We stumbled on an interesting TV program the other day. It's called Eco4TheWorld. And, if our memory serves us right, it's on CNBC. We liked it so much, we recorded it. Unfortunately, there must only be one episode because we ended up recording the same thing about 5 times along with a few other irrelevant shows that DirecTV's scheduler got wrong.
There were definitely some tasty nuggets on there, one of which was a segment on theater intervention. While this seems to be a pretty common educational tool in places like Africa and Asia to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and Malaria, it's something we have yet to see in the U.S. and U.K.--apart from those filmed for The Truth anti-tobacco campaign.
We're not sure exactly who's paying for these street performances abroad, but they involve groups of people acting out public service announcements at the street level. In one example, social responsible clothing retailer H&M was supporting theater interventions for factories working in Cambodia. We couldn't help but think that the world could use more innovative thinking like this.
Last night, we were at a small community theater watching the must-see performance of Money and Run and had the same thought. The intimate theater only has about 30 seats and we couldn't help but feel that we were part of the production, almost as if we had our friends acting out a comedy sketch in our living room. Why couldn't a group of actors take their cause to a park, bus, shopping mall or any number of public locations?
With impromptu flash mob happenings on the rise, perhaps more concerned citizens and companies should take their message to the streets and anywhere else there might be a captive audience to engage people when they least expect it.
Much like Frozen Grand Central performed by Improv Everywhere, crowds of people could show up to create the world's largest group hug. (Perhaps someone should create their own troupe called Improve Everywhere.) Or, as ecopop suggested for Earth Day, people could bring their daily landfill contribution to a public place for all to see. Not only could these events gain media attention and spread through internet video sites, but they could be repeated as regularly as local TV commercials or short-run theater productions.
Constructive companies could get involved as well. Bike companies could sponsor impromptu bike parades to encourage alternate transportation. Eco-friendly cleaning companies could unleash hundreds of volunteers to speed clean a particular neighborhood in need. Even on a much smaller scale, green living retailers could organize entertainers to educate the public on the small changes we can do to make a difference. Charismatic employees could even do this on a daily basis as the ride the bus or subway to a from work.
Similarly, while it's not exactly theater intervention, we also learned from watching Eco4TheWorld that there's at least one U.S. organization out there that's going around barber shops to educate the black community about high blood pressure and diabetes. Brilliant–not only because of the captive audience and trusted relationship people have with their hairstylist, but because, much like bartenders, hairstylists can be a great conduit of information. Instead of celebrities, perhaps these are the members of our community we should be putting on the payroll, or at the very least, including them in our conversations.
Next time you go out for walk or get your haircut, don't be surprised if you see or hear something you'll want to tell all your friends about. It could have come from one of the theater intervention ideas you posted here on ecopop.com.
  
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