Collaborating for the Coast in Performing Arts, Environmental Science and Resource Management, and English
Stacey Stanfield Anderson, English Department
Heather Castillo, Performing Arts Department
Kiki Patsch, Environmental Science and Resource Management Department California State University Channel Islands
Abstract: This article presents a case study of an interdisciplinary, collaborative project that spanned three courses in three disciplines and involved over ninety students. We explore the institutional and curricular frameworks that supported the project, from inception to execution, and the challenges and rewards of a student–driven, interdisciplinary collaboration that places as much emphasis on the process as on the final product.
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“So what is it about California, the most populous of the United States, and the Pacific Ocean, the world’s largest body of water, covering one–third of the planet, that creates such a powerful cross–current of culture, risk and reward, history, economy, and mythology?”
Environmental Journalist David Helvarg, The Golden Shore: California’s Love Affair with the Sea (2016, p.4)
“We’ve long forgotten how collaboration became a natural instinct. For most of us, in the dailiness of family life, collaboration is a learned habit. It’s a welcome balance to the ego’s incessant hunger for self–gratification. It’s a recognition that there’s more to life — more opportunity, more knowledge, more danger — than we can master alone. It’s the building block of community. And because it’s a balance to our self–absorption, It’s a powerful tool for socialization and tolerance.”
Choreographer Twyla Tharp, The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together (2009, p. 20)
Introduction: Plunging into Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Imagine a tiny film crew and three women on a shoreline in southern California near Mugu Rock at the start of the iconic Malibu coastline (Figure 1). None of these figures appear dressed for a day at the beach, but one begins dancing into the waves anyway, ignoring the sharp rocks jutting up from the sand and seemingly missing the posted warning sign about rip currents. The movement of the dancer in the water is mesmerizing, embodying all the dancer has just shared in her absorbing interview about the influence of the beach and the ocean on Twentieth Century Modern Dance. All wait in anxious anticipation as the dancer prepares for her bold finish, bravely allowing herself to fall backwards into the waves. Fascination turns to momentary panic as the waves threaten to swallow up the dancer, and a lifeguard runs over with his signature red–rescue torpedo just as the dancer finally frees herself from the beautiful but voracious waters of the Pacific Ocean. Relief turns to joy as the group celebrates capturing on camera what was necessarily a single take.
We three authors, all faculty at California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI), were the women in the scenario described above. The fearless dancer was Heather Castillo, Assistant Professor of Performing Arts–Dance and the founding director of Arts Under The Stars, a signature event that engages students, faculty, staff, and community members in collaborative, interdisciplinary research resulting in an immersive multimedia performance. The other two women were Kiki Patsch, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Resource Management (ESRM) and Stacey Anderson, Assistant Professor of English and Composition Program Director. Patsch and Anderson were interviewing Castillo for their Beaches on the Edge project, an interdisciplinary collaboration intended to explore diverse perspectives on “how and why we value beaches across disciplines” and to “help citizens. . . prioritize preserving our sandy beach environ- ments in the face of climate change, sea level rise, and the coastal pinch of development” (“Welcome to Beaches on the Edge”).
Both Arts Under the Stars and Beaches on the Edge were funded by campus–wide initiatives that support CSUCI’s Mission Pillars, encourage collaboration among disciplines, and promote integrative and experiential learning. The opportunities afforded by these initiatives and our shared passion for the California Coast converged in a joint undertaking that was both inspired by and influenced our classroom teaching, encompassed the efforts of 93 students across three cours- es in three distinct disciplines, and extended its reach across the campus and into the community. The performative re- search project that resulted, “Obituary to the Beach,” epitomized the value of campus incubators for sparking novel in- quiry and the prolific nature of the California Coast that has vitalized our collective creative, scholarly, and pedagogical efforts (Introduction Video; Highlights Reel).
The Coast–Classroom Connection
Founded in 2002, CSUCI is the newest campus in the country’s largest state university system, the CSU (Figure 2). Many of our students are second–generation Americans whose parents work the rich agricultural fields that connect our campus to the coastal shores that lie just five miles away. Since its inception, CSUCI has encouraged efforts that are genuinely collaborative (not merely coordinated or cooperative) and interdisciplinary (not simply multidisciplinary or cross –disciplinary; Gunawardena, Weber, & Agosto, 2010). As the name of our campus suggests, CSU Channel Islands also draws faculty who are passionate about the coast and often find ways to integrate it into their teaching and research, regardless of discipline. While most CSU campuses are named after the cities or counties in which they are situated, we are named after the National Park that is just a short boat ride away.
