I'm standing outside of the Basile Theatere at the historic Atheneum Building here in Indianapolis.

We're inside a production of Global.

Or at least statewide report has been prepared by teenagers.

And I'm here as an adult to tell you how kids feel really, about climate change.

First off.

I think that we can tell you how we feel about what we've been left with.

the first reaction that I had to The fact that we were doing a climate crisis play was the reaction that I fear most people will have.

I worry that they're going to come in and watch us perform and be like, Oh, it's it's so cute that they care so much.

It's, Oh, that was adorable.

But it's not cute.

Like we crack jokes and stuff because it is for kids, but it's a serious issue Dreamland is a show to advocate for the issue, which is the climate crisis.

It's always talked about, especially in like TV shows and it's publicized online, but people usually don't try and act on it.

And that's what we're trying to do.

it is such an overexplain topic.

But I think that's very important because nobody's going to do anything.

Nobody has been doing anything and those who have have been cruelly criticized.

So now that I'm like a year or two deep into the process, I'm extremely excited about it.

I'm extremely excited about what it can do for people.

He's did a lot for me.

But I didn't sleep last night.

And when I did, I dreamt that my house was on fire.

And so I ran out of my house, and my whole neighborhood was burning.

So I kept running.

But everywhere I looked, all I could see was fire and smoke.

And I couldn't breathe.

And I was crying.

And finally I looked down.

And you're on fire.

Logan, I play the role of Logan Davis.

She's a high school senior know.

I need to go Her friends are all worried about her, and that's what leads her in to dreamland, which is a guide, taking Logan through the motions, kind of showing her what could happen in the future Logan.

The guide is kind of a manifestation of the main character's imagination.

Could you just tell me what's going on?

Oh, yes.

You have ego anxiety.

Ego anxiety.

No, I don't.

To me?

Eco anxiety is something some people realize that they have, and then other people don't realize that they have.

And I think that with the influx of news about the climate and it feeling like a doomsday, like if you even look at the Doomsday Clock, that is like at the final hour in like the amount of like bad news also showing it's starting as young as third grade.

Um, that's early.

Yeah.

will all end up in climate resettlement zone next.

that can give you this terror, I guess, about how the future might look and how it might not be here.

There will be times where I don't feel like I can move because it's just that strong.

It's just that overpowering.

Yeah, we'll go clockwise, got out of there, and That was a panic attack.

Yeah, a panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear that triggers severe physical reactions with no real danger or apparent cause.

So devising in theater is a theater trend that is popular globally.

It's a little less popular in the United States, but it's the simplest definition is that it means starting without a script.

So in a traditional kind of theatrical process, you have a script, you audition actors for the script, and then you bring that script to life in a devised process.

We just aren't starting with that.

We're starting with the room.

React as a social issues devising company.

So we start from completely scratch.

Usually we have a topic and we kind of work through planned improvs and listening to our director and seeing what kind of we can make plot structure wise in addition to character wise, to then build a fully formulated play, which is often written by the actual director.

what I just love so much about devising is that it's you get to just hear your voice.

And so I can hear my voice in Logan, but I can also hear my voice.

And Quinn, the character I play.

it's a way to express how I feel about a certain topic and get my ideas out there because they're very well listened to here.

most of the reac plays I've been have been fun and goofy and it's all of us.

But this is new.

I hope that what kids and adults take away from this is that there is an intergenerational approach to solving the climate crisis.

It's going to take everybody.

It's going to take everybody understanding the science, okay, yeah, like, no, we weren't.

We, we were all in this together, I hope that other kids will feel less alone and less hopeless about our future, and maybe they'll feel like there's still something that they can do.

And every act that we take matters, even if it's small Dreamland will be performing across Indiana for years to come and is always looking for more school audiences to perform for.

Eco anxiety truly is in the air and I want to thank you for listening to me.

No, thank you for listening to us.

Thank you for listening to us.

thank you for listening to us.

Okay.

For more stories, go to WFYI Dawgs across Indiana.