React has been producing theater with the youth of Indianapolis since 1976, but we began to focus on making theater for social change in 2009. Since then, we have produced 30+ social issues shows, dealing with topics such as bullying, homophobia, and violence. Dreamland is one in a series of Special Projects, or our social issues shows in which we take our students through the entire research and devising process, then tour the performance around schools throughout central Indiana and beyond.
React staff teamed up with Earth Charter Indiana to facilitate a two-year-long research and creative development process for a cast of 17 middle and high school React students. Together, they investigated current data on the climate crisis, discussed how it affects the mental health of youth, and interviewed climate activists and artists about their work. With this pool of material, they crafted characters, alternate plot lines, sci-fi fantasies, and post-apocalyptic dreamscapes: all to be woven into the final script and production design. Logan’s story is an all-encompassing exploration of climate change. It is rooted in real life stories from youth with eco-anxiety, mental health professionals, climate activists, professional theatre makers, and experts on Earth Science.
We believe in the power of art’s influence, and are committed to providing our students with the opportunity to educate themselves and their peers about the effects of climate change, and the crippling fear that comes with it. Whether it’s knowing the facts, or building a community focused on environmentalism, we want to provide Indiana’s youth with a new mindset, one of purpose and meaning, in facing their fears around the climate crisis.
We also believe that there’s no one better to lead this conversation than the youth who are affected by this problem. The script was built by middle and high school students who know what it is like to face this issue, and who know how to relate to their peers in ways that adults can’t.
This packet is a guide for teachers and educators to navigate conversations leading up to and following Dreamland, and includes a scene-by-scene breakdown of the script, a description of the cast of characters, discussion questions, frequently asked questions, best practices and resources for managing mental health*, and relevant environmental science material* related to the climate crisis.
*The material covered in Dreamland and this education guide meet a range of Indiana Dept. of Education standards. See more details on this document.
Write out some initial discussion questions to introduce the kids to the idea of climate crisis and eco anxiety.
As you prepare to attend Dreamland, we suggest starting a conversation with your students about mental health, and the basics of the climate crisis. Ask them open-ended questions about both topics, and explore the complexities of these issues together.
Some questions might include:
Before seeing the performance, please take a few minutes to discuss with your students and children what they can expect from one of our shows and what their responsibilities are as audience members.
Logan was anxious about the state of the climate. Like super anxious. They were doing everything they could as a high schooler to contribute to climate activism, from being involved in the Green Team at school, to encouraging their family to be more environmentally conscious… but they still felt stuck.
Then, the dreams started, and there was no going back to the way things were before. Visions of the end of the world wouldn’t leave Logan alone, and the nightmares started seeping into their waking life.
Until one night, Logan is taken on the journey of a lifetime. Will Logan have the chance to make a better future for themselves, for their generation? Will Logan choose hope, or are they too lost in a dreamland?
Logan is a model student at Ridgeport High School. She makes all As, and she is the President of the Green Team. The only thing she’s not good at is volleyball. However, Logan is anxious, and her anxiety is affecting her deeply. Logan represents people who have eco-anxiety.
Logan’s best friend. Avery is the daughter of Senator Hudson, who is in the state legislature and regularly votes against climate relief bills. Avery believes in climate change, and wants to support Logan and be part of the Green Team, but she’s afraid to go against her mom. Avery represents people who are concerned about the climate, but don’t want to upset the status quo.
Logan’s friend and the Vice President of the Green Team. Quinn is energetic and enthusiastic, even if her attention is sometimes misplaced. Quinn represents people who get caught up in their own lives, and can’t see the bigger picture.
Jo is a recent transplant to Ridgeport High School. They are a climate refugee, having lost their home to super storms. Jo has to work to support their mom, and even though they respect the Green Team, they can’t get involved because of school and work and things back home. Jo represents someone whose immediate needs supersede their ability to participate in climate relief efforts.
Sammy is Logan’s childhood friend. Sammy is popular and the class clown. He blows off school, and never fails to make his friends laugh. Sammy doesn’t believe in the climate crisis, and is critical of Logan’s anxiety. Sammy represents people who do not believe that the climate crisis is real or a significant issue.
A supernatural being, who is trying to help Logan find the strength and motivation to face her anxiety.
We meet Logan. She’s afraid, and she doesn’t know why or of what. She’s experiencing physical symptoms, which come and go randomly.
Logan arrives at school late, which isn’t like her. Her friends usually copy Logan’s homework, but she forgot to do it. She starts to get more and more panicked, and begins to hear things that aren’t there. She feels like she’s frozen, but the day just keeps on going.
Logan’s friend Quinn asks to have a quick “Green Team” meeting, which is the environmental club that they run together, but Logan starts to get overwhelmed.
