Join us for an online storytelling event bringing optimistic climate stories, performers and scientists together to re-imagine our future.
A virtual event celebrating climate fiction that imagines better futures through innovation, community, and systematic change.
Apocalyptic ‘doom and gloom’ stories populate most climate fiction and entertainment and thus most people’s visions of the future. For people to be inspired to tackle our global climate crisis, the story needs to change.
In support of the UN Climate Summit COP26 and adjacent climate events like TED Countdown, Scirens and their partners are bringing together Hollywood actors to lend their voices to these important new visions illuminating equitable, just and sustainable tomorrows. The story excerpts being performed have been selected from ASU’s Center for Science and Imagination’s Climate Fiction Anthologies and the seminal climate fiction book, The Ministry for the Future, by award-winning author Kim Stanley Robinson.
Introduced by Scirens co-founders Tamara Krinsky, Taryn O’Neill, and Arizona State University CSI Director Ed Finn with performances by Christina Ochoa, Marc A. Samuel, Montse Hernandez, David Blue, Tara Platt, and Kavi Ladnier.
The readings will be followed by a panel discussion with climate scientist Dr. Kate Marvel, award-winning climate fiction author Vandana Singh, global climate researcher Dr. Manjana Milkoreit and writer/director/producer Taryn O’Neill, moderated by TV host/actress/writer Tamara Krinsky, plus a special segment with eco-activist / writer Gia Mora.
Event Details:
Date: Wednesday, November 17th, 2021
Time: 12:30pm PT / 3:30pm ET
Cost: Free, but you must register for the event to get the Zoom link: http://bit.ly/scirensrsvp
Donations are welcome and will support NRDC‘s Rewrite the Future initiative which aims to enlist the power of storytelling to help turn the climate crisis around. Learn more here.
Scirens is not affiliated in any manner with the Natural Resources Defense Council or any of its programs, projects, or websites.
Presenting Partners:
NYC Women Filmmakers:
Founded by Cidney Hue in 2015, NYC Women Filmmakers (NYCWF) is a grassroots, non-profit organization that champions inclusion in Film, TV, and Media by connecting underrepresented creators with influential networks, valuable resources, and career-changing opportunities to impact meaningful change in the industry.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram to stay in touch.
Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University:
CSI creates inspiring, inclusive, technically grounded visions of the future by bringing together artists, authors, and educators with scientists, technologists, policy thinkers, and community members. The center publishes collections of science fiction, nonfiction, and art; leads informal and formal education initiatives around science, technology, culture, and society; hosts public events and forums and creates podcasts and videos about science fiction, media arts, and possible futures; and conducts interdisciplinary research about collaboration and imagination. Learn more at csi.asu.edu and follow the center on Twitter at @imaginationASU
Special Thanks to:
The Science and Entertainment Exchange:
The Science & Entertainment Exchange, a program of the National Academy of Sciences, connects the entertainment industry with experts in science, technology, and medicine in order to enhance the portrayal of science and scientists in film, television, and new media, in order to make science more accessible and inspiring for all audiences.
Monkey Kingdom Productions:
Monkey Kingdom Productions was created by Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt to bring life to independent filmmaking and production. With 4 seasons of award-winning comedy Shelf Life, 4 seasons of docu-travel series Up, Up & Away, a touching series on motherhood in Whatta Lark, a series on PTS with Breaking Silence and two feature films, Monkey Kingdom Productions is dedicated to creating thought-provoking and boundary-breaking, quality productions and are thrilled to support ‘Flipping the Script on Climate’ in their forward-focused scientific art.
