In New York City, for example, it was the recent passing of Local Law 86 that led to the green building boom currently in full swing there. The law stipulates that any new building that is either a city agency project or that receives a certain amount of funds from the city must be awarded at least a Silver LEED rating -- the USGBC's lowest level of its three-tier certification. Any initial reluctance that theatres may have, whether it be financial or otherwise, has been eclipsed by the need to comply with the law.

Salem Repertory Theatre currently produces their plays upstairs in the Reed Opera House, but in the next couple of years will seek a permanent home. Co-Artistic Director Ted deChatelet says that when they find that home they will certainly try to be as environmentally responsible as possible.

"It's very important to us and of course we'll do whatever we can," he said. "But at this point I can't say what, exactly, that will be. I'd love to renovate a building like they did with the Gerding, but can I promise that we'll flush our toilets with rain water? No."  

But all of this green building tends to overlook some of the more worrisome areas of theatrical production that have little to do with the buildings themselves. Of greater concern are the workshops that create the stuff that makes theatre the spectacle we have all come to expect: the scene shops, costume shops, and prop shops. Most theatre companies that elect to build green do so without incorporating any of these shops into their new buildings. With the exception of New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW), which has plans to build green costume and scene shops in New York by 2009, the only facility that comes close is the Gerding, which houses the PCS costume shop.
It is typically the scene shops coupled with the considerable lighting systems found in performance facilities that causes the most concern.

Theatrical scene shops use an enormous amount of virgin lumber, foam, steel, and a myriad of toxic chemicals like paint and adhesives.  Much of it, once used, finds its way to landfills -- very little is recycled or stored for reuse.
deChatelet says that SRT currently reuses everything possible from each of its shows, including wood, paint and fabric. So far they rarely use styrofoam.

As they grow, however, things will change, but deChatelet says they have every intention of keeping their theatre as green as possible.
Mike Lawler is a writer and theater artist. His first book, "Careers in Technical Theater," is now available from Allworth Press. For more information on Mike and his work, check out mikelawler.com. EcoLogue, Mike's blog on the greening of American theater can be found online at ecotheater.com.