Logan has a panic attack, and it makes her feel like she needs to escape, but she cannot.
Logan is behind on homework again. Sammy asks Logan to copy her homework, but she snaps at him. Avery tries to step in, but Logan confronts Avery about her inability to confront her mom, who is a state senator and votes against climate relief bills. After the argument, Logan attempts to apologize, but she starts to panic again.
Logan stops going to school, and stops responding to her friends. She decides that she’s too “messed up” to be any good to anyone, and she goes to sleep.
Logan is awoken by the Guide, who tells Logan that they are here to help her. Logan resists the idea that she needs help, but the Guide tells her that she’s suffering from eco-anxiety, and that they are going to take on a journey together to help Logan find hope.
The Guide takes Logan back to when she was a child, and she first learned about the climate crisis. Logan admits that she was very affected by that information, and was confused why no one else seemed to be worried. Logan started to be the “Do Something” kid at that point, winning science fairs and starting the Green Team. Only her friend Quinn joins.
The Guide takes Logan to the present, where her friends are trying to keep going without her. Quinn needs Logan to come back to help with the Green Team, but Sammy makes fun of Quinn for caring about the environment and criticizes Logan for being “crazy.” Avery and Quinn fight with Sammy, and Jo tries to help, but the friend group is struggling without Logan.
The Guide takes Logan to visit the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but this only increases Logan’s anxiety.
The Guide takes Logan to an industrial complex to play a game called “Name the Bad Guy.” Logan loses, and the Guide is disappointed that Logan can’t get the answer right. Logan begs to just go back to sleep.
The Guide lets Logan take control of the dream. Logan tells the Guide her plan is to just stay in her room until something forces her out. The Guide asks Logan what she is really afraid of, and Logan shows visions of her fears: that society will crumble, that there won’t be enough food or resources for humans, that she’s being prepared for a future that won’t exist. The Guide shows her a vision of Greta Thunberg beginning her protests, but Logan says that it’s too late and nothing will help. The Guide asks her if removing one grain of sand from a pile of sand makes a difference. Logan says she doesn’t know. The Guide shows Logan all of her friends, and how she has influenced them towards activism. The Guide reminds Logan that all she has to do is take one step at a time. Logan agrees. The Guide lets Logan go back to sleep. Logan returns to school, and while her anxiety isn’t totally fixed, and the climate is still in crisis, she has hope.
The American Psychology Association (APA) defines eco-anxiety as “the chronic fear of environmental cataclysm that comes from observing the seemingly irrevocable impact of climate change and the associated concern for one's future and that of next generations”. In other words, eco-anxiety is the fear of the end of the world happening through some kind of environmental disaster. It comes from the knowledge of possible climate change related disasters. It lasts for long periods of time, and can make it hard for someone to imagine themselves or their kids having happy, successful lives in the future.
Related questions: How is eco-anxiety different from general anxiety, or other mental health issues like depression? How does eco-anxiety manifest in Logan’s life? Brainstorm some ways to combat eco-anxiety in our own lives, and in our communities.
A panic attack is when someone experiences a feeling of sudden, unexplained, and paralyzing fear, usually with an intense physical response. It can happen for no apparent reason, and the physical symptoms may be sudden, and can last from 10 to 20 minutes. Panic attack symptoms may include:
Read more about panic attacks in kids here, and in teens here. Read more about how to guide youth through anxiety here, and find a list of mental health resources for Indiana youth here.
We think it is incredibly important to talk about the climate crisis for two reasons. The first is that a lot of people don’t know the full story, and think that things are not as bad as they are. If only some people have all of the correct information, then they are the only ones who can make smart and informed decisions, so it is important to share this material with as many people as possible. The second is that the people who do know this information are often left feeling helpless, or like there is nothing they can do as one person. We want to acknowledge the fact that we can only do so much as individuals, especially when the main problem is big corporations and governments, while still encouraging them to be hopeful and make more climate-friendly decisions in their everyday lives. One of our biggest tools in combating the climate crisis is simply talking about the climate, and encouraging others to find and build communities of people who want to talk about the climate. Many scientists and activists say that collective action and believing that it is not too late to make the changes we need as a global community are key in avoiding catastrophe and saving lives in the future.
Sustainability is a strategy for development or daily practice that encourages someone to use resources in a way that fulfills their needs, but does not overuse or waste resources. This is typically done so that others can also use those resources, or so you can use those resources again in the future, when you need them. Practicing sustainability can be simple and personal, it can be wide scale and community-focused, or it can be a field of study in a classroom or university. Read more about sustainability here.