About the Hosts
SCIRENS: Tamara Krinsky and Taryn O’Neill
SCIRENS (Screen Sirens for Science) is a creative team at the intersection of science and storytelling advocating for and creating STEM-infused entertainment that encourages curiosity and critical thinking, as well as new visions for a rapidly changing world. Co-founded by science enthusiasts and multi-hyphenate creatives TAMARA KRINSKY (actor / broadcast host / writer) and TARYN O’NEILL (director / sci-fi writer / actor / new media producer), Scirens is developing science and climate themed projects and uses social media to amplify climate activism and STEM outreach. Scirens’ work has been featured on ‘Bill Nye Saves the World’, ‘Star Talk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson’, ‘Quoting Gene Roddenberry’, ‘The X-Prize’ and ‘L’Oreal DiscovHer’. @scirens @tamarakinsky @tarynoneill
About the Panelists
ED FINN is the founding director of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University, where he is an associate professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the School of Arts, Media, and Engineering. He is the academic director of Future Tense, a partnership between ASU, New America, and Slate Magazine, and a co-director of Emerge, an annual festival of art, ideas, and the future. His research and teaching explore the workings of the imagination, digital culture, creative collaboration, and the intersection of the humanities, arts, and sciences. He is the author of What Algorithms Want: Imagination in the Age of Computing (MIT Press, 2017) and the co-editor of Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future (William Morrow, 2014) and Frankenstein: Annotated for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators of All Kinds (MIT Press, 2017).
DR. KATE MARVEL uses climate models, observations, paleoclimate reconstructions, and basic theory to study climate change. Her work has identified human influences on present-day cloud cover, rainfall patterns, and drought risk. She is also interested in future climate changes, particularly climate feedback processes and the planet’s sensitivity to increased carbon dioxide. Kate teaches in Columbia’s MA in Climate and Society Program and writes the “Hot Planet” column for Scientific American. Named one of “15 Women Who Will Save the World” by Time Magazine, she has been profiled by the New York Times and Rolling Stone, and her 2017 TED talk has been viewed over one million times.
VANDANA SINGH is an author of speculative fiction, a professor of physics at Framingham State University, and an interdisciplinary researcher on the climate crisis. She is the author of two short story collections, The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet and Other Stories (2014) and Ambiguity Machines and Other Stories (2018), the second of which was a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award. Her work on a justice-centered, transdisciplinary conceptualization of the climate crisis is part of a forthcoming volume from UNESCO, Charting an SDG 4.7 roadmap for radical, transformative change in the midst of climate breakdown. Her short fiction has been widely published, including the short story “Widdam,” part of the interdisciplinary climate-themed collection A Year Without a Winter (2019). She was born and brought up in New Delhi, India, and now lives near Boston, Massachusetts.
DR. MANJANA MILKOREIT is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oslo’s Department of Sociology and Human Geography. Her research integrates international relations scholarship and cognitive theory to study actor motivations and policy design in global climate change governance. Currently, her research focuses on collective future thinking (scientifically informed imagination), the politics of climate future making, and the challenges and opportunities associated with social tipping points. Manjana is the author of Mindmade Politics: The Cognitive Roots of International Climate Governance (The MIT Press, 2017) and a co-editor of Everything Change – An Anthology of Climate Fiction. She received her Ph.D. in Global Governance from the University of Waterloo (Canada) and her Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. Twitter: @manjanam
About the Performers
CHRISTINA OCHOA is an actress, activist, and science communicator. She is currently starring in the ABC family drama “Promised Land” that’s set to premiere in early 2022. You can also see her in TNT’s “Animal Kingdom,” ABC’s “A Million Little Things,” CW’s “Valor,” as well as several films. Christina is the grand-niece of Nobel Prize winner Severo Ochoa, daughter of sculptor Victor Ochoa, and her entire life she was surrounded by members of both the scientific and artistic academies. After graduating she went on to study Oceanographic Engineering at Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, and advanced Marine Biology studies at James Cook University – Australia. Soon after, she started gaining interest in performing arts and content development. She has successfully worked on both mediums ever since.
Reading ‘Sunshine State’ by Adam Flynn and Andrew Dana Hudson.
An avid science-lover and almost-astronaut, DAVID BLUE is best known for portraying geek hero Eli Wallace on “Stargate Universe.” But you may have also seen him as vampire hacker Logan Griffen on “Moonlight,” fan-favorite Cliff St. Paul on “Ugly Betty” or any of his multiple TV/Film appearances – “Castle,” “Rizolli & Isles,” “Henry Danger,” “12 Days of Giving” & more. Just some of his Voiceover work includes the role of Sam in “Sunset Overdrive” and multiple characters in “World of Warcraft.” Keep an eye here for details: http://www.David-Blue.com (As always, he also currently battles the evils of the Aperture Science Corporation) TWITCH: 4DavidBlue Twitter: @DavidBlue Instagram: @David-Blue FB: OfficialDavidBlue.
