Princeton Hosts Climate Storytelling Event with Playwrights

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Princeton University's High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI) and Lewis Center for the Arts (LCA) are hosting an event featuring presentations by Next Forever playwrights Kate Douglas and Kate Tarker. Douglas's play "If I Forget Thee, O Earth" explores mass extinction events through the lens of astrobiology, while Tarker's play "Topia" is an irreverent, multigenerational work about climate change and authoritarianism in Providence, Rhode Island. The event will also include a conversation with professors Anu Ramaswami and Steve Cosson.

Why it matters

This event is part of the Next Forever initiative, a partnership between The Civilians theater company, HMEI, and the Lewis Center for the Arts that seeks to create new stories exploring environmental themes and inspiring action on climate change. By engaging the public through dynamic storytelling, the event aims to provide vision and inspiration for navigating the challenges of the planet's future.

The details

The event will feature presentations by playwrights Kate Douglas and Kate Tarker, who were selected for the Next Forever residency and commissioning program. Douglas's play "If I Forget Thee, O Earth" puts the cosmic and terrestrial in the context of mass extinction events, while Tarker's "Topia" is an irreverent, multigenerational work about climate change and authoritarianism in Providence. The presentations will be followed by a conversation with professors Anu Ramaswami and Steve Cosson.

• The event will take place on February 23, 2026.