Beatniks genuflect to tree over climate change ‘guilt’

Climate change enthusiasts are reciting 15-minute monologues directly to trees while left alone, discussing the relationship between humans and trees.

“We carried your ancestors here from another part of the world,” says one section of the monologue, according to the New York Times. “You made our grayest, busiest neighborhoods lush and peaceful. You thrived!”

“You’re not getting any reactions, so you don’t know if the tree is enjoying itself or not,” Megan Cossey told the Times. “He’s probably like: ‘Get out of here, I’ve heard this so many times in the past week.’”

Those who participate in the monologue are ushered through a red curtain surrounding the trunk of a tree, are given the monologue and other prompts to aid in their time of reflection to the tree, according to the Times. This tree performance takes place at a cell theater in Chelsea, New York from August 15-September 1. The concept began in Brooklyn, New York, in 2021 and was given a grant from Peace Studio, a social change nonprofit, according to the Times.

One section of the play asks the speaker to tell the tree one word that reflects how they feel about climate change. Cossey used the word “resigned,” in which she felt “disappointed” and “guilty” for the tree, according to the Times.

“The play is kind of about, ‘I’m responsible for this change that’s killing you,” Matti Parone told the Times. “Now let me entertain you for 15 minutes.”

The play was written by Dan Daly, a scenic designer, and Lee LeBreton, a performance artist, according to the Times.

“It’s about allowing the tree to tell us what the play wants to be,” Daly told the Times.

LeBreton is a self-described “queer, trans experimental theatre-maker and performance artist,” according to her website. She has been featured in a video for Planned Parenthood and a video titled “What Being Trans Means!” by It Gets Better, a “nonprofit organization with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth,” according to their website.

Daly is a member of the National Queer Theater Collective and built the “inflatable theater” exhibit. One of the events he has been involved in with the National Queer Theater Collective is the “2025 Criminal Queerness Festival” in June 2025, according to his website.

“It’s about being part of an ecosystem,” LeBreton told the Times. “We hope that people leave feeling not like nature’s apex on a dead rock, but part of a system of living things.”

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