Why Forest Theatre?

Wildbrook Forest Theatre came to be when I decided to blend my passion for theatre with my love and need to be in wild places. For years, I acted or directed on various stages and theatres- all indoor locations, purposefully windowless, with no contact with the outdoors. I underwent a tremendous amount of growth in those experiences, but, I wondered: what would happen if I immersed a human-connection creative process in a wild place? Could I connect more deeply to a wild place through storytelling and imaginary play?

As I ran my first Forest Theatre pilot program, I became aware of some key similarities in these two seemingly different locations. Both of these places exist, in a way, outside the realm (and rules) of society. For that reason, for me, they both act as extraordinary incubators for imagination & creativity because I feel an ultimate sense of safety and freedom to boundlessly play and take edge-growing risks. It is in these two places where I feel the most alive.

Additionally, the forest and the theatre have been connected to storytelling for centuries. Forests are one of the most common settings for folk lore and fairy tales from many parts of the world. Likewise, theatres are places where humans have told and re-enacted stories for hundreds of years. In fairy tales, forests are often places, filled with magical beings and enchanted happenings, where anything can happen. Similarly, audiences of theatrical experiences hold true to a suspension of disbelief. Moreover, forests are often places of transformation for story characters and theatre is known as a transformative form of creative expression. All of these links and connections led me to belive that something really special would happen if I embedded an entire theatre experience in the forest.

Theatre is all about human connection. Oscar Wilde said: “I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” In essence, Wilde defines theatre as a way for humans to deeply connect to each other.

In an ever-increasing digital world, we are plugged into everything and yet, I believe, not deeply connected. We need healing. Our earth needs healing. My ultimate hope is that forest theatre can provide ultimate healing - for us and the earth- by rooting us deeply in a wild place, helping us uncover our gifts and purpose and deepening our connections to each other and to the natural world.

— Trish Roberts

Wildbrook Forest Theatre Founder & Director