Jaakko Hutchings portrays Dr. Midgley in Orange Alert’s short play Global Burning. His character, however, is not entirely fictitious and is based on the very real Dr. Thomas Midgley, who is (half-) jokingly dubbed by the scientific community as “the single organism in Earth's history with the most detrimental impact on the atmosphere.”
If you're wondering whether Dr. Midgley really deserves such fame, just consider the following: in the 1920s, he introduced lead to gasoline, with the very practical aim of reducing engine noise. Cars became much quieter and lead poisoning much more frequent. Way to go Midgley!
Our doctor doesn’t stop there. A decade later, he has a leading role in the team that discovers freon, amongst other similar compounds. You have to give credit where credit’s due – very few people can boast that they contributed to literally punching a hole in the sky.
Through the years, Dr. Midgley tirelessly continues to make the world a better place, with inventions and other personal contributions. For example, he was a fervent proponent for women to take up smoking.
I’ll leave to you to find out about how he dies. If nothing else, at least there is some small measure of poetic justice there. Geez, that man….
Tex: Vladislav Nenchev
Jaakko portrait: Jaakko Hutchings
Midgley portrait: wikipedia.org
Read more about Orange Alert
“In recent decades, there has been a lot of news concerning armed conflicts in the world. We usually focus on the shocking numbers of human victims or on the destruction of material properties. But what about the environment? Do we imagine that our planet could be moaning from the intensity of the damage and from the pain and chaos that wars create? Who wins and who loses if trees are cut down and wildlife disappears due to armed conflicts?”
The first two nights of Orange Alert feature the story of Baida and her homeland. This is a story of how the victims of wars go beyond just the human kind, and of how those victims are so often forgotten.
“Who is your target?”
John Leo delivers another poetic salvo in Orange Alert’s barrage of acts. He will be performing three lyrical pieces that aim straight at the heart. Here's how the author describes his contribution to Orange Alert:
The second poem, The August Thunder, describes the disruption caused by a very heavy rainstorm over Helsinki (August, 2011) and is a critique of human self-importance. The third poem, Spring Light, is a tribute to our wondrous earth, where we live, move, and have our being.”
The celebration of music in Orange Alert continues with a trio of very talented performers: Tony Shaw is in charge of string instruments of all kinds, John Millar is the master of the winds, and Mira Berglund-Fitzpatrick will weave beautiful vocals.
Rain, rhythm, chaos is based on a rhythmic idea Tony gleaned from his rich life of strumming and listening. The way that is implemented and whatever John will add to the mix is hard to predict!
Diliana Stoyanova joins Orange Alert with a word and sound caboodle that came out of reading too much during quarantine, and buying sound equipment instead of alcohol. Both the soundscape and the poems are her own creation.