This Weekend: In a One-Woman Show, the Ocean Defends Herself Against Climate-Change Politics

This Weekend: In a One-Woman Show, the Ocean Defends Herself Against Climate-Change Politics

Photo by Maggie Hall / American Repertory Theater Production

NOW THAT SPRING has sprung, and Mother Nature is making herself known with sudden showers and plenty pollen, Houston has somehow emerged as a hub for all things oceanic. At Heidi Vaughan Fine Art, there’s still time to see Houston artist Janavi Folmsbee’s exhibit Calm Water Color Storm, featuring paintings, sculptures and lenticulars inspired by the colors of underwater marine life. And this weekend at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, the Ocean herself appears in her own, one-woman theatrical spectacle, Ocean Filibuster.


Created by playwright Lisa D’Amour and director Katie Pearl, who produce experimental theater together as PearlDamour, Ocean Filibuster stars Jenn Kidwell as both The Ocean and Mr. Majority, a scientifically challenged politician who has introduced a bill to divide the ocean up into manageable bodies of water, and thus put a halt to the wildfires, droughts, and coastal damage all attributable to climate change. Obviously, the Ocean ain’t having it, and she attempts to block the bill with an impassioned filibuster, using both poetic language and stand-up humor in a desperate attempt to steer the world away from the abyss.

Like all of PearlDamour’s productions, Ocean Filibuster was developed over several years, with D’Amour in the role as writer, but with plenty of input from Pearl, Kidwell, and the show’s composer, Sxip Shirey, as well as climate change scientists at the Harvard University Center for the Environment. When D’Amour and the team asked the scientists early on what they hoped the play would convey about the ocean, after a long pause, one said simply, “Wonder.”

“The scientists talked to us a lot about how long their work takes, and how detailed it is,” says D’Amour. “It helped us think about how we will never understand everything about the ocean. At some point, we just have to honor the fact the ocean works. (laughs) We have to respect that, and work with that.”

Ocean Filibuster runs March 25-27 at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts.

Art + Entertainment
As Escape Spa Expands in 2025, Owner Has Advice on Personal Growth: ‘Focus on Intention Setting’

CHANGE IS A good thing, and with the start of a new year, I always like to reflect on how far I've come and start fresh by setting self-care goals for the coming months. Personal growth is a passion for me, and also something I enjoy. Guiding a business through growth and change is also one of my passions, so I am very pleased to announce that Escape Spa is going to be expanding in 2025! We’re honored that we’ve built such a loyal following since opening in Cypress in July of 2022, and we’re thrilled to be in a position to grow our wellness and recovery sanctuary just outside of Houston.

Keep ReadingShow less

Chairs Brady and Zane Carruth, Brittany and Adam Clark

IT ALREADY FEELS like spring in Houston and the spring social season is here with it! 375 guests donned in white-tie flocked to The Post Oak Hotel for the annual Houston Symphony Ball, one of the city’s most anticipated and A-list galas.

Keep ReadingShow less
Parties

THE TRUFFLE MASTERS is returning for its 11th year on March 3rd. Now a Houston tradition of sorts, the competition sees top chefs creating a dish using black truffles all benefitting Southern Smoke.

Keep ReadingShow less