An exemplar of this coastal orientation is a class titled ESRM 335: The Beach, an upper division, interdisciplinary, writing intensive class Patsch’s department developed that “explores the sociocultural importance of sandy beaches in southern California, . . . integrates diverse perspectives on California’s beach culture and society, and focuses on issues pertain- ing to coastal development and sustainability” (Catalog Description). Patsch taught The Beach for the first time in the spring 2017 semester, curating guest speakers representing a range of disciplinary perspectives on the value of the coast. During one class session, Castillo delivered an animated and interactive presentation exploring the influence of the ocean and the beach on the history of Modern American Dance, including its imprint on the choreography of Isadore Duncan, the Mother of Modern Dance (Duncan, 1927).
Inspired by The Beach class, Patsch and Anderson applied for and received an internal interdisciplinary Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (RSCA) grant intended to facilitate collaboration between at least one faculty member from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and at least one from Arts and Humanities. Patsch and Anderson undertook their joint project, Beaches on the Edge, with the goal of drawing upon their respective areas of expertise in coastal science and composition and rhetoric. The collaboration began in the summer of 2017 with video interviews conducted on location at Mugu Beach with members of the campus and local community to glean their perspectives on the importance of the beach. This included Castillo, whose ocean–drenched interview was described in the vignette that opened this article.
As Castillo dried herself off following her immortalized plunge into the Pacific, she asked Patsch and Anderson if they would like to continue their collaboration by integrating work from their upcoming courses into Arts Under the Stars, an interdisciplinary, multimedia event merging creative arts and research into multiple projects and performance produced under a common theme. The theme for the 2018 Arts Under the Stars event was “Empathy.” Anderson and Patsch be- gan contemplating how they could develop a project around the notion of conveying empathy for the California Coast. Drawing on perspectives from science and English, Patsch and Anderson initially struggled to envision communicating the value of and threats to the sandy beach ecosystem through performing arts even as they understood the long legacy of the arts in raising awareness of environmental issues (Curtis, Reid, & Ballard, 2012).
Eventually, Anderson recalled a multigenre writing project that her colleague in English, Kim Vose, had shared with her from a course titled Writing as Reflective Practice. Students were asked to create a multigenre project around a research topic from their own discipline. One student, English major and ESRM minor Lauren Zahn, wrote about her work in the summer of 2015 while responding to and monitoring the Refugio Oil Spill off the California Coast with her ESRM class. One of Zahn’s most compelling pieces was an obituary to a sea lion mother who had passed away as a result of the spill, leaving behind her orphaned pups (Figure 3). It was a surprisingly moving text that put readers inside the minds of creatures who must endure the effects of human–induced disasters resulting from our dependence on oil and offshore drilling.
In revisiting Zahn’s project, we stumbled on the notion of a performance centered on an obituary for the California Coast, capturing all that would be lost if the coast continues to be neglected and exploited. We reached out to Zahn, who responded enthusiastically to taking the lead on coordinating and curating the online program and resources for the project as well as collaborating with the over ninety students from the three courses in the spring 2018 semester that would be involved: English 330: Interdisciplinary Writing (another upper division, interdisciplinary, general education, and writing intensive course); ESRM 335: The Beach; and Performing Arts 391: Production. Students enrolled in the latter class would oversee all aspects of the production (including choreography, staging, music, videography, as well as performance and dance), while students from English and ESRM would be primarily responsible for research, writing, and communicating the significance of the topic both on the website and at the event itself.
Figure 3: CSUCI student Lauren Zahn produced this fictional obituary as part of a multigenre writing project that became the inspiration for “Obituary to the Beach.”
Communicating Science with Performing Arts
Advocating to the general public for the protection and preservation of California’s beaches includes conveying complex scientific data through compelling and innovative artistic vehicles that capture the singular spirit of the “California imaginary” to reach both hearts and minds. “Obituary to the Beach” exemplified the potency of interdisciplinary collaboration for coordinated integration on multiple platforms.
As teachers–scholars–creators from diverse disciplines, we approached “Obituary to the Beach” with a shared under- standing that natural sciences often intimidate the general public, particularly those who feel uneducated or insecure with their knowledge base in the sciences (Schwartz, 2014). Climate change, the associated sea level rise, and the consequences to California’s developed shorelines and the coast are no exception, particularly as the dire nature of these is- sues may compel citizens to close their eyes to the problem altogether. Given the urgency of our current moment, it is ethically imperative that the general public understand the value of ecosystems like sandy beaches and the consequences of coastal management alternatives, thus allowing them to be fully engaged and informed during public policy–making. Scientists are tasked to find effective ways to communicate often complicated material in a way that is content–driven yet digestible, engaging, lasting, and fun, with the goal of getting the general public interested and invested in the science enough to start asking their own questions, realizing the relevance to their own lives, and then becoming the instruments of engagement and communication themselves (Curtis et al., 2012; Stolberg, 2006).
