Human degradation of the environment has been documented by scholars across a range of disciplines: the global temperature of the planet continues to rise, abandoned industrial sites stain once vibrant communities, and questions about the purity of our water and foods linger. In the shadow of these material conditions, concerned citizens have reacted by issuing critiques against careless consumerism and excessive lifestyles. Their hope is to illustrate and inspire alternative ways of living. As part of such efforts and activism, some have turned to performance as a means to investigate matters further, pose challenges and questions, and enact new ways of being and thinking in a globalized world. Performance on Behalf of the Environment is a collection of essays from a diverse group of scholars that explore critically the strengths, limitations, and processes of what can be termed environmental performances.

I Introduction: Performance on Behalf of the Environment Jnan A. Blau and Richard D. Besel 1

PART I: PERFORMERS AND AUDIENCES

2 It's a Party, Not a Protest: Environmental Community, Co-Incident Performance, and the San José Bike Party David Terry and Anne Marie Todd 9

3 Performing Nonhuman Liberation: How the ALF and ELF Rupture the Political Imagination Jason Del Gandio 27

4 Eco-Comedy Performance: An Alchemy of Environmentalism and Humor Alison Bodkin 51

5 Embodied Perspective by Incongruity: Environmental Critique in an Age of Everyday Performance Richard D. Besel 73

PART II: PLACES AND SPACES

6 Reinhabiting the Land: From Vacant Lot to Garden Plot Barbara Willard 93

7 "Progress Fell Upon Us": Ecotourism, Culture, and Performance in the Peruvian Amazon Jnan A. Blau 115

8 "On Finding Ways of Being": Kinesthetic Empathy in Dance and Ecology Julia Handschuh 147

9 Indeterminate Hikes+: Hiking Through the Urban Wilderness Leila C. Nadir and Cary Peppermint 175

PART III: MATERIALS AND PROCESSES

10 Indigenous Theatre in Global Times: Situated Knowledge and Ecological Communities in Salmon Is Everything and Burning Vision Theresa J. May 193

11 Staging Sustainable Shakespeare: "Greening" the Bard while Advancing Institutional Mission Ray Schultz and Jess Larson 211

12 Puppet Planets and Spirit Soldiers: Staging Ecological Representations in Baby Universe and Forgotten World Courtney Ryan 235

Index 259

About the Contributors 273

Richard D. Besel is an associate professor in the Communication Studies Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. PA\Jnan A. Blau is an associate professor in the Communication Studies Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

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