivenment. Toward a Poetics for the Anthropocene (MIT Press, 2019) and Sharing Life: The Ecopolitics of Reciprocity (Boell Foundation, 2020). He teaches at the University of the Arts, Berlin and at the Università delle Scienze Gastronomiche in Pollenzo, Italy. Andreas lives in Berlin and Italy.