Name: Positive Ruminations
Start: 2024-11-15T19:30:00-07:00
End: 2024-11-16T21:00:00-07:00
Location: Childsplay Theatre

Nov 15 & 16, 2024, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Shillings Hall, Childsplay, 900 S Mitchell Dr, Tempe, AZ 85281
"Positive Ruminations" will feature four new(ish) multidisciplinary performances that address climate change's impact on the bodymind, transformative grief, busy culture, and empathy and compassion fatigue.
Event Intention: The “new(ish)” refers to the iterative nature of how we develop performances and how we are returning to pieces in development that were set aside during COVID. With the overarching title being “Positive Ruminations” each new work will not only address the stark reality of these topics but also offer ways to engage in responsible action, cognitive re-structuring, radical hope, and reframing to encourage audiences and artists to stay connected to how these topics directly impact our humanity. GBC believes in engaging in positive rumination practices around common ground topics will foster a sense of belonging, connecting with dignity, and standing in our integrity as a community.
Event Details: The event takes place on November 15-16, 2024 in Shillings Hall on the Childsplay campus (900 S Mitchell Dr, Tempe, AZ). Doors will open approximately at 7p and performances begin at 7:30p. Immediately following the event we will have a Q&A with the creative of GBC. We are excited to continue our partnership with La Frontera's Trauma Healing Services Department who will be facilitating the post show dialogue.
The new works being developed are:
“EMP_T_Y” explores how exposure to chronic external stress leads to empathy/compassion fatigue and asks how can we replenish ourselves when constantly inundated with disturbing media.
“Finger Painting [for grown-ups]” which examines how busy culture robs adults of the joys of play and creativity due to being in a constant state of urgency. It looks at the impact of burnout and how we can return to living creatively fulfilling lives.
“PAUSE…” looks at transformative grief as a change agent in our lives and asks how to live with the rollercoaster journey of loss.
“Solistalgia” focuses on the impact of climate change on our body-mind and how to manage eco-grief and distress.
All of the above works are considered in Phase I of development. We think about these works like a demo tape to illustrate the ideas that we are currently parsing out with each topic. GBC's develops work over three phases. This first phase is usually stripped down to allow us to focus on specific performance and production elements to help us determine the evolution of the work and if we want to continue to invest our resources into it.
What's Included: Each ticket includes the evening of performances, a drink ticket, a seeded paper bookmark, and GBC swag. We are also thrilled to be able to offer a completely non-alcoholic bar at this event. It has been important to us as a trauma-informed arts organization that makes art on difficult subjects to be able to offer a completely NA bar - - more details coming soon!
Find Out More About The Event: Be sure to check out our social media (IG & FB) plus our podcast Any Other Anythings for behind the scenes interviews, photos, and videos.
Ticket Pricing: We use a sliding scale model for our tickets and encourage our audiences to reflect on their circumstances and lived experience to determine the best price point. If you are new to this model or would like to learn more please check out this blog about how this is a tool for economic justice (blog link) and use this sliding scale fee guidance PDF (link) when selecting your ticket price. Thank you for taking the time to engage in this reflective practice.
Audience Surveys: As always, we will ask the audience for feedback through surveys. In order to apply and receive grants, it's important for us to collect some demographic information from our audience as well as information on the audience experience. We highly value the information you share with us on this survey. It’s part of why our grant funding has increased in the past few years. It also helps us better understand your experience as an audience member, so that we can further develop our work and serve you better.
Gratitude: Thank you to Phoenix Arts & Culture and Arizona Commission on the Arts for your supporting the operation of Grey Box over the years! This project is partially funded by a City of Tempe - Community Arts Grant. We are grateful to receive this grant for the eighth year in a row.