Early on in the play, Quinn gives Jo a hard time for using a single use plastic water bottle. Quinn claims that it will sit in a landfill forever, which unfortunately is true. Despite the work that people around the world do to make sure their plastic waste goes into the recycling bin, that plastic has never actually been recycled. That is because it is more expensive to recycle old plastic than it is to just make new plastic, so manufacturers in the plastic industry choose to throw out the old plastic so they can save money. In the end, all of the plastic cups, bottles, utensils (and much, much more) go into landfills, even when we do our part to recycle. Read more about this issue here.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is an island of plastic litter between North America and Japan, and it is about twice as big as the state of Texas. The patch grows because the trash that is in it is not biodegradable, which means that the plastic does not decompose, or wear down into smaller and smaller pieces. It is very harmful to marine life, and it is connected to other problems like water pollution and health problems for humans. Because it is in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean, no country claims the patch, and so international organizations and individuals are teaming up to raise awareness about, and help clean the plastic out of the ocean. Read more about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch here and here.
This dream is intentionally left a little vague, because the problem that we wanted to point to in this moment is so enormous that we couldn’t pick just one example. Logan is thinking about mass production of goods and products, and how it has led to things like waste, overconsumption, resource depletion, and unnecessary pollution. This is a systemic problem, and while you can think about some companies that contribute to it (like Zara, Amazon, and Nestle), it’s something we all contribute to when we purchase things from big corporations, or when we throw away something that is still usable or consumable. Read more about overproduction here.
At the end of the play, we see Logan finding hope and coping with her anxiety by finding opportunities to advocate for sustainable practices in her life– from recycling for her family to speaking against a proposed bill at her local senate meeting. The bill she mentions is a real one, recently passed in the Indiana State Senate. Senate Bill 242 says that officials are supposed to use old maps to predict where flooding usually happens, which means that the data is out of date, and could lead to significant property damage or avoidable life-threatening situations for people who live and work in places that are affected by flooding. This is a controversial bill, because there are debates about how to best regulate the land and what should be valued when doing so. Read Senate bill 242 here, and see more about Indiana environmental legislation here.
The Ridgeport High School Green Team is super important in Dreamland, as well as in Logan’s life. We see Logan and Quinn leading small, but necessary conversations in their school about the most up-to-date climate science, encouraging their peers to make more sustainable choices in their everyday lives, and advocating to the administration to build more environmentally-friendly actions into the structure of the school. In the play, they gather support around their proposal for Meatless Mondays, and make their friends more aware of the role they can play in slowing down the effects of the climate crisis. Logan even goes to the local Senate meeting to advocate to policy makers to be more environmentally-conscious with their legislation.
We want to encourage you to start a Green Team at your school! As a student, you can take steps to be more sustainable in your own life, and to encourage your friends and the adults at school to do the same. Whether it’s leading a climate-themed book club, or petitioning your school’s administration to replace their styrofoam trays with reusable ones, you can make a difference in your school by creating a Green Team. Earth Charter Indiana will be following up with you and your school, and can support new and existing Green Teams/Eco-clubs at schools. Feel free to reach out to ECI’s Director of Advancement, Jim Poyser, at jimpoyser@earthcharterindiana.org to start this process.
One of the ways that we emphasize the voices of young people throughout the creation and now the ongoing updating and revising of Dreamland is collaborative discussions. In alignment with Indiana state standards, we encourage educators to do the same with their students. Below are some questions grounded in the English/Language Arts state standards in order to encourage students to consider the content, form, and efficacy of the play. These questions can be used to begin a discussion with students after seeing the play.
Content: What are the main ideas and themes of the play? What details of the story show those main ideas and themes?
Form: What effect did the structure (revisiting important moments throughout Logan’s life, dreams as a rhetorical device, etc.) have on you? To what extent did those things contribute to the meaning of the play?
Efficacy: What are the goals of the play? Was it effective or ineffective in reaching those goals? What made it effective or ineffective?
By answering questions about the content of the play, students will be able to:
6, ELA, 6.RC.2
Determine how a theme or central idea of a work of literature is conveyed through particular details; provide a detailed, objective summary of the text.
6, ELA, 6.CC.3
Review the key ideas expressed and demonstrate understanding of multiple perspectives through reflection and paraphrasing.
7, ELA, 7.RC.2
Analyze the development of a theme or central idea over the course of a work of literature; provide a detailed summary that supports the analysis.
7, ELA, 7.RC.5
Analyze the development of two or more central ideas over the course of a text; provide a detailed, objective summary of the text.
8, ELA, 8.RC.2
Analyze the development of a theme or central idea over the course of a work of literature, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide a detailed summary that supports the analysis.
8, ELA, 8.RC.4
Analyze the development of a central idea over the course of a text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide a detailed, objective summary of the text.