Reading ‘Divided Light’ by Corey Pressman
KAVI RAMACHANDRAN LADNIER, a seasoned actor/producer, is honored to be a part of Flipping the Script on Climate. She has many upcoming projects releasing end of 2021 into 2022. including a recurring role on Mindy Kaling’s THE SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS premiering on HBO Max Nov 18th. Kavi started her production company Art Heart Love Productions this year and is finishing up post-production on AHL’s first project NOW AND NEVER in which she stars & produces. Other soon-to-be-released projects include THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS on Paramount +, the feature film EAST BAY also starring Constance Wu, a short film for Paul Feig’s PowderKeg and NCIS-LA. Kavi also produced/starred in the feature BORIS AND THE BOMB (now on TUBI/PRIME) She is a member of Antaeus Theatre’s Playwrights Lab and has her BFA from NYU.
Reading ‘Indra’s Web’ by Vandana Singh
MARC ANTHONY SAMUEL is a Chicago/Portland-raised, on-camera and voice actor known for daytime and primetime work. He has played a number of roles including the character Felix Dubois on ABC’s “General Hospital” since 2012, and can soon be seen as Detective Roberts in the suspense thriller “My Missing Sister” on Lifetime.
Reading ‘Efficiency’ by Paolo Bacigalupi.
MONTSERRAT (‘MONTSE’) HERNANDEZ is a bilingual Mexican-American actress, voice actress, singer, writer, and director. Born in Dallas, Texas, she began acting at age 3. Her TV and film credits are BARNEY, CW’s “JANE THE VIRGIN” (as ‘Young Jane’), NBC’s “THE NIGHT SHIFT”, USA’s “COLONY”, the film “LOWRIDERS” with Eva Longoria and Demian Bichir. She also stars in the new horror movie STUDENT BODY releasing in the spring of 2022. As a voiceover actress, her credits include GWEN TENNYSON on “BEN10”, EMPRESS QIYANA on LEAGUE OF LEGENDS and she is currently voicing a lead in the new NETFLIX show “THE LAST KIDS ON EARTH” alongside Mark Hamill and Rosario Dawson. Her second passion is writing and directing an animatic record with an all-star voice cast. She’s written multiple shorts, shows, and even a full-length feature. Her hobbies include singing, writing, dancing, playing video games, and watching anime.
Reading ‘Things That Bend, But Don’t Break’ by S.B. Divya.
Actress/author/producer/entrepreneur, TARA PLATT has performed internationally in film, TV, animation, and theatre. VO credits include: Marvel’s Spider-Man, DC VS MK, League of Legends, Hearthstone, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Legion of Superheroes, Naruto, Persona, Ducktales, Where’s Waldo, Sailor Moon, Ben 10, Saints Row, Drakengard3, RWBY, Gundam Unicorn, and Sunset Overdrive. Tara and husband Yuri Lowenthal wrote Voice-Over Voice Actor and sequel VOVA: The Extended Edition for anyone interested in getting into voice-over. Platt and Lowenthal gave a TEDx talk on Storytelling. The sitcom Whatta Lark, which she produced and stars opposite drag-sensation Poppy Fields, won an IAWTV award and is streaming on Amazon. Her books Relax Your Toes and Zartana are available online and she is currently writing a YA novel. @taraplatt
Reading from The Ministry For The Future by Kim Stanley Robinson.
Writer, performer, and producer GIA MORA connects storytelling, sustainability, and science. In 2021, she released It’s Gonna Be Fine, a music video of hope for post-pandemic life, and joined Treehugger, the world’s largest sustainability website, as an expert writer. Her other work has appeared in Openfit, Travel Vixens, Ms. in the Biz, among others, and her original music has been featured in films, on Minnesota Public Radio, and the podcast Build for Tomorrow. She also shot the lead in a feature film directed by Shahab Hosseini, with whom she also appeared in The Night (IFC/Hulu). Gia is also executive producing the science docuseries I Am A Scientist with Michael A. Simon. A vegan yogi with a passion for all things feline, Gia loves low-consumption living, art, and Italian cooking. Follow her on Instagram.
