You know how at 350 we talk a lot about the power of art to move hearts and minds? Well, we thought you might want to hear about a new piece of art–a play actually. It’s called “SPILL” and it’s about the real stories of real people affected by the BP Gulf Tragedy. Check out a sneak peak video of the project below, as well as a guest post for the 350 community by the playwright, Leigh Fondakowski.

If you’re inspired to see this play through to its opening in New Orleans, you can chip in here.

I was the head writer of The Laramie Project, a play based on interviews with the people of Laramie,Wyoming in the aftermath of the brutal beating and death of Matthew Shepard, a gay university of Wyoming student.

My latest work is a play and art installation based on interviews with the people of the Gulf coast of Louisiana in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon / BP oil spill.

Contrary to the tourism ads promoted by BP that all is back to normal after the spill, the people of theGulf are still suffering.

The full environmental impact is still being unraveled.

And the largest civil litigation trial in United States history is set to begin in February 2012 involving the major players BP, Transocean, and Halliburton.

Eleven men lost their lives in the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, many others were seriously injured—their lives will never be the same again.

The fishing communities along the coast are still waiting to settle financially with BP for the loss oftheir livelihood.

And the entire Gulf coast continues to be under siege environmentally as they literally lose the land under their feet due to coastal erosion.

The BP oil spill was one battle in an environmental war that is raging along the Gulf coast. Our play and installation will give a human face and voice to this story. And shed light on the issues of oil dependency and climate change that affect us all.

We are on a search right now for answers: what led to this disaster, what the long-term environmental and economic impact will be for the people who live in the Gulf, and clues to what one interviewee called Louisiana’s “unholy relationship with the oil industry.”

Please take a look at our funding video on USA Projects. We have a time sensitive campaign on line right now with only 14 days remaining to reach our goal. Donate if you can. And please help us spread the word. This is a work of art that can help shape public dialogue and opinion on the crucial environmental issues of our time.

– Leigh Fondakowski, co-creator of The Laramie Project
 

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