Participating in performing arts is similarly intimidating for those who are not practitioners. At the same time, artistic products such as dance can hold sway over audiences in an age of “information overload” and evoke action in a way that text –based media may not (Branagan, 2005). Artists who collaborate with scientists are challenged to create socially con- scious, well–informed pieces that impact audiences. Ongoing discourse between artists and scientists is essential to the creation of art that is accurate and moving without sensationalizing the subject or potentially working against the cause of a more sustainable future. Through our own collaboration, we have come to understand that both the arts and the sci- ences often ask people to confront uncomfortable realities. Both scientists and artists frequently engage in their respec- tive fields because they have a deep passion for social or environmental change (Curtis, 2009). These common bonds forge a kinship between seemingly divergent disciplines and foster thriving, productive collaborations that can bring about needed action and change.
Collaborations between scientists and dancers are mutually dialogic and dynamic, as “Obituary to the Beach” vividly demonstrated. Dance in particular is an apt artistic medium for engaging with scientific ideas. There is even an annual “Dance Your Ph.D.” contest founded by science journalist and molecular biologist John Bohannon and now sponsored by Science Magazine and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. One of the judges of the 2019 con- test, artist Alex Meade, observed that “the body can express conceptual thoughts through movement in ways that words and data tables cannot. The results are both artfully poetic and scientifically profound” (Bohannon, 2019, para. 5). As a form of expression that is inherently in motion, the language and vocabulary of dance have the potential to reach broader audiences beyond the scientific community and to provide a “way of knowing” that enlightens scientists and lay people alike. In this manner, dance is not merely an interpretation or representation of scientific concepts but its own maker of meaning that contributes to the conversation and moves it forward (Sheets–Johnstone, 1999; Stolberg, 2006). Dance’s ability to reach a broader audience is enhanced by the fact that it is a universal language. As Maxine Sheets–Johnstone writes, humans “share a common kinetic ancestry,” and “movement is our mother tongue” (Sheets–Johnstone, 2016, p. 404).
Dance is also the language of the natural world, particularly the beach. Surfing, perhaps the most recognizable and increasingly potent signifier of the coastal “California imaginary,” is fittingly characterized as a form of dance (Booth, 1999). Moreover, Modern American Dance is rooted in the ebb and flow of the very ocean that graces our local shores. Isadora Duncan, Mother of Modern Dance, famously asserted, “All these movements—where have they come from? They have sprung from the great Nature of America, from the Sierra Nevada, from the Pacific Ocean, as it washes the coast of Cali- fornia; from the great spaces of the Rocky Mountains—from the Yosemite Valley—from the Niagara Falls.” Duncan traced her inspiration to Walt Whitman, a seminal figure in American environmental literary history. “In a moment of pro- phetic love for America Walt Whitman said: ‘I hear America singing,’ and I can imagine the mighty song that Walt heard, from the surge of the Pacific, over the plains, the voices rising of the vast Choral of children, youths, men and women, singing Democracy.” Duncan continues, “When I read this poem of Whitman’s I, too, had a Vision—the Vision of America dancing a dance that would be the worthy expression of the song Walt heard when he heard America singing” (Duncan, 1927, ch. 30, para. 21–22). In light of this context, “Obituary to the Beach” exemplified the convergence of performance, nature, and science that is inextricably tied to our coastal legacy and inspires us three authors across disciplines as scholars, creators, and teachers.
Contextualizing the Vulnerability of California’s Shoreline Across Disciplines
“Obituary to the Beach” centered on the loss of California’s sandy beach environments precipitated by offshore drilling, pollution, development, and climate change–induced sea level rise. As a geomorphologist, Patsch’s teaching and scholarship are regularly informed by these sobering realities, the impacts of which we collectively explored in our respective courses and strove to communicate through our interdisciplinary collaboration.
As student researchers in ESRM 335 and ENGL 330 shared on our project website, over 80% of California’s coast is actively eroding, and climate change/sea level rise will exacerbate the erosion of coastal areas, particularly across California’s beaches (Griggs, 2005; Melius & Caldwell, 2015). California’s sandy beach ecosystems are increasingly threatened by human–induced erosion caused by coastal armoring and reductions to sediment supply, sea–level rise, changes in land use and development, invasive species, marine debris, and excessive recreational use (Defeo et al., 2009; Dugan et al., 2017; Griggs, 2005; Melius & Caldwell, 2015; Schlacher et al., 2007). Several federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as NGOs and academic institutions, are debating how best to adapt California’s coast to these dire threats as well as exploring the most effective ways to engage the general public in understanding these threats and acting to bring about needed change. Many of the coastal management options put forward, such as hardening the shoreline with seawalls or revetments as well as expanding beach replenishment, are detrimental to fronting beaches (Griggs, 2005; Griggs & Patsch, 2018; Runyan & Griggs, 2003). Communities will need to rely on local management to see the value in the sandy beach environment and make the choice to become part of the solution in pre- serving this valuable resource.
