The Martlet

There’s a big difference between preaching sustainability and actually living it. Megan Cronkite, a second-year geography and social justice student at UVic, is attempting to bridge that gap.

This September, Cronkite will journey from Vancouver to Lethbridge as part of a travelling theatre troupe put together by the Otesha Project. Their goal: to promote environmental awareness and social sustainability through a series of plays and interactive workshops. And, just to prove that they’re the real deal, the actors are cycling all 2000 kilometres of the trip.

It’s this authenticity that’s gotten Cronkite stoked on the project.

“Your words have to be your actions,” she says. “Dialogue is so important, but if you don’t put it into action, it just gets stuck as thoughts.”

Although this is Cronkite’s first project with Otesha — a relationship that started back in April, when she signed on for the ride — she’s no stranger to using acting to promote action. Cronkite’s foray into theatre began last summer, when she worked with River Chandler and Theatre Works Consulting on a project to provide a safe space in which marginalized communities could share experiences of police harassment in Victoria. Cronkite was also active in Cracks in the Concrete, a weekend of workshops put in place to combat poverty in the local community.

A high school actress, it’s her infatuation with theatre that drew her to Otesha in the first place. “I really find theatre fascinating: the open space that it provides and the dialogue that it ignites. You can go beyond the structure of words. Using your body and motions and so many different methods of communication is where theatre excels.”

Completing the long-distance cycle will be a personal record for Cronkite. However, as a bike commuter, a heavy walker, and a yoga aficionado, she feels the gruelling trek through the Kootenay Mountains will be little more than an exciting challenge. Although the ride has proven great for fundraising purposes — the group must raise $2300 toward project costs — the real train- ing will focus on interpersonal communication. Workshops will begin the first week of September, when the riders assemble to learn the plays and work on group chemistry before they hit the road.

The plays will be performed at over a dozen stops: schools, churches and na- ture camps along the route. And although the Otesha Project mainly targets youth, Cronkite hopes that there’s a lesson that everyone can take away from the mission. Sustainability is for everyone, and it’s not as binding as it sounds.

“It’s really just an act of awareness and reciprocity, whether it’s with your environ- ment or your community,” she says. “I feel strongly that everyone has to cultivate their own sustainability practice and make sure that it works for them.”