Approaching the 15th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University will present the Houston premiere of “SPILL,” a documentary play by award-winning playwright Leigh Fondakowski.
“SPILL” dramatizes the events leading up to the April 20, 2010, oil rig explosion off the coast of Louisiana and its long aftermath. Eleven workers were killed, and the resulting spill became the largest environmental disaster in American history. Based on more than 200 hours of interviews with surviving crew members, victims’ families, scientists and Gulf Coast residents, the play gives voice to those who lived through the tragedy and examines its environmental, human and industrial impact.
“This performance brings the crew to life as individuals with families, stories and dreams while tracing the chain of events that turned routine into catastrophe,” said Weston Twardowski, director of the production and associate director of Rice’s Center for Environmental Studies. “Especially for Houston audiences, this show speaks so much to our way of life, our role as the energy capital of the world and the real fears oil and gas workers have about their continued economic prospects if the industry were to leave the region.”
Fondakowski, who has spent more than a decade building connections in the Gulf South while teaching in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, reflected on the region’s lasting imprint on her work.
“I remember the people I met, the crisis they faced with great dignity and resolve,” Fondakowski said. “I also remember the idea very distinctly, the belief that I found here, that oil and nature could live side by side harmoniously. It was a phrase I often heard, even as people wrestled with the unstoppable oil spill and the land loss that had been happening here for decades. The South is a place of great natural beauty, unlike any other place I had ever visited or spent time. I was struck at the end of the process of making the play how nothing seemed to change all that much in the way of life here. The oil was cleaned up as best they could. BP paid historic fines, but they were out drilling again in the Gulf only 15 months after the spill.”
“SPILL” will be performed in the Moody Center’s Lois Chiles Studio Theater with three showings: April 11 at 7 p.m. and April 12 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Seating is limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis. You can reserve your spot here.
A public conversation with Fondakowski will take place April 12 at 1 p.m. Registration for the discussion is separate from performance tickets.
“Fifteen years later, it’s up to the audience to reflect on our relationship to fossil fuels,” Fondakowski said. “Is this the future we want to see? And what are the implications of change for the people and for their way of life? I hope the play ‘SPILL’ will honor the people who participated and show the place in all its beauty and wonder. I also hope the play will be a starting point for a conversation about our collective future, our interdependence with nature and with each other. It remains a great privilege to tell other people’s stories.”
Fondakowski, known for her work as head writer of “The Laramie Project,” brings the same documentary-theater approach to “SPILL,” incorporating interviews, court transcripts and historical research to deliver an immersive 360-degree experience. The actors rotate through multiple roles, creating an intimate and impactful portrait of a region forever changed.
“‘SPILL’ is not just a play; it’s an act of witness,” Twardowski said. “This show drops you into the heart of the Deepwater Horizon spill the moment everything unraveled.”
Twardowski emphasized the play’s interdisciplinary nature and its connection to broader conversations about the Gulf Coast’s future.
“‘SPILL’ is what happens when artists, scientists, historians and storytellers come together to confront a shared truth,” Twardowski said. “This is theater as research, theater as reckoning, theater as a call to care for the world we live in.”
Support for the production comes from the Houston Arts Alliance and Rice’s Moody Center, Center for Environmental Studies, Arts Initiatives Fund, Humanities Research Center, Diluvial Houston Initiative (an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation project), Center for Coastal Futures and Adaptive Resilience, Office of Sustainability, Green Fund, Department of History and EcoStudio at the Sustainability Institute.
Media interested in interviewing Twardowski about the production should contact media specialist Brandi Smith at brandi.smith@rice.edu or 713-348-6769.
For more information about performance registration and the April 12 discussion with Fondakowski, click here.