9-10, ELA, 9-10.RC.2
Analyze in detail the development of two or more themes over the course of a work of literature, including how they emerge and are specific and refined by specific details.
9-10, ELA, 9-10.RC.4
Analyze in detail the development of two or more central ideas over the course of a text, including how they build on one another to provide a complex analysis.
11-12, ELA, 11-12.RC.6
Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific ideas, events, and individuals develop throughout the text.
By answering questions about the form of the play, students will be able to:
7, ELA, 7.RC.3
Analyze how a work of literature’s structural elements such as subplots, parallel episodes, climax, and conflicts contribute to its meaning and plot.
9-10, ELA, 9-10.RC.3
Analyze and evaluate how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a work of literature, order events within it (e.g., parallel episodes), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) contribute to the overall meaning and effect of a work.
11-12, ELA, 11-12.RC.3
Analyze and evaluate how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a work of literature (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall meaning and effect of a work.
By answering questions about the efficacy of the play, students will be able to:
6, ELA, 6.RC.7
Determine an author’s perspective or purpose in a text, and explain how it is conveyed in the text.
7, ELA, 7.RC.7
Determine an author’s perspective or purpose in a text, and analyze how the author distinguishes their position from the positions of others.
8, ELA, 8.RC.5
Determine an author’s perspective or purpose in a text, and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
8, ELA, 8.CC.5
Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and sufficiency of the evidence, and identifying when irrelevant evidence is introduced.
9-10, ELA, 9-10.RC.6
Determine an author’s perspective or purpose in a text, and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that perspective or purpose.
9-10, ELA, 9-10.CC.6
Evaluate a speaker’s perspective, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or distorted evidence.
11-12, ELA, 11-12.CC.5
Evaluate a speaker’s perspective, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, as well as assessing stylistic choices such as word choice, points of emphasis, and tone.
By having a discussion, students will be able to:
6, ELA, 6.CC.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (e.g., one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) on grade appropriate topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing personal ideas clearly.
6, ELA, 6.CC.2
Pose and respond to specific questions with elaboration and detail by making comments that contribute to the topic, text, or issue under discussion.
6, ELA, 6.CC.3
Review the key ideas expressed and demonstrate understanding of multiple perspectives through reflection and paraphrasing.
6, ELA, 6.CC.4
Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
7, ELA, 7.CC.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (e.g., one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) on grade-appropriate topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing personal ideas clearly.
7, ELA, 7.CC.2
Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.
By seeing a play and participating in a subsequent discussion, students will be able to:
6, ELA, 6.RC.9
Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, verbally) to demonstrate a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
6, ELA, 6.CC.4
Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
7, ELA, 7.CC.4
Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally), and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.
8, ELA, 8.CC.4
Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.
Over a year. Dreamland is our second social issues show, which means that we spend a lot of time researching and experimenting with the script before we even start rehearsing, let alone performing for you all.
Students like you! The Dreamland cast is made up of 17 middle and high school students that live in the Indianapolis area, though only 6 actors perform at a time.
We use a process called devising to build all of our plays, which means that we work together as an ensemble of actors, directors, playwrights, and designers, to create a story about a topic that we all think is important. The actors created characters, and we explored them and the story together using improvisation exercises and lots of brainstorming.
Get involved at React! If acting (or working behind the scenes) is something you’re interested in, we have classes for K-12th grade students all year long. Visit www.reactclasses.org to learn more!
After doing a lot of research, and talking with experts in environmental science, mental health professionals, and climate activists, we realized that the heart of the problem is not just in the action we do or don’t take to better our earth, but also about how we choose to think about it. We wanted to tell a story about a young person dealing with anxiety in a very real way, and show our audiences that there are ways to empower yourself to think about the future with hope, excitement, and anticipation as a young person.
Questions of how to talk about and confront the climate crisis are very tricky, because it has become a political issue. We don’t think of it this way. Even though governments and corporations are often the people who are in charge of taking action, we think that it is crucial that everybody, no matter their age or where they live, try to think about the way they interact with the world differently. When we start to think about the earth as our home instead of a resource, we can all start to take care of it and each other better.
Climate denial, or believing that the climate crisis isn’t real, isn’t as bad as people say it is, or isn’t because of human action, is a common point of view people have all over the world. People deny climate change for many reasons, including political, economical, religious beliefs. We disagree with climate denial, but we also don’t think that it is our job to argue with people who think differently. However, we do think that it is important to share correct information with people who think this way, and have conversations about the topics we disagree on. Most importantly, we think that it is important for people who don’t believe in the climate crisis to understand and empathize with people who do, even if they choose not to think the same way about it.
Non-Fiction
Fiction