Rehearsing catastrophe: cultivating affective responses to climate change through eco-somatic performance with babies and mothers

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article considers the related concepts of ‘rehearsal’ [Harney, Stefano, and Fred Moten. 2013. The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning & Black Study. Brooklyn: Minor Compositions] and ‘catastrophe’ [Stengers, Isabelle. 2015. In Catastrophic Times: Resisting the Coming Barbarism. Translated by Andrew Goffey. London: Open Humanities Press] as activism, focussing upon eco-somatic drama processes engaged through In Your Arms (IYA). This participatory arts project for babies and their primary caregivers was co-created in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia, by a four-person artist ensemble, ten pre-crawling babies, and their mothers. Multi-modalities were used, including improvisatory movement scores, natural props, sound-making and listening practices. The article suggests new ways to consider drama activity at a micro-sensorial scale, offering practices that cultivate environmental attunement and care from the very first months of life.