Notably, the disciplinary lenses through which we can view and value California’s beaches are wide, varied, and intersecting, making them rich territory for interdisciplinary teaching and learning while at the same time underscoring how much depends upon their preservation. From an economic vantage point, sandy beaches are integral to California, gen- erating over $5 billion in direct revenue to the state annually (King & Symes, 2004). In terms of infrastructure, wide beaches and dune complexes are natural buffers to storm surge, protecting back beach and low–lying ecosystems as well as human development and hardscape (Griggs, Patsch, & Savoy, 2005). Ecologically, beaches play an important role in terrestrial and marine nutrient cycling and are natural biological filters (James, 2000; King et al., 2018; Schlacher et al., 2007). Beaches also provide habitat for several of California’s imperiled and endemic plant and animal species— including the Western Snowy Plover, the California Least Tern, and the tiger beetle —and are integral to the breeding, migrating, and wintering of many other animals (Lafferty, 2001). Recreational and commercial fishing also depend on beaches either directly as habitat or indirectly as an essential component of the food web. From a psychological perspective, beaches encourage outdoor recreation and are shown to benefit human mental health and well–being (Nichols, 1989; Pilkey & Cooper, 2014). Culturally, California’s beaches play a vital role in inspiring artists, musicians, and dancers as well as in the growing popularity of surfing, skateboarding, and beach volleyball to create what we characterize as the “California imaginary” (Lemarie, 2015; Schwab, 2012; Voelz, Saldívar, & Bieger, 2013). When asked to name a word that comes to mind upon hearing “California,” 56 percent of respondents replied, “beach” (Anderson, in progress).
California’s shoreline is intrinsic to the state’s identity and prosperity, a source of both prodigious strength and potential vulnerability. As David Helvarg writes, “It remains a challenge even to express what it is that links the innovative, entre- preneurial, and risk–taking spirit of Californians who’ve built the seventh largest economy on earth to the ocean that borders their state and state of consciousness, infusing both with a tidal flux, a belief that change is the only constant and if you can just catch that next wave you’ll be on top of the world.” If it weren’t for the Pacific Ocean, Helvarg asserts, Cali- fornia would “be little more than a long skinny clone of Nevada” (Helvarg, 2016, p. 6).
These exigencies informed the curricula in both English 330 (Interdisciplinary Writing; Figure 4) and Environmental Science and Resource Management 335 (The Beach), each of which were facilitated through CSUCI’s then newly adopted Learning Management System, Canvas. These classes had the advantage of being developed as interdisciplinary, upper division, general education courses that serve majors in their respective departments while drawing students from several other disciplines as well. Moreover, like most writing classes at CSUCI, ENGL 330 is flexible to be adapted to a variety of themes, making it an ideal fit for interdisciplinary, collaborative teaching and learning. Anderson taught the class online and built it around the theme of “The California Coast,” developing a variety of written and multimedia research–based assignments, both individual and collaborative, that invited students to explore the multiple disciplinary lenses through which the coast can be viewed and valued. Anderson chose the core text for the class from one of sever- al that Patsch used in The Beach class, David Helvarg’s The Golden Shore: California’s Love Affair with the Sea (2016). The text itself examines California’s coast through a range of disciplinary perspectives and provided a strong foundation to launch students into their own interdisciplinary explorations of the coast. Learning outcomes for the modules in ENGL 330 were similarly inspired by the course learning outcomes from ESRM 335.
Students in the online ENGL 330 class began with a weekly reading journal that asked them to compose reflective and analytical responses to The Golden Shore. Students were asked to explain the intertwining natural and human–induced influences that have shaped the California Coast, analyze the diverse lenses through which the California Coast is perceived by various stakeholders, and evaluate the current state of the California Coast, including the benefits it provides as well as the challenges it faces. Students responded enthusiastically to the text and its multifaceted approach. This led to the next learning module that invited students to produce three research–based texts in different genres (an op–ed aimed at Ventura County residents, a blog entry directed at California readers, and a letter to the California Coastal Commission) on a coastal topic or issue of personal interest and a fourth assignment that was a reflective essay on what they had learned about the coast directed at the composition faculty who would be evaluating this module as part of our holistic assessment of student writing. Students then worked in groups to engage in collaborative inquiry projects that employed text, images, and video to create a VoiceThread presentation that illustrated and reflected upon the diverse lenses through which the California Coast can be perceived (psychological, economic, political, educational, environmental, musical, spiritual, cultural, ethnic, literary, artistic, biological, familial, and so forth).
Students in ESRM 335 (The Beach) similarly explored the coast through an interdisciplinary framework, examining the sociocultural importance of sandy beaches in southern California and analyzing the interaction of natural and human systems in the coastal zone. Students learned about the physical and biological aspects of California’s beaches, anthropogenic stressors on the ecosystem, diverse perspectives on California’s beach culture and society, and issues pertain- ing to coastal development, hazards, and resiliency. Learning outcomes included identifying current environmental and social issues concerning California’s beaches, relating the physical and biological characteristics of the beach environment to challenges in managing this natural resource, and effectively communicating an understanding of course material in various written forms. Each student produced a research paper and presentation on an international beach and three blog posts for the class’s Beach Blog. Students visited a different beach for each post, viewing each beach through a different lens from among those detailed above. Using text and images, students were asked to think critically about their environment, the beach ecosystem, and the interconnected nature of geology/physical processes, ecology, recreation and tourism, culture, and health and wellbeing that all comes together along the coasts.
While ESRM 335 is taught in CSUCI’s Environmental Science and Resource Management department, its unique integration of scientific and cultural content, along with its emphasis on clear scientific communication and public outreach, supports the development of both aspiring practitioners in the sciences and those seeking to grow in scientific literacy and citizenship. The class underscores that is it incumbent upon scientists to engage with the public on issues that demand urgency and action so that communities can become engaged in decision making that informs coastal policy and practices. Each learning module includes a lecture from Patsch as well as a documentary and often a guest speaker. Topics in the spring 2018 semester included beaches of the world, evaluating the beach ecosystem, sandy beach ecosystems, beach culture (skateboarding, volleyball, music, surfing), and threats to the beach (sea level rise, sand mining, coastal development, trash, oil, driving on the beach).
In both the English and ESRM classes, immersing students in the subject matter detailed above prepared them to take on more self–directed activities as they transformed what they had been researching and writing about for a more creative, public–facing venue with Arts Under the Stars (AUTS). While Castillo’s Performing Arts 391 class (Production) is the curricular “home” of AUTS, the event relies upon collaborations across disciplines. The 2018 iteration of AUTS, under the theme of “Empathy,” consisted of upwards of a dozen projects and performances involving students and faculty from Art, Communication, Computer Science, Education, English, ESRM, Nursing, and Political Science in coordination with those from the range of Performing Arts emphases (Dance, Theatre, Music). The scholarly and creative process described below represents a microcosm of the unique integration of content and approaches from diverse disciplines that makes AUTS such a distinctive event that empowers students to connect beyond the classroom and into the cam- pus and community (Figure 5).
In the Hands of Students: The Interdisciplinary Collaborative Process of “Obituary to the Beach”
Integrating an ambitious scholarly and creative project into multiple courses and disciplines is necessarily an exercise in becoming comfortable with the unknown and trusting that the process will come to fruition within the constraints of an academic semester. This is a lesson with which Castillo is deeply familiar as the founding director of Arts Under the Stars. While this signature event has grown and evolved significantly since its first iteration in 2012, at its core is an understanding that students drive the creative process from start to finish. Faculty provide support and guidance but are ultimately responsible for maintaining a space where students can engage in their own process of making meaning and communicating that in the method they determine to be most appropriate to the content of their collective research. While instructors may provide the initial inspiration for a project, they must be willing to hand control over to students, allowing them the freedom to take the project in whatever direction they see fit.
As a case in point, the title that Anderson, Castillo, Patsch, and Zahn had originally conceived of for this project was “The California Coast: In Memoriam,” the remnants of which are still visible on the Canvas pages of our classes and on the website that students created as part of our project. Several weeks into the semester, it became clear that the students in the Production class who were taking the lead on the project had also taken the initiative to retitle it. As novices in this process, Anderson, and Patsch initially bristled at the change that Castillo’s experience as director of AUTS and the in- structor of the Production class had already prepared her to anticipate and even welcome. Ultimately, the revised title was a tangible indicator that the students were making the project their own and foreshadowed that the final product would also evolve significantly into something much more moving and meaningful than Anderson and Patsch and even Castillo had envisioned.
The creative and collaborative process of Arts Under the Stars is inherently incremental and recursive. Starting with a blank slate is as daunting as it is liberating, as is determining the dynamic among the various collaborators. There is no guarantee that the process will be productive or that the final product will be successful. This requires all parties to be brave and open, contributing freely without dread of rebuke or judgment from sharing ideas that are still in formation or may not pan out. It also requires a collective understanding and trust among artists and researchers. In each of our respective disciplines, integrating meaningful collaborations among students is a core value even as it can be a complicated and loaded process for those involved (Ingalls, 2011; Kennedy & Howard, 2014). In the writing classroom, the dance studio, and the field, collaborative work engages students as agents in their own learning. The process is instructive and valuable even if the final product is not as successful as intended. With a public, student–driven performative event like Arts Under the Stars, the wide visibility of the final product raises the stakes, and faculty must resist the urge to micromanage students and instead focus on scaffolding a supportive curriculum that helps them find their own way.
This curricular support includes familiarizing students involved in the performance itself with the elements that are availa- ble to bring the research to life and help participants bring their unique talents and ideas to the forefront. The outdoor canvas of the Arts Under the Stars performance space includes a 40×40 foot outdoor stage with a 10×16 foot LED screen in the background, a separate stage for live music, and an intricate lighting and sound system that supports both live and pre–recorded music. The space also includes an interactive area for the audience to wander and explore where art exhibits and activities can engage and educate. The space is filled with light, sound, and energy. The physicality of this space lends itself to scholarly and creative products that result from a phenomenological way of knowing—dance— that is rooted in bodily practice and memory rather than empirical knowledge acquired through texts (Conquergood, 2002; Sheets–Johnstone, 2016). In this manner, Arts Under the Stars disrupts the binary between “scholars/researchers” and “artists/practitioners” that performance studies both negotiates and challenges (Conquergood, 2002, pp. 152–154).
Students who enroll in Castillo’s Production class do so with the understanding that the central content of the course, on which their entire grade will rest, will be managing and coordinating all aspects of the AUTS event, and that they will take the lead with regard to choreography, staging, music, videography, performance, and dance. In contrast, students in oth- er courses that participate in AUTS do not typically know this will be part of their coursework until the semester begins. To set the stage for student engagement in AUTS across both a small online class (Interdisciplinary Writing) and a large face–to–face class (The Beach), Anderson and Patsch developed a shared learning module in Canvas that was imported into each course (Figure 6). The module included an overview that explained how the theme of the project emerged from Patsch and Anderson’s ongoing scholarly and creative collaboration (Beaches on the Edge) examining multiple discipli- nary lenses through which the sandy beach environment can be perceived and valued. Instructions explained that, via Arts Under the Stars, students in the English and ESRM courses would similarly contribute scholarly and creative work that takes a critical look at practices affecting the California Coast and evokes empathy for the losses incurred so far and those to come if humanity does not change its ways.
Students in both the ESRM and English courses were informed that participation would count towards 10% of their final course grade and that they could contribute in a number of ways. Patsch and Anderson created a Google Form that listed methods of participation and solicited their preferences based on their own interests and skill set. Addition- al resources were provided in the Canvas module to deepen student understanding of the project’s theme and how they might contribute. The module expressed faculty enthusiasm for student involvement in the project, stating, “We are looking forward to a rich, creative, and inspiring collaboration that gives students the opportunity to take their learning outside the traditional class setting and engage them in the campus community.” While participating in AUTS was worth a small percentage of their final grade, as compared to the entire grade for students in the Produc- tion class, students in Interdisciplinary Writing and The Beach could see how their contributions built on what they had learned all semester and allowed them the opportunity to express their interdisciplinary understanding of the course material through a more creative, collaborative, and flexible mode than would typically be available in those courses.
The primary aim of student participation in AUTS for the English and ESRM classes was scientific communication and reaching a broader audience on coastal issues that demand attention and action from the general public. Schol- ars across disciplines are trained to communicate within academic and professional discourse communities but not necessarily to engage with those outside of those circles, many of whom are directly impacted by the content of their research. When it comes to protecting and preserving the beach that is so tied to the identities and experiences of California residents, it is important to talk to people about how they relate to the beach and what value lens they bring to their perceptions. Do they see the beach as a site of natural beauty, economic prosperity, familial connection, or psychological respite? California’s sandy beaches mean all these things and more, and the unceasing, anthropogen- ic demands that pose a growing threat to these environments have risen to the level of “wicked problems” that can only be addressed through a coordinated, interdisciplinary approach that engages multiple stakeholders in under- standing the challenges and exploring and implementing potential solutions.
While we expected students in the Performing Arts class to be committed to the collaborative and creative process of Arts Under the Stars, as they knew what they were signing up for, we were inspired and pleasantly surprised with how students in English and ESRM rose to the occasion. Students from across disciplines stretched beyond their comfort zones and familiar modes of expression to contribute original artwork, poetry, video, and photography as well as curated and researched content on the various dimensions of our theme. Ten students took ownership of design- ing the website on which this content would be delivered, with a final product that was far more developed, polished, and engaging than we had imagined possible. Nine students filmed and edited videos about how people in their lives valued the beach, venturing beyond the lenses suggested in class and demonstrating how they were investing them- selves in our shared process of inquiry. Additional students developed and disseminated marketing and social media materials to help promote our contribution to AUTS, “Obituary to the Beach,” while others coordinated an interactive water color table to engage and educate young children over the course of the two nights of performances. This table was flanked by a massive, illuminated marine debris art piece that emerged from this collaboration and emulated how the project evolved and grew in its reach (Figure 7).
In the early weeks of the spring 2018 semester, when the planning and preparation for “Obituary to the Beach” were get- ting underway and students were starting to immerse themselves in our course material, ESRM began its annual seminar series with a presentation that included marine artist and environmental scientist Ethan Estess, who creates sculptures using found materials to communicate to and engage with viewers about perils facing our oceans. From this initial encounter, three students in The Beach class (art major Emma Akmakdjian and ESRM majors Sarah Parker and Allison Prather) collaborated with Estess to create a sculpture of a jellyfish created of discarded plastic water bottles. The sculpture, titled Jellyfish, debuted at the Getty Center in Los Angeles in mid–April before being relocated to the CSUCI cam- pus as part of the Arts Under the Stars installation. The sculpture functioned as a vivid focal point during the AUTS performance weekend and helped draw attention to the message of “Obituary to the Beach.” This synergistic, interdisciplinary opportunity was emblematic of the expansive possibilities that emerge when students are invited to break down the walls of the classroom.
The marine debris sculpture, water color table, publicity materials, and even the performance that will be described be- low all served the purpose of connecting with the general public and inspiring them to visit the “Obituary to the Beach” website (which audience members could locate via the digital program for the entire AUTS event) to learn more about the challenges facing our sandy beaches and how everyday people can get involved to make a difference. The content that the students in ESRM and English had explored in both their academic projects and in their contribution to Arts Under the Stars similarly informed the Performing Arts in their creative process. Students from ESRM educated those in Performing Arts on the threats to the beach that would be explored on stage through music, performance, and dance.
In Castillo’s seven years of directing Arts Under the Stars, “Obituary to the Beach” was the apex of the interdisciplinary and collaborative potential of the event, involving 93 students across three courses. The performance itself, headed up by students in the Production class, began to take shape when the creative leaders were assigned to the project: Chelsea Rueda (performing arts major with an emphasis in dance) and Sammi Olson (ESRM major with a minor in perform- ing arts). Together, they met with Zahn, Anderson, Patsch, and Castillo to discuss a plan for focusing and developing the production. The resulting piece told a multisensory story of a once healthy and whole ocean falling victim to various human threats—oil spills, marine debris, and coastal development—while Humanity blindly stands by, oblivious to the destruction until it is too late.
Rueda developed an improvisational structure to initiate a collaboration with the dancers. Performers explored various movements to initially create the effect of a whole and healthy ocean. Cascading fabric was added to the dancers’ arms to extend their lines and flow, borrowing from the early dance pioneer Loie Fuller (Figures 8a and 8b). The six ocean dancers incorporated a variety of swirling maneuvers of varying speeds and patterns, recreating breaking waves, cur- rents, changing tides, and other phenomena within the ocean. Olson, in turn, developed and performed the character of blinded Humanity. After the ocean movement was established for the audience, she entered the stage space in blue jeans and a t–shirt, blindfolded to represent humanity’s lack of empathy, understanding, or willingness to see the effects of their everyday habits on the beach environment.
Throughout the piece, other dancers embodying threats to the ocean were introduced, changing how the ocean dancers moved and the paths they were able to take on stage. The three dancers embodying oil used more sensuous and bound movements, signifying the thick, slow, and smooth viscosity of this “desirable” element (Figure 9a). Oil production is seductive, and we are unable as humans to replace its hold over us with more environmentally friendly alternatives. When marine debris was introduced, the dancer, Raven Fierro (Figure 9b), employed variations of hip hop techniques like locking and krumping, fast and sharp dance moves that created jagged and bent shapes. When introduced to the fluid water in the ocean and the thick smooth and bound viscosity of oil, trash changed the visual energy and altered pathways of both. Each additional element cluttered the stage, giving the effect of a littered ocean. The final element added was coastal development. Students from The Beach class built boxes for the dancers to manipulate and leave in their wake as they moved robotically in suits to represent business economy, and culture (Figure 9c), with reflective glasses to mim- ic windows on buildings. These dancers incorporated lifts, weights sharing, and stackable movements to visually articulate building structures. Once all the elements were introduced, each overtook one of the ocean dancers until they disappeared and left the stage. The only two dancers remaining were Olsen, representing Humanity, and one ocean dancer who could barely continue to move. The ocean dancer collapsed into Olsen, who only then removed her blindfold to see the destruction she had wrought on the beach (Figure 10).
The accompanying music composition by CSUCI student Alec Bertrand created an aural landscape that complemented the visual elements. It began with the sounds of seagull and ocean life underscored by a rolling, constant guitar. As each element was introduced, so were additional sounds. To represent humans, a heavy beat was layered into the circular guitar riff. The sound of water bottles being crushed was added in when the visual element of trash was introduced. Sounds from a construction site were the final element added, representing development that is impinging upon the beach. With the introduction of each new disruptive element, more sea life sounds vanished from the soundtrack, such as the seagulls and ocean waves breaking on the shore. Eventually, the guitar stopped playing and there were no longer the soothing sounds of the sea. All that was left was the synthetic sounds that came after humans were introduced to the landscape.
Student Isaac Ortiz edited the accompanying background video using images from David Pu’u, a local cinematographer, as well as open source and iconic environmental footage. It also followed the pattern of the dancers and music using shots of pure ocean and introduced the elements through images as they appeared on stage and in the music. The performance culminated in a poem called “Coexist with the Coast,” written by Garrett Rodriguez (Figure 11), a student in the Interdisciplinary Writing class, and performed by a student from the Production class, Noel DeVerges.
Through the dance performance (Figure 12, click to link to video), the website content, and the experiential and interactive water color table and art displays, students transferred what they had been learning in their respective classes to connect with the campus and community to communicate threats to our sandy beach ecosystem. While the nature and scope of student contributions and collaborations varied, the process of participating in this larger endeavor gave students a broader sense of purpose and audience than is typically available in class assignments and resulted in a cohesive, immersive final product whose impact has endured and has provided a model for subsequent classes and collaborations.
Seeking New Shores
Our experience with “Obituary to the Beach” inspired us to further pursue our interdisciplinary collaboration for the 2019 Arts Under the Stars, which took on the theme of “Metamorphosis.” A coastal orientation continued to shape our efforts, as we collectively took on the issue of illegal sand mining and sand mafias. Our collaboration again spanned multiple classes across our disciplines: Patsch’s ESRM 335 (The Beach) and ESRM 428 (Intermediate Geographic Imaging Systems); Castillo’s Performing Arts 391 (Production), and Anderson’s English 107 (Advanced Composition). The success of the 2018 project galvanized our teaching and enriched our work with students as we helped them become aware of the role they each played in our larger, collaborative, interdisciplinary effort.
Arts Under the Stars has become an institutionalized event at CSU Channel Islands as well as a container with a flexible framework that allows researchers from across campus to partner with the arts to tell stories, compel change, and pre- pare students for working relationships and collaborations post–academic life. As growing numbers of people experience AUTS as audience members, more are willing to take the risk and collaborate with Performing Arts to see their research realized through performance. As ESRM Major/Performing Arts Minor Sammi Olson wrote in her end–of–the–year reflection,
This semester has opened my eyes to who I really am as an artist and Arts Under the Stars was a huge part of that realization. With the theme of Empathy this year, the pieces I was a part of really taught me to see things from different perspectives and learn about important social issues that we deal with in our world today. I think that Arts Under The Stars is a valuable learning tool not just for students who take the class and participate in the event but also for the audience that comes to see the show. It’s a way to educate, raise awareness of our social issues, and motivate people to take action or seek change in order to improve our world. I really value being part of something that has a lasting positive influence to the community.
Olson’s words are emblematic of the transformative potential of Arts Under the Stars and the value of institutionalizing such student–driven events. Additional student reflections on the impact of this interdisciplinary collaboration are captured in this word cloud, represented in the form of a dolphin (our school mascot; Figure 13).
Modeling interdisciplinary collaboration for our colleagues is as important as doing so for our students. We know the process of Arts Under the Stars and integration can be uncomfortable, but we also know teaching and collaborating across disciplines are the ultimate reward. As our university grows, barriers among disciplines begin to emerge in spite of efforts to stay true to our core interdisciplinary mission. Recurring events such as Arts Under the Stars provide plat- forms for integrative collaboration that enrich and inspire the scholarship, teaching, and creative work of faculty as well as the educational experience of our students. As initiatives crystalizing pathways for students develop at CSUCI, spaces and events like Arts Under the Stars ensure the cross–pollination of our students’ minds, requiring them to consider the other: the other genre or discipline; the other method of communicating; the other way people learn; the other type of arts; the other person who is their neighbor; and the other people with whom they will have to coexist and thrive